Northwest Registered Agent registered agent review (2026)

Northwest at a glance

Our score6.9/10Satisfaction 8.2 · Breadth and dashboard 7 · Value and cost 3.4 · How it's scored

• Mail scanning: Included
• Compliance alerts: Included
• Business address: Sold separately
• Non-US founders: Not published

Trustpilot: 4.1/5 from 306 reviewstrustpilot.com

See Northwest Registered Agent's current plans

How much does Northwest charge each year?

Northwest's agent page gives a single yearly price, $125 per year, and doesn't publish a different renewal figure. Its national page adds a multi-state rate of $100 per state for five or more states.¹

The two numbers to keep apart are the agent fee and the annual report service. Northwest automatically enrolls agent customers in a report filing service that is billed separately at $100 plus state fees, and in Northwest's words, "Renewal service is charged at filing." That charge comes on top of the agent price each time Northwest files a report for you. Our explainer on annual reports shows which part of that bill goes to the state.²

Is the agent free with formation?

Northwest's pages answer this three ways. The corporation page describes its formation price as $39 + state fees, "a total that includes one year of registered agent service." The LLC page lists $39 + State Fees and says nothing about the agent. A third page, the start-a-business hub, reads: "Start your business for $100 plus state fees and get a year of registered agent service."^{3, 4}

So for an LLC, the free agent year has no single published answer. Ask Northwest which figure applies to your order and whether the agent is in it before you pay.

What isn't priced

• A written renewal amount for later years.
• Expedited state filing, which the LLC page doesn't mention.
• The fee for forwarding a paper original after a scanning problem.
• Legal documents above the yearly cap set out in the document storage terms (see the next section).

What happens to mail sent to Northwest's address?

Northwest scans legal papers into your online account and also scans ordinary business mail up to 5 docs per year for free; its terms add a cap on legal documents and destroy paper after a set period, both covered below.¹

On legal papers, Northwest's document storage terms say "we can open, scan, upload and transmit the Legal Documents into your account." Service of process (the papers that start a lawsuit) is the main kind of legal document an agent receives.⁵

A few published limits apply.

1. A cap on legal documents. The same terms say "a fee may be applied to your account for Legal Documents received above the current 15 per year limit." The amount of that fee isn't published, so a company that expects a lot of legal papers, such as one in active litigation, should ask first.¹
2. Paper is kept briefly. The terms say mail is destroyed 30 days after scanning. You can ask for an original only "In the event of any issues with scanning", for a fee, within 30 days of original receipt.^{1, 5}
3. Unlimited scanning is a paid product. Northwest doesn't publish what happens to ordinary mail past the free allowance. Its separate Mail Forwarding is $20 /month and Virtual Office is $29 /month, offered in 24 select states. Northwest says: "With Mail Forwarding and Virtual Office, you get unlimited mail scanning."⁶

What stays off the public record

Northwest writes, "We list OUR business address on your public filings instead of yours." That statement describes the agent field. Every registered agent puts its own address in that field, so this isn't a feature unique to Northwest. The principal office, mailing address and the names of members or organizers are set by each state's law. Northwest's formation listing includes a business address, and it sells separate mail products, but the pages quoted here don't say which of those other fields such an address can fill. Our page on what a registered agent can keep off the record sets out the difference.¹

Reminders and the account

The agent page says "we'll remind you when your deadline is approaching." The annual report page goes further: "We'll track your state's requirements, send reminders when your annual report is due." Northwest lists its offices this way: "We have offices in every state plus D.C. and Puerto Rico."^{1, 2, 7}

How do auto-pay, cancellation and refunds work?

Automatic payment. Northwest's billing page says "Some of our Services are billed via an automatic payment feature unless you choose to opt out." It doesn't say the agent service itself is on auto-pay. It does say "Registered agent customers are automatically enrolled in Compliance Services", and those report filings are part of the annual auto-pay charge. To stop that charge, cancel at least one business day before next charge date.⁸

Cancelling. Northwest's terms read: "You may terminate or cancel your Service anytime by logging onto your account." The same page states "There are no fees to cancel." Cancelling the account doesn't change the state record: the state still lists Northwest as your agent until you file a change, so the safe order runs like this.⁹

1. Pick the new agent, or confirm that your state lets you serve yourself at an in-state street address.
2. File the change of agent with the state and wait for it to be accepted.
3. Cancel in your Northwest account, including the report filing enrollment if you don't want it.

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

Refunds. The policy says "all purchase are final and non-refundable after 90 days" (the wording is Northwest's own). It adds: "All state filing fees are non-refundable." That first sentence doesn't promise a refund inside the window or say how one would be calculated.⁸

What does the Northwest LLC package include?

Northwest lists one LLC package at $39 + State Fees. State fees are extra; Northwest's own estimate is that they are generally $100-$300.⁴

Northwest's LLC page says "Get an address, domain name, website, email address, and phone number for your business for free." Those extras are listed as part of the package price.⁴

The package leaves out some items and leaves others unstated.

• The EIN. Northwest sells the federal tax ID as a separate service, $50 (with SSN) or $200 without SSN.¹⁰
• Processing time. The LLC page gives none.
• Whether the agent year is included. See the pricing section above; the three pages disagree.

Northwest's operating agreement costs nothing; its listing reads "Free template." Its formation listing also shows "Annual renewal/report reminders" under its compliance help, which fits with the reminder wording on the agent page.^{11, 12}

What Northwest doesn't publish

Not found on Northwest Registered Agent's own website: year founded, renewal price, expedited filing, processing time, accepts non-us founders, u.s. bank account help, support hours.

The gaps worth raising with Northwest before buying are the renewal amount in writing, whether your LLC order includes the agent year, and the fee for legal documents over the yearly cap.

Can founders outside the U.S. use Northwest?

Northwest doesn't publish a page saying it serves founders who live outside the U.S., or help with opening a U.S. bank account.

It does sell the federal tax ID to people without a Social Security number: "Our Foreign EIN Service for anyone without a Social Security Number costs $200."¹⁰

If you live abroad, the page comparing agents for non-resident founders lists the providers whose own pages state they serve you.

How do you contact Northwest?

Northwest lists phone, email and a contact form, and says that when you get in touch "a real person picks up the phone or types out a response." The phone line is 509-768-2249.¹³

Northwest doesn't publish support hours, and the support page quoted here doesn't mention live chat. Its contact page gives an address in Spokane, WA.¹⁴

Who do Northwest's published terms suit?

Our Best-for lists are ordered by published facts, then by our score. Here is where Northwest's facts place it in each.

• Owners with an existing company who want ordinary mail scanned. Northwest publishes free scanning of normal business mail (up to 5 docs per year). A standalone price of $125 per year applies from the first year, with no cancellation fee.¹
• On cost, Northwest's $125 per year is one of the lower standalone prices among the registered agent services compared on price. Harbor Compliance starts lower, at $99 first year, but renews at $159 annually. Northwest's LLC package is $39 + State Fees, but whether that includes the agent year is unclear for LLCs.¹⁵
• Compliance. Northwest files annual reports for you, sold separately at $100 plus state fees with automatic enrollment. On the compliance list, providers that include filing in a plan come first, so Northwest sits in the group that sells it separately.
• First-time founders. On the first-time founder list, Northwest includes none of the three supports in a plan. Report filing is a paid service, and Northwest doesn't publish business coaching or AI guidance.
• Northwest sells 5 of the 10 business service types we track, with an online account. See the all-in-one list.
• For privacy, Northwest sells Mail Forwarding at $20 /month, which places it on the business address list.
• Northwest isn't on the non-U.S. founder list, because Northwest doesn't publish that it serves founders abroad.

Some owners should look further first.

• You want a free agent year written into your LLC order.
• You receive more ordinary mail than the free allowance (up to 5 docs per year) and don't want a monthly product.¹
• You might want money back after the refund window closes.

See Northwest Registered Agent's current plans

Which providers make a different trade-off?

Each of these differs from Northwest on a published point. Figures come from each provider's own site.

InCorp Services, if you want a stated renewal history and same-day scans. InCorp lists $129/year, described as "a flat $129 per year that has increased exactly once since 1998," though its terms of service allow it to charge "the then current registered agent service fee." It says "Legal documents scanned and delivered to you the same day they arrive." Its report filing service is $89 + state fees. Cancelling is stricter than at Northwest; InCorp's terms read "You will satisfy at least one of the following cancellation conditions", and the condition has to be met before the yearly fee falls due. Read the InCorp review.^{16, 17, 18, 19}

Harbor Compliance, if you want the agent named in the formation package. Harbor's formation page lists "Name check, articles, registered agent, EIN, operating agreement." Its agent starts at $99 first year and renews at $159 annually. The terms are tighter: notice must be given at least 90 days before the end of the current term. See the Harbor Compliance review.^{15, 20, 21}

LegalZoom, if you live outside the U.S. LegalZoom states it forms LLCs "with no Social Security number, residency, or travel required" and offers help opening a U.S. bank account, with free setup (Pro and Premium). Its agent costs $249/year for first-time agent customers. See the LegalZoom review.^{22, 23}

Head-to-heads: Northwest vs Bizee, Northwest vs LegalZoom and Tailor Brands vs Northwest. The full comparison table has every provider, and how we score explains the order.

• Tailor Brands review
• ZenBusiness review
• LegalZoom review
• Bizee (formerly Incfile) review
• Swyft Filings review
• doola review
• Rocket Lawyer review
• InCorp Services review
• Harbor Compliance review