I’ve tested the 14 best Missouri registered agent services. Here’s my review.

I had always been skeptical about the whole Missouri registered agent industry. I heard a lot of horror stories from friends and family involving their daily interactions with registered agents in the Show-Me State. This skepticism developed into a full blown phobia of registered agents that prevented me from taking the leap to start a business.

In an effort to put my mind at ease, I embarked on a compulsive year-long quest to find the best registered agent service in Missouri. After 12 long months of testing and reviewing over 50 registered agents in the state, I was able to pinpoint the 14 best registered agent services in Missouri.

Here are the results of my research.

Northwest Registered Agent ranks first on my list because of their incredibly prompt customer service, highly reliable registered agent service, commitment to safeguarding their customers’ personal data, and hundreds of favorable internet reviews.

Northwest Registered Agent distinguish themselves from many other Missouri registered agent service providers by providing the following services:

• They have a registered office address in all 50 states.
• They will scan and upload ALL my mail, whether legal or nonlegal.
• They provide an online account where I can view all my important documents.
• They cost only $125.
• They have a really simple and intuitive sign-up system.
• They let me know about any and all compliance dates I need to meet to stay in good standing with the Missouri Secretary of State, including my annual report.
• They accept service of process and other official communication on behalf of my limited liability company (LLC).
• They provide a registered office address that I can use while hiding my actual street address details from public record.

Northwest Registered Agent protects my privacy and guarantees a constant level of quality by keeping all aspects of their business in-house. In fact, their “Privacy by Default” policy is one of the reasons they rank so high on my list. They ensure that my sensitive data is kept away from third party services who might sell it to unknown entities.

To top it all off, their customer support is hands down the best you’ll get from a registered agent in Missouri. 

When I contacted one of their support personnel, I was amazed by how incredibly polite and courteous she was even as I bombarded her with irrelevant questions about their registered agent services. She not only answered them respectfully but also went out of her way to provide credible business advice.

I later learned that their entire support team is made up of business experts with deep knowledge of how to operate a business in Missouri. They are the main reason why Northwest Registered Agent is my favorite Missouri registered agent.

One minor critique is that their service, which costs $125 per year, is slightly more expensive than some of their rivals in the market. But considering the wide range of business services they offer and their exceptional customer support, they are more than worth the price.

If you need a Missouri registered agent service that will never disappoint you, then Northwest Registered Agent is the best choice for your Missouri LLC.

Affordable registered agent services, swift and transparent service, and the inclusion of a dedicated account manager are the reasons why Harbor Compliance is #2 on my list.

They cater to everything my Missouri LLC needs to stay in compliance with the law, including filing my Articles of Incorporation with the Missouri Secretary of State, providing a registered office in the state that can accept service of process and other official documents, and giving me access to their amazing compliance software that notifies me whenever I need to renew my business license or file an annual report.

Their inclusion of a dedicated account manager is a welcome bonus. However, these managers only assist with service related issues and do not offer the quality business advice I get from Northwest Registered Agent.

Visit the Harbor Compliance website to learn more about their services.

*Prices listed are per state, per year and do not include state fees.

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My Process

I had to conduct extensive research on over 50 Missouri registered agents in the state of Missouri. I obviously had a lot of work ahead of me.

My Start

I have always dreamed of starting an LLC in Missouri. However, after talking to a few of my entrepreneur friends and family members about my aspirations, I suddenly got cold feet.

I mean, don’t get me wrong. They were very supportive and helpful, but they also warned me about phony companies that masquerade as legitimate registered agents, and if I wasn’t careful in my choice of Missouri registered agents, I would end up paying a hefty price just like they did.

A bogus registered agent does not care about their customers’ sensitive data and will sell it to third-party services just to make a quick buck. This exposes their clients’ businesses to hackers and other malicious entities. They will also delay service of process notifications, which attracts hefty fines or the cancellation of business licenses.

With over 50 registered agents to choose from, I was at a loss to know who to trust. 

That’s when I had a brainwave. If I can’t trust any of them, why not try them all and choose the best. It was the only way to put my mind at rest on this issue, once and for all.

I pulled out my credit card, signed up to every Missouri registered agent and started what would become an arduous 12-month investigative process. 

My Criteria

Before I dove head first into the murky mess that is the Missouri registered agent industry, I developed a list of criteria that would assist me in weeding out the best commercial registered agent services from the underperformers.

First, I needed to eliminate the registered agent service providers that indulged in aggressive upsells and other deceptive marketing techniques. My preferred registered agent in Missouri needed to offer the following services at a clear-cut price with no hidden charges:

• File and submit my Articles of Organization to the Missouri Secretary of State in due time.
• Provide a registered office address in Missouri that can accept service of process and other official documents from the office of the Missouri Secretary of State.
• Scan, upload, and forward ALL my mail to a secure online document portal.
• Issue notices of compliance for annual report filing or updating of licenses.
• Maintain a physical address in Missouri that I can use while hiding my actual street address details from public record.
• Be available all week during regular business hours.

Any registered agent in Missouri that didn’t provide the essentials mentioned above was removed from my list. 

Second, any Missouri registered agent that I could consider as “reliable” needed to have a proven track record of dependability and service delivery. I wanted a registered agent that was in good standing with the Missouri Secretary of State. My basic minimum requirement was at least 10 years of operational experience.

Third was the integration of modern technologies in service delivery. I needed a registered agent service that is in tune with the times. They need to have a well-designed website, an easy-to-use sign-up procedure, and a bug-free email system. Every aspect of their services should be designed to save time and money.

Lastly, their customer support team needed to be courteous and polite when answering my calls. Running a business is hard enough without suffering curt and unfriendly service representatives. 

My Journey

Using my carefully crafted criteria, I was able to distinguish between authentic and fake Missouri registered agent service providers. 

There were Missouri registered agent service providers that advertised reasonably priced services but then charged additional fees for “add-ons” that were essentially ordinary LLC (limited liability company) services. Any Missouri registered agent service that employed this deceptive marketing strategy was eliminated from my list.

After that, I researched the history of the remaining Missouri registered agent services and discovered that over half of them had only been in business for a few years, and the bad customer reviews they received was enough to convince me to eliminate them from my list.

Next, I looked at their sign-up methods, how user-friendly their online systems were, and whether they employed any other current forms of communication technology. Any Missouri registered agent who still used a fax machine or had a broken website was a no-go.

Last, I spoke with the customer service representatives of the remaining registered agent service providers simply to see how they behaved. I firmly believe that respect and courtesy are the cornerstones of every customer care department, regardless of industry. So any Missouri registered agent with rude and disrespectful customer service employees was also removed from my list.

After reviewing and testing over 50 registered agents, I had whittled down my list to 14 Missouri registered agent service providers that I could trust.

My Results

Below are the results of 12 months of strenuous research to figure out which are the best Missouri registered agent service providers.

My Favorite Registered Agent Service: Northwest Registered Agent

Northwest Registered Agent is by far the best registered agent in Missouri. Their wide range of reliable services and exceptional customer support give them a competitive edge over their rivals in the industry.

My Experience

Northwest Registered Agent checked all the boxes in my review criteria. To start with, they are a seasoned family-run business with over 20 years experience in the Missouri registered agent industry. They have established a foothold in all 50 states and can help me register and do business in any state.

As part of their registered agent service, they filed my Articles of Organization with the Missouri Secretary of State, and they allowed me to list their registered office address as my principal address on public record, thus protecting my information (data protection is a key pillar of their service). They regularly scan and upload all my documents to a secure online account, keep track of my annual reports and send reminders so I don’t miss important deadlines, and they maintain a physical address in Missouri where they can accept service of process on behalf of my Missouri LLC (limited liability company) during regular business hours.

Northwest Registered Agent also offers one of the best user interfaces in the business. I was up and running with their services in minutes, with no glitches.

If you thought their services were awesome, wait till you learn about their Corporate Guides.

They are a team of highly qualified US-based business experts that handle all of Northwest Registered Agent’s customer service issues. They are what makes Northwest Registered Agent one of the best registered agent service options. 

I can call them up any day (available during normal business hours of course), and they’ll never hesitate to pick my call. In the unlikely event that my call isn’t answered, they usually call back within two hours. There are also no phone trees, so I’m never transferred from one employee to another. They are very polite, patient, and respectful and live up to Northwest Registered Agent’s trademark phrase of “We’re just not annoying.”

However, the reason I give them such high praise is that unlike most Missouri registered agents, Northwest Registered Agent’s Corporate Guides go above and beyond their service mandate to provide astounding small business advice. 

When I had problems sourcing qualified employees for my business, one of the Corporate Guides gave me great advice on how to find the best workers for my business.

No other commercial registered agent in Missouri provides this level of customer support.

My Recommendation 

Many Northwest Registered Agent reviews affirm that they are one of the greatest registered agent service providers in Missouri. Their service is swift and efficient, and their Corporate Guides are highly knowledgeable. 

You can rely on them to accept legal documents and provide fast assistance. Northwest Registered Agent goes above and beyond to make registering and maintaining a business in Missouri as simple as possible, and they do so at an affordable price with no hidden fees.

For reliable services and customer service you can count on, sign up with Northwest Registered Agent today.

My Budget Pick: Harbor Compliance

Harbor Compliance is #2 on my list because they offer highly affordable services and they include a dedicated account manager who assists me with all my service-related issues.

My Experience

Founded in 2012, Harbor Compliance can be considered the new kid on the block. They are the youngest company on this list. But don’t worry. They are a major force to reckon with in the Missouri registered agent industry.

Their services are mostly aimed at bigger firms with more complex compliance requirements, but they also cater to small businesses. They have fast turnaround times, making them an ideal choice if you need to get your business up and running as soon as possible.

Harbor Compliance is one of the few commercial registered agents that have their own local offices in all 50 states rather than relying on legal partners to do the job. They took care of my Articles of Organization, provided a registered office address in Missouri that can accept service of process and other legal documents from the Secretary of State’s office, and they also provide compliance updates so that I don’t miss important filing dates.

Their dedicated account manager helped me gather the necessary business and legal documents and filed my paperwork. She was able to answer any concerns I had regarding LLC creation procedures while also taking my individual needs and situation into account.

However, there are a few chinks in their armor. Their refund policy is less lenient than that of some of their competitors. When I inquired about their cancellation policy with the account manager, I was informed that they do not provide prorated refunds if their service is canceled. A refund is only available if the service is canceled immediately after it is ordered and before they have been recognized as a registered agent by the Secretary of State’s office.

Also, the dedicated account manager only provides assistance with service-related issues and does not go the extra mile to offer small business advice like their counterparts at Northwest Registered Agent. The dedicated account manager, however, is not without its uses.

My Recommendation

Harbor Compliance is the most economical commercial registered agent in Missouri. They are a reputable organization that provides dependable registered agent services.

They will make certain that your business entity remains on the right side of the law in Missouri and that your legal obligations to the Secretary of State are met. If you encounter any difficulties, their dedicated account manager will guide you through the sign-up process and provide personalized service-related assistance throughout your LLC journey.

To learn more about Harbor Compliance’s registered agent services, go to their website today.

The Other Registered Agent Services

I examined 12 more commercial registered agents in addition to my two favorite Missouri registered agents. They don’t have much to offer, but I thought I’d mention them.

Rapid Registered Agent—A few fun features

Rapid Registered Agents provide just the bare essentials (for $120 plus state fees) you expect from a commercial registered agent service in the state of Missouri. These include forwarding of service of process to multiple contacts by email with an optional notification by text message, automatic generation of common documents required by the Missouri Secretary of State, and an online dashboard that can access multiple accounts.

However, they still adopt ancient technology like the use of fax machines to notify you of incoming documents and deadlines.

Rocket Lawyer—Great for online legal services

Established in 2008, Rocket Lawyer is well known for providing affordable online legal service to its customers. They are a good destination for those looking for proven business incorporation and legal support under one roof.

However, they charge $149 (plus filing fee) for their registered agent service and their business services are very limited. They’ll only file your Articles of Incorporation and accept Services of Process on your behalf.

Team ‘Nothing Special’

This group includes companies like Jumpstart Filings ($150), SunDoc Filings ($159), ZenBusiness ($199), Registered Agents Inc. ($200), and Incorporate.com ($235). 

They provide essential registered agent services in Missouri, such as accepting service of process and a physical address that receives mail on behalf of your business, but they don’t have any special features that differentiate them from the rest of the competition.

Team ‘Big Brand’

LegalZoom ($299), Wolters Kluwer ($305), CT Corporation ($319), National Registered Agents, Inc ($405), SwiftFilings ($149), and CSC Global ($299) are some of Missouri’s big-name registered agent service providers that don’t offer any interesting services other than nice-looking websites and competent marketing specialists but are happy to charge exorbitant fees for what is essentially the same service as Northwest Registered Agent.

Wrapping It All Up

After 12 long months of researching and testing over 50 registered agent service providers in Missouri, I can safely say that my phobia of commercial agents is over and dealt with. This is because Northwest Registered Agent has proven to be a safe and reliable option for establishing my limited liability company in the state of Missouri.

For just $125, they will take care of all my business’s needs:

• Scanning and uploading of ALL my mail, whether legal or nonlegal
• Accepting of service of process and other official communication on behalf of my limited liability company
• A registered office address that I can use while hiding my actual street address details from public record
• An online account where I can view all my important documents
• A simple and intuitive online sign-up system
• Compliance alerts for annual report filing or updating of licenses
• Filing and submitting my Articles of Organization to the Missouri Secretary of State in record time

Their Corporate Guides are the main highlight of their services. They are courteous and helpful and are available during normal business hours to provide much needed small business advice that assists me in the daily operations of my business. 

If you are looking for a registered agent in Missouri that can provide you with expert business guidance as well as a wide range of comprehensive services for your LLC, look no further than Northwest Registered Agent.