I’ve tested the 13 best registered agent services in Minnesota. Here’s my review.

I’ve never minded legwork, so I saw my lack of knowledge about Minnesota registered agents as an opportunity, rather than a roadblock.

Thanks to months of extensive research and first-hand experience, I’ve compiled a comprehensive list of 13 great options for a registered agent in Minnesota—with one clear winner.

If you’re new to business or need a new registered agent for your LLC, keep reading. I’ve probably spent more time researching registered agent services than anyone you’ll ever meet.

After clocking countless hours of research, phone calls, and sign-up systems, I’ve chosen Northwest Registered Agent as my #1 recommendation for a Minnesota registered agent.

Here’s why: 

• They have an easy sign-up system.
• They have a physical street address in all 50 states.
• They send reminders about ALL compliance dates I need to meet to stay in good standing with the Minnesota Secretary of State.
• They are available during normal business hours to receive, upload, and forward ALL my mail.
• They keep an updated online account where I can view all my important documents.
• They are affordable at $125. 

After my first Google search for “Minnesota registered agent service,” I was overwhelmed. Finding a registered agent in Minnesota that checked all my boxes was like finding a needle in a haystack . . . except the needle would be in charge of my personal information and legal standing with the Minnesota Secretary of State.

Northwest’s list was impressive, to say the least. After examining the website and online reviews of over 60 Minnesota registered agents, this list boosted Northwest Registered Agent to my top three.

If you’re like me, after reading this list of agent services you’re thinking, Is it too good to be true? To find hidden flaws in their otherwise spotless presentation, I investigated a feature that usually makes or breaks a Minnesota registered agent service: customer service.

And their customer service was great, too! The agent who took my call answered my random registered agent-related questions AND general business questions.

If you’re like me, now you’ll be thinking, What credibility do they have to be handing out small business advice? As it turns out, every customer support agent on Northwest’s team has professional experience in the business world as past lawyers, accountants, and so on.

So while that list of features caught my attention, the customer support secured Northwest Registered Agent as my top registered agent service in Minnesota.

If your Minnesota LLC could use a quality registered agent service that offers business guidance, check out Northwest Registered Agent.

I was impressed by Harbor Compliance.

They’re professional and complete all the duties a registered agent must. I wasn’t worrying about getting on the Minnesota Secretary of State’s bad side. Your LLC must have a physical address on the books, and they’ll get you one, and they offer some nice add-ons, like compliance alerts.

The dedicated account manager was another nice surprise. After I signed up, he was there (during regular business hours) to answer my questions about my business’s account.

The dedicated account manager isn’t the same as Northwest’s customer support. BUT you’re not paying for small business advice, either. 

At $99, Harbor Compliance is a good, fairly priced option for business entities on a budget.

If you’re ready to change your Minnesota registered agent service, visit Harbor Compliance.

*Prices listed do not include the filing fee.

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My Process

To help you form your LLC with the help of the best registered agent, I sifted through over 60 registered agents in Minnesota and personally signed up for 13 of them.

My Start

I’ve always been a hands-on learner. My teachers may not have appreciated how fidgety that made me, but I couldn’t help it.

As I grew out of classrooms and entered the business world, I realized something important: while I am a hands-on learner, I also have trouble trusting others. Why listen to someone else’s opinion when I could do it myself in the first place? 

Through the years, those trust issues actually came in handy. I was particularly motivated to do the groundwork necessary to pursue business ventures and execute different ideas.

The only downside is that making decisions can be really hard. Especially a decision like which registered agent to go with.

First of all, none of my fellow business owners knew any more than I did about what a registered agent was supposed to do. We all assumed they were glorified PO boxes.

But when it came to starting a business in Minnesota, I realized just how much registered agents are responsible for. They’re the liaison between your LLC and the legal world. These are the people who will be interacting with the Minnesota Secretary of State, if need be.

After my rant about how difficult it was to find a Minnesota registered agent, also called a statutory agent, one of buddies finally said, “Sounds like you’ll have to try them all!” 

Funny enough, that exasperated comment fueled the next few months of research. I spent all those months investigating every registered agent in Minnesota I could find. I ended up signing up for 13 of them, backing up my online research with personal experience.

My Criteria

When it comes to a statutory agent responsible for your personal information AND legal documents, you can’t be too careful. But how can you tell which registered agent services are “good”? My list of criteria, of course!

First up: no upselling. I wanted a Minnesota registered agent that could deliver on what they advertised and not hide fees in the fine print.

I wanted a registered agent that offered everything in their advertised “full package,” so I researched just what the “full package” was:

• Serve as a point of contact for your Minnesota LLC to accept documents (like service of process) on behalf of your business from the Minnesota Secretary of State
• Provide a physical address in Minnesota to list on paperwork and your Articles of Organization during your LLC formation
• Receive, process, and forward all mail sent to your Minnesota business entity during regular hours
• Keep an updated online account with scans of legal notices and documents
• Send compliance alerts about important deadlines (e.g. annual reports, hearings, etc.)

I also looked for a Minnesota registered agent with at least 10 years in business. In this field, lack of experience can cost your business A LOT. I didn’t want to risk a newbie misplacing my mail or slacking on business correspondence.

Finally, any registered agent in Minnesota that made the cut would have an easy-to-navigate website. An online presence is a must these days, and I can’t waste precious time figuring out a website when I have a ton of paperwork to do.

My Journey

Thanks to my learning style and obsession with doing things myself, I completed my quest for the best Minnesota registered agent. But it wasn’t easy.

I got really good at reading the fine print. That took out a chunk of options that hid “add-ons” at the bottom of the page, most of which should’ve been included in the package in the first place.

After that, there were quite a few clunky websites that seemed scammy. Those registered agent services hadn’t invested in making themselves accessible and up to date, and they were cut.

Others advertised themselves as “fresh faces” in the industry. That told me they didn’t have the track record to deserve my trust.

After all that, I was left with 13 options, including one clear winner.

Here’s what I found.

My Results

Finding a registered agent in Minnesota that met ALL my criteria was difficult, to say the least. After narrowing down 60 registered agents to 13, I came up with a top 2 and 11 honorable mentions:

My Favorite Registered Agent Service: Northwest Registered Agent

Northwest Registered Agent is my top pick because they’re well established, well supported, and a great value option.

My Experience

Like I said, Northwest Registered Agent checked off all my boxes. They provide a physical street address in the state of Minnesota so you can keep the registered agent’s name on public record. They’ll assist with your Articles of Organization, too, which is nice considering all the paperwork you have to get through during LLC formation.

The registered office will be on the Secretary of State’s website and every other official document for your Minnesota LLC (limited liability company). That’s the address that will accept legal documents on your behalf, including service of process.

As you can imagine, serving as a point of contact for the Secretary of State and other emissaries of the state is an important job. But in my experience, Northwest handled all incoming documents smoothly.

Every piece of mail sent to my business address in Minnesota was forwarded to me. All important legal documents were promptly scanned and uploaded to my online portal.

As an added bonus, Northwest also sends compliance deadline alerts and provides a personalized filing calendar. When it comes to forming your Minnesota LLC and keeping your LLC in compliance, filing your annual report, annual renewal, and paying every LLC filing fee are critical factors. 

That’s all good and well, but does it explain why Northwest Registered Agent is at the top of my list? Not entirely. That would be because of their customer support department.

Northwest’s customer support agents, known as Corporate Guides, are an in-house team of former professionals with experience in every business-related field you can think of. From marketing agents to entrepreneurs, these people know their stuff

And that’s exactly what gives Northwest an edge over other registered agents. Thanks to their real-life experience, they answer questions specific to their registered agent service AND small business questions.

Whenever I encountered a bump in the road—which happened A LOT— I could call the Corporate Guides to get good advice that was actually helpful.

My Recommendation 

I recommend Northwest Registered Agent for their quality registered agent services and exceptional customer support. 

They fulfilled all the legal obligations a registered agent must AND offered small business guidance I didn’t find anywhere else in the state of Minnesota. After experiencing their services first-hand, I had no issues trusting them with my mail, personal information, and legal documents (like service of process).

If your LLC needs a Minnesota registered agent service, give Northwest Registered Agent a chance.

My Second Pick: Harbor Compliance

Harbor Compliance is another reliable option that rises above other Minnesota registered agent services for its personalized service and covers all the essentials.

My Experience

Harbor Compliance is great with the essentials. They complete all the legal tasks a registered agent must to keep your business in good standing with the Minnesota Secretary of State.

That is, they’ll assign you a physical address in Minnesota, where they’ll accept service of process and all mail that comes your way during regular business hours. 

Like Northwest, Harbor Compliance is a registered agent service with a compliance deadline alert system, keeping you organized and punctual with your annual report, online filings, and other paperwork.

They even throw in a dedicated account manager to help you get through the next steps after signing up. She was great for answering any questions I had related to my registered agent service. BUT that isn’t the same as small business advice.

My Recommendation

While Harbor Compliance doesn’t have any remarkable features, they are competent enough to be trusted with your personal information, mail, and documents.

Overall, Harbor Compliance gained my vote because they were the one of the most reliable options I found AND covered all the essentials I was looking for in a Minnesota registered agent service. 

If you go with them, you’ll have a registered agent’s name and address to keep on file, a registered office to receive documents on behalf of your LLC, and quality services to keep you in compliance with the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office.

Visit Harbor Compliance if your business entity could use a dedicated account manager who’ll take care of the essentials.

The Other Registered Agent Services

Apart from my top two picks, I signed up with another 11 registered agents in Minnesota, listed here in no particular order: 

Rapid Registered Agent—A few fun features

Rapid Registered Agent is another Minnesota registered agent service worth mentioning.

For $120, they’ll cover the basics a registered agent should, including service of process, AND they’ll autofill forms for you, starting with your change of registered agent paperwork. If you hate paperwork as much as I do, you’ll appreciate that future.

But Rapid Registered Agent is more expensive than Harbor Compliance but they don’t have the customer support that Northwest does.

Rocket Lawyer—Great for online legal services

Rocket Lawyer’s services are twofold: they’re a registered agent service AND source of legal services.

They’re pricey at $149, but that’s because they’re big on legal consultations and documents. If your limited liability company needs LLC formation and online legal services, Rocket Lawyer could be worth the price.

Team ‘Nothing Special’

Each registered agent service on Team “Nothing Special” has its pros and cons, but they’re all so similar that it’s not worth examining each one individually.

This group includes Registered Agents Inc. ($200), IncFile ($119), ZenBusiness ($199), Swyft Filings ($159), SunDoc Filings ($159), Jumpstart Filings ($150), and InCorp ($129).

They’ll get you a name and address and accept service of process on your behalf, but they’re not the best value options.

Team ‘Big Brand’

Speaking of value, Team “Big Brand” certainly values reputation. This includes CSC Global ($299) and LegalZoom ($299), both of which are known for their “premium” services.

Don’t get me wrong—they’re perfectly good at fulfilling the obligations a Minnesota registered agent must. But their prices are so high that they’re not a great value option, and I’m all about value.

If you’re looking for a commercial registered agent that has a reputation in the registered agent world, Team “Big Brand” could be for you. But if you don’t care about logos and don’t want to pay extra for a big identity theft protection policy, there are plenty of other registered agents for you.

Wrapping It All Up 

When I found out that nobody had ever conducted a comprehensive search of (almost) every registered agent in Minnesota, I was ready.

Out of all those registered agent services, I recommend Northwest Registered Agent. 

Northwest does everything a Minnesota registered agent must to keep your business in good standing with the Minnesota Secretary of State. They’re available during normal business hours to receive service of process and forward all your mail.

They also send compliance alerts to remind you about online filings and keep your business services on track. Unlike most other Minnesota registered agents, they assist with your Articles of Organization as well.

But that’s not all. What makes Northwest Registered Agent so great isn’t just the span and quality of their services—it’s the customer support.

Their Corporate Guides are cream of the crop. Every other Minnesota registered agent I investigated had customer support agents that were either vague and underwhelming or nice and professional. However, Northwest was the only registered agent I found that had customer support agents that gave small business advice on top of being nice and professional.

Those Corporate Guides have real-life experience in professional fields like marketing, accounting, and entrepreneurship. Thanks to those lived experiences, they were equipped to troubleshoot problems my business encountered on a daily basis.

Thanks to their professionalism and efficiency as a registered agent AND exceptional customer support and business services, I 100% recommend Northwest Registered Agent to anyone looking to appoint a registered agent for their LLC.

Visit their website at Northwest Registered Agent.