Northwest Registered Agent is an industry leader in the business formation space.
Don’t let the name mislead you. In addition to registered agent services, Northwest Registered Agent provides an extensive list of business services across all 50 states.
The company is known for its exceptional customer service. This is largely due to the fact that Northwest Registered Agent is family-owned and operated. While the organization has grown to employ over 200 customer service reps nationwide, they still maintain the same “small business” principles.
Compared to other business formation services on the web, Northwest Registered Agent is really unique. They don’t have any investors or partners, and they go above and beyond to protect your privacy.
If you’re looking for a cost-effective and reliable service to form your LLC or corporation, Northwest Registered Agent should be a top consideration.
Is Northwest Registered Agent right for you? Continue reading to learn more about the services, plans, pricing, and read real reviews from existing customers.
Get started with Northwest Registered Agent today.
Northwest Registered Agent Business Formation Services
Northwest Registered Agent is best known for its business formation services. These offerings can be segmented into three main categories—LLC services, incorporation services, and registered agent services.
We’ll take a closer look at each one of these with an in-depth review of the services below.
Northwest Registered Agent LLC Services
Northwest Registered Agent makes it easy for anyone to form an LLC, regardless of your location. While the LLC formation process is generally the same across the country, each state has a specific filing process.
After you select a state, they’ll walk you through the specifics for your location.
For example, here’s what you’ll see if you want to start an LLC in California:
Northwest Registered Agent provides a detailed explanation of each step for anyone who wants to register an LLC on their own. You can even download the documents for free and follow the instructions to do it yourself online.
So if you’re a DIY type of person, you’ll love this option. Even if you’ve never gone through the process before, the instructions provided are very straightforward.
With that said, Northwest Registered Agent can take care of the entire filing process on your behalf. Most people take advantage of this service as opposed to doing it on their own.
There are two paths to choose from—their regular formation service and their VIP Service.
With the regular service, you get walked through a couple easy steps, including the business name you want, contact info, and membership information. Early on, you can even select standard filing time or express filing. For regular formation, select “Pay Up Front” under “How Do You Want To Be Billed?”
This starts at $225 ($100 for the filing and $125 for registered agent services), plus state fees.
Before payment, you’ll have the option of adding on additional services:
- EIN (tax ID) — $50
- Premium mail forwarding (digital scan or physical forward) — $40
- Virtual office — $49
- Certificate of Good Standing — Fee varies by state
- Certified copy of LLC documents (with state seal) — Fee varies by state
- FMCSA BOC-3 filing — $125
- FCC 499-A registration — $125
They even offer apostilles (for doing business in a foreign country) and a second telephone number. Depending on the state, you can expedite the filing process for an upcharge as well. You’ll definitely need the EIN, but most of you will likely be able to skip the other extras.
Once you finalize the order, the professional filers at Northwest Registered Agent will immediately begin reviewing your information. If there’s an error or they have any questions, you’ll get a phone call ASAP for a resolution.
You’ll be able to track the status of the order directly from your online account. Northwest Registered Agent will also send you email updates to keep you informed.
You can sign up for VIP Service from Northwest Registered Agent at the beginner of the LLC formation wizard. Just select “Pay Monthly” under “How Do You Want To Be Billed?” and you’ll see the state filing fee, filing service fee, registered agent, and EIN are all included for a low monthly fee that varies from state to state.
Basically, you pay Northwest Registered Agent back for the total fees incurred in filing in smaller chunks.
You cannot select optional add-ons a la carte, like you can with the regular LLC formation service. But the VIP Service includes everything important:
- Registered agent
- EIN
- Business address
- Operating agreement/bylaws
- Banking resolution
- Limited mail forwarding
The VIP Service is also a great way to keep registered agent services beyond year one at a reasonable price.
Overall, Northwest Registered Agent will be an excellent option for anyone who wants to form an LLC. Whether you want to do it alone or hire Northwest Registered Agent to handle everything for you, they have what you need to succeed.
Northwest Registered Agent Incorporation Services
The incorporation services from Northwest Registered Agent are extremely popular as well. If you’re new to this, the website has tons of resources and detailed information about the different types of corporations and processes for getting started.
Similar to the LLC services, you’ll get state-specific guidance when you use Northwest Registered Agent to incorporate your business.
They give you the option to download incorporation documents and do it yourself online for free. While it’s nice to have this option, most people choose to hire Northwest Registered Agent to handle everything for them.
You can use Northwest Registered Agent to start a C corporation, S corporation, or nonprofit corporation. The incorporation services follow the same formation plan structure as LLCs—you can choose to pay up front to use their regular service starting at $225 plus state fees. Through that, you can add on essentials like an EIN for $50 or other useful but not necessarily vital extras.
The VIP Service includes filing service fees, state filing fees, registered agent services, and an EIN all for a palatable monthly price that depends on the state you’re filing in. You simply pay monthly to Northwest Registered Agent to spread out the expense of filing and to keep registered agent services on hand.
Whether you’re forming a C-corp, S-corp, or nonprofit, Northwest Registered Agent can get you up and running in no time at all.
Registered Agent Services from Northwest Registered Agent
As you can imagine (based on the name), Northwest Registered Agent is known for its registered agent services. Compared to other registered agents on the market today, these services are second to none.
The service is offered in all 50 states.
Northwest Registered Agent goes above and beyond what’s required of a registered agent. They provide all of the basic services like:
- A physical address in your state
- Availability during regular business hours
- Accepting service of process on behalf of your business
But they also offer premium services at no additional cost, including:
- Corporate Guides (local experts to answer questions and provide assistance)
- State compliance notifications
- Pre-filled state-specific forms for fast and easy filing
- Same-day local scans
- Free mail forwarding
- Secure online access and document storage
It’s the best registered agent service for LLCs and corporations on the web. The service costs $125 per year and it comes standard with every business formation package. They also offer bulk discounts. If you need the service in five or more states, the rate drops down to $100 per year.
For those of you who already have an existing business, Northwest Registered Agent makes it easy for you to switch registered agents if you want to benefit from their exceptional service.
With “registered agent” in the business name, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
Overall Pricing and Value
Northwest Registered Agent provides transparent pricing on all of its services. Whether you’re forming an LLC or corporation, the base cost remains the same. They charge $100 + state fees for the filing service and $125 for the registered agent service.
Unlike other business formation services on the web, the registered agent service is not optional. Even though it’s listed as a separate line item on your order, you can’t remove it and get a registered agent elsewhere (although I don’t see why you’d want to).
They don’t offer different pricing tiers or bundles either. Just pay the base rate, and then other add-on services as needed. Popular extras include:
- EIN (tax ID) — $50
- Certified copy of documents — $109
- Premium mail forwarding — $40
- Virtual office — $49
- Certificate of Good Standing — Cost varies by state
- FMCSA BOC-3 filing — $125
- FCC 499-A registration — $125
Generally speaking, Northwest Registered Agent is not one of the cheapest business formation services you’ll find on the web. This is especially true when you start adding upsells to your order.
With that said, you’re paying for better value. If you just look at the prices and compare Northwest Registered Agent to the entry-level plan of a competitor, the starting rates might seem high. But when you start to compare those packages side-by-side, you’ll see that Northwest Registered Agent provides the most bang for your buck.
Of course, you can also go with the VIP Service, which packages together filing fees, EIN, and registered agent services into a monthly bill. This can vary a lot from state to state (as you’re basically paying Northwest Registered Agent back month to month), but several states are as low as $30 to $40 per month for both LLCs and corporations.
Additionally, Northwest Registered Agent has free services as well. If you want to register your LLC or corporation on your own, you can do it directly from their website. They’ll walk you through the process and even provide you with free state-specific documents.
User Experience
The user experience with Northwest Registered Agent can be described in one word—simple.
Everything is transparent and straightforward. The website is clean, easy to navigate, and lets you get started quickly. Once you select your state and entity type, Northwest Registered Agent automatically provides you with state-specific information. It even includes details about the tax rates for your state, documentation required for opening a bank account, and more.
One of my favorite parts about the user experience is that you can skip ahead to view other sections of the form as you’re signing up and going through the process.
Most business formation services force you to create an account and provide certain details about your company before you move on to the next step. But Northwest Registered Agent doesn’t impose these restrictions.
So, you can skip ahead to see the total cost of your order, including the add-ons and state fees, before creating the account. Other services on the web aren’t as transparent, and try to sneak this information in at the end when it’s time to pay (after you’ve already spent a ton of time filling out forms).
From start to finish, you can complete the process in less than ten minutes.
Customer Support
Northwest Registered Agent’s customer service is unmatched—period.
When you call, someone answers. They don’t have phone trees, so the agent you speak with will be able to assist you without having to transfer you to someone else or another department. If you reach their voicemail, they’ll return your call within two hours. You’ll never get a “no-reply” email from them, so you can always reach a representative via email if you have a question. All emails are answered on the same business day. The entire support operation is 100% US-based.
All of the business formation and registered agent services come with Corporate Guides. These are business experts located throughout the country, with local insights related to your business. If you have a question, they can provide an answer.
As a family-owned and operated business, Northwest Registered Agent doesn’t have any partnerships or investors, and they’ll never sell your data to third parties.
They won’t let payments get in the way of providing exceptional service. Northwest Registered Agent understands that mistakes happen, especially when it comes to online payments. That’s why they never charge a late fee.
In short, their customer support is top-notch. I can’t emphasize this enough. If you don’t believe me, just give them a call or send them an email with a general inquiry—you’ll be impressed.
Final Verdict
At the end of the day, we can confidently recommend Northwest Registered Agent. In addition to the registered agent services, it’s a great option for anyone looking to form an LLC or incorporate.
They offer fair and transparent pricing, accompanied by exceptional customer service.
Even if you want to file your formation documents on your own, Northwest Registered Agent provides free document downloads and walks you through the process at no cost.
It’s tough to find anything negative to say about these services.
