Northwest Registered Agent vs LegalZoom

Where do Northwest and LegalZoom differ?

They differ on price, renewal wording, ordinary mail, cancelling and refunds, and the range of services sold. The legal job is the same at both.

Each lists its own address as your agent on the public record, receives lawsuits and state notices, and uploads them to an online account.

"Score" is our editorial score out of 10, built from published facts: half from the Trustpilot rating, the rest from breadth of services, dashboard and mail scanning, and package value and two-year cost (how we score; scores approved 2026-10-14). We don't test services. Trustpilot ratings are third-party, cited to Trustpilot, and not adjusted.

The table above shows what each one publishes on the three supports we track for new founders and how many business service types each sells. The list below picks out the categories where they land apart.

Northwest Registered Agent: $125 per year; One year of registered agent service included with formation ($39 + state fees), as stated on the corporation page. Northwest Registered Agent website, northwestregisteredagent.com/registered-agent

LegalZoom: $249/year (first-time registered agent customers); renews at the purchase rate each year; rate subject to change. LegalZoom website, legalzoom.com/business/business-operations/registered-agent-overview.html

• All-in-one platform: LegalZoom sells 8 of the 10 business service types we track; Northwest Registered Agent sells 5.
• Founders outside the U.S.: LegalZoom publishes an option for founders outside the U.S. (see its review); Northwest Registered Agent doesn't publish one.

The legal requirement is identical for both: a street address in your state where process can be served. Neither can help you around it, and neither needs to.

On first-time founder support and on compliance, the two sit in the same tier. Neither folds annual report filing into another plan's price; both sell it as a paid add-on, and neither publishes coaching or AI guidance, so our score decides their order there.

How do the yearly price and renewal compare?

Northwest charges $125 per year for its agent and says that price has "no hidden fees or per document charges." LegalZoom charges $249/year, with a footnote that reads "Purchase price only available for first time registered agent customers." If neither price changes, the same gap repeats in the second year.^{1, 2}

Renewal wording is where the two pages read differently. LegalZoom states it outright: "The service auto-renews at the purchase rate each year until you cancel." It then adds, "The renewal rate is subject to change." So the starting price is the renewal price for now, with no promise attached.²

Northwest's agent page names one price and doesn't publish a different renewal amount. Its billing page is vaguer. It says "Some of our Services are billed via an automatic payment feature unless you choose to opt out," and it doesn't say the agent service is one of them. Its annual report page is clearer: "When you sign up for our registered agent services, you'll automatically be enrolled in our renewal service." That renewal service files the annual report for $100 plus state fees, and, in Northwest's words, "Renewal service is charged at filing." The billing terms say to cancel at least one business day before next charge date to stop a charge.^{3, 4}

A few smaller price points separate them.

• Northwest has a volume rate of $100 per state for five or more states. LegalZoom's agent page doesn't publish a multi-state rate.¹
• LegalZoom's one-time report filing is $99 plus state fees, and its page notes "Bills once." Its ongoing Compliance Filings plan is listed as "Starts at $199/year" with the note "Auto-renews. Cancel anytime."^{5, 6}
• Both charge the state's own report fee on top. Our explainer on annual reports separates the state's share from the provider's.

For the lowest published agent prices across every provider we compare, see registered agent services ranked on price.

What does each agent service include?

Both upload legal papers to your account; they part ways on ordinary mail. Northwest scans and uploads normal business mail, up to 5 docs per year, at no charge.¹

LegalZoom's wording is looser. It says, "For all other mail, we will upload the documents to your account and email you." It doesn't publish a limit or a price for that.²

Northwest's terms add limits of a kind LegalZoom doesn't publish. Legal papers are capped: "a fee may be applied to your account for Legal Documents received above the current 15 per year limit." Scanned mail is destroyed 30 days after scanning. Originals can be sent to you for a fee, but only "In the event of any issues with scanning," so forwarding is a fallback, not a feature of the agent plan.^{1, 7}

LegalZoom describes its upload service this way: "Documents scanned and uploaded for digital access from anywhere." Its agent terms carry one rule worth reading before you buy: "You may not list the Registered Address in your company's public media." In other words, the agent address is for the public record, not for the company's own public media.²

Reminders come with both. Northwest says, "we'll remind you when your deadline is approaching." LegalZoom lists "Email reminders about annual report deadlines through the Compliance Calendar," and also says you'll get alerts when you receive notices.^{1, 2}

Northwest also sells business address products on their own. Its Mail Forwarding product is $20 /month and its Virtual Office is $29 /month, both listed for 24 select states, and Northwest says, "With Mail Forwarding and Virtual Office, you get unlimited mail scanning." LegalZoom doesn't publish a business address product. Every agent, including these two, puts its own address in the agent field, so that part of privacy is the same at both; our page on what an agent can keep off the public record explains which other fields stay public.⁸

Northwest says it has offices in every state plus D.C. and Puerto Rico.⁹

How hard is it to cancel, and can you get a refund?

Cancelling online is possible at both, but only Northwest states there is no fee. Its terms read, "You may terminate or cancel your Service anytime by logging onto your account," and add "There are no fees to cancel."¹⁰

LegalZoom's terms allow cancelling by phone at (888) 310-0151 or online. Its overview page warns that "we may require proof that a new registered agent has been designated with your state." That fits the usual order for switching agents.¹¹

1. Pick the new agent and file the state's change-of-agent form.
2. Wait for the state to accept it.
3. Cancel the old service, and keep the state's confirmation in case the provider asks for it.

Our guide to changing your registered agent covers the state filing, and the guide to cancelling a registered agent covers the provider side.

Refunds run on very different rules. Northwest says that "all purchase are final and non-refundable after 90 days," and that "All state filing fees are non-refundable." That clause says when a purchase becomes final; it doesn't describe how refunds work before then.³

LegalZoom's agent terms promise a refund only in one case: "As your sole remedy, LegalZoom will refund you any prepaid fees specifically related to the current RA Service Term." That clause covers the case where LegalZoom ends the service. Its general guarantee allows subscription refunds within 30 days of initial subscription purchase. Whether the agent service counts as such a subscription, the guarantee doesn't say, and that leaves owners who change their minds without a clear answer. Neither publishes a plain refund promise for the agent service itself.¹¹

How do their LLC formation packages differ?

Northwest's LLC page lists one package and LegalZoom's lists three, and the state fee is extra at both.

Northwest's LLC page lists $39 + State Fees and says, "Get an address, domain name, website, email address, and phone number for your business for free." Its operating agreement is listed as a "Free template", and its EIN service costs $50 (with SSN). Whether the agent comes free with an LLC is unclear from Northwest's own pages. The corporation page prices formation at $39 + state fees, "a total that includes one year of registered agent service." The LLC page doesn't say the agent is included. And the start-a-business page reads, "Start your business for $100 plus state fees and get a year of registered agent service." Ask Northwest which applies before you order.^{12, 13, 14, 15}

LegalZoom's Basic package is $0 plus state fees and lists "Articles of organization" and a "Name check service, to confirm that your preferred business name is available." The agent isn't on that list. Pro at $249 adds an "Operating agreement," an "EIN (federal tax ID)," and "Unlimited 30-minute attorney consultations about new legal topics related to your business," and LegalZoom gives the attorney plan's terms as 30 days included, then $49/month auto-renew. Premium at $299 adds bookkeeping tools, whose terms read 180 days included, then $9.99/month auto-renew. Outside a package, LegalZoom's EIN is $79, and "Operating agreements start at $99."^{16, 17, 18}

LegalZoom's Pro and Premium each include a subscription that starts billing once its included period ends, so unless you cancel in time, the package price isn't the whole first-year cost. Our all-in-one services page compares how far each provider goes beyond the agent.

Which should you pick?

Pick by the category that fits your situation. Each line names the fact that decides it.

• Lowest cost: Northwest, at $125 per year against $249/year for a first-time LegalZoom customer. See the price comparison.
• For an all-in-one platform, LegalZoom sells 8 of the 10 business service types we track; Northwest sells 5. See all-in-one services.
• Founders outside the U.S.: LegalZoom says you can form an LLC "with no Social Security number, residency, or travel required," with bank setup ("We help open your account with providers within days of formation.") and an EIN without a Social Security number included in Pro and Premium. Northwest sells a foreign EIN ("Our Foreign EIN Service for anyone without a Social Security Number costs $200.") but doesn't publish that it serves non-U.S. founders generally. See agents for non-resident founders.^{14, 19}
• If privacy is the reason, Northwest sells a separate Mail Forwarding address at $20 /month; LegalZoom doesn't publish a business address product. See agents compared on privacy.⁸
• For first-time founders and for compliance, the two tie on the facts, since both sell annual report filing only as a paid add-on and neither publishes coaching or AI guidance, so LegalZoom comes first on our score. See agents for first-time founders and agents for compliance.

The full write-ups are the Northwest review and the LegalZoom review. For other pairings, see Northwest vs Bizee, LegalZoom vs Bizee, or every provider on the comparison table. How we score explains the order.