The right Minnesota registered agent will responsibly guard your personal data and assets and keep your business in good standing with the Secretary of State.
The wrong Minnesota registered agent will be reckless with your data, negligent in keeping you in compliance with the state, and will charge you more than their advertised price.
I've investigated 60+ registered agents, assessed the top 12, and written in-depth reviews of the three best. Here are my picks for the best registered agent service in Minnesota:
1. Northwest Registered Agent — 9.13/10 (My Top Pick)
Northwest Registered Agent is the best registered agent in Minnesota. They offer everything you need to keep your business in compliance and they have the best customer service team in the industry.
Pros
Northwest Registered Agent has mastered all the essential services of a registered agent. They offer a physical street address in Minnesota that is open during regular business hours and you can trust them to accept service of process, other legal documents, and communication for the state on behalf of your business.
Upon receipt of any such documents, they are extremely quick to forward them on to you via US mail, but they also scan and upload all documents to your online account giving you near-instant access. Their website is very intuitive and easy to navigate.
Northwest Registered Agent also includes some nice add-on services that cost extra with other registered agents. Compliance alerts and a personalized filing calendar are two examples, and both are excellent tools to prevent you from missing the due dates for key filings, such as an annual report.
The true advantage Northwest Registered Agent has over other registered agents is the customer service department. While other registered agents try to cut costs by automating or outsourcing their customer service, Northwest Registered Agent has invested in a team of former business leaders, entrepreneurs, lawyers, and accountants. Their experience and knowledge can be a tremendous asset if you ever find yourself lost among the red tape that can come with starting your business and keeping it in good standing.
Despite all these advantages and their great reputation, Northwest Registered Agent still only charges $125 per year, which is a very competitive rate.
Cons
It is hard to find a true con without nitpicking a bit, but Northwest Registered Agent does at times suffer from the thoroughness of its customer service reps.
I’ve called them a few times with what I hoped would be a very quick question only to end up in a longer conversation about the overall state of my business. Don’t get me wrong, I always benefited from these conversations, but sometimes it can be a bit much.
In the long run, of course, this is a pretty petty complaint, since I’d vastly prefer a thorough registered agent to a negligent one.
Overall
Northwest Registered Agent ranked at or near the top of all five categories by which I rated my top 12 registered agents. Overall, they were clearly the best.
For $125 per year, they provide all the tools you need to successfully keep your business registered and in good standing with the Minnesota Secretary of State.
Plus, they have the best customer service team in the industry on standby should you ever need them. That’s a great asset to have in your back pocket.
If you want a registered agent that will responsibly guard your personal assets, handle your company’s most important documents, and guide you through any and all regulatory hurdles, go to Northwest Registered Agent.
2. Harbor Compliance — 7.92/10 (Best Budget Registered Agent)
If your business is operating on razor-thin margins and your main priority is your budget, Harbor Compliance is an imperfect but reliable budget option.
Pros
Harbor Compliance’s biggest advantage is its price. Yes, they’ll only save you $26 per year compared to Northwest Registered Agent, but in the infancy of your business sometimes every penny counts.
Despite their discount price, Harbor Compliance does a pretty good job with the essentials, and they can be trusted to act as your point of contact with the state of Minnesota in order to keep your name off the public record.
They also offer compliance alerts, which is rare for a budget service, and will scan and upload your incoming documents to a web portal.
Cons
Harbor Compliance does a lot of things well, but isn’t really great at anything. The same is true of their customer service department. They won’t steer you in the wrong direction, but they are not particularly quick with their responses and they definitely don’t have the experience and knowledge of their counterparts at Northwest Registered Agent.
Overall
Harbor Compliance seems content to offer a fairly good service at a really good price. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that and if you are really pinching pennies you’ll be grateful that Harbor Compliance errs on the side of being frugal in order to keep their price down.
The downside of saving a few dollars with Harbor Compliance is that you will miss out on great customer service and the peace of mind that comes with it.
If your budget is so tight that you can’t afford the extra $26 for the better service at Northwest Registered Agent, check out Harbor Compliance.
3. LegalZoom — 6.59/10 (Best Premium Service)
LegalZoom is the most well-known registered agent on this list. They are also the most expensive, but offer enough perks to partially offset the cost.
Pros
If you aren’t familiar with any of the other registered agents on this list, LegalZoom’s good name and reputation could be reason enough to hire them. They’ve been around for an eternity in internet years and have helped millions with their wide array of legal products and services.
Their multitude of legal services also means that LegalZoom can help with your Articles of Organization, the formation of your Minnesota LLC or other business entity, and any other number of legal tasks. If you’re already a LegalZoom client and don’t have the patience to seek out and sign up with a different registered agent, it is very simple to just make LegalZoom your registered agent using the account you already have.
LegalZoom also includes some valuable add-ons with their registered agent service, including identity theft insurance and fee reimbursement for any fees you may incur if you change your Minnesota registered agent to LegalZoom.
The identity theft insurance is a particularly rare offering from registered agents and could be quite valuable should you fall victim to cybercriminals.
Cons
LegalZoom takes advantage of their name recognition by charging a small fortune ($299) for their registered agent service. That’s three times the price of Harbor Compliance.
Even when you factor in the value of the identity theft insurance, LegalZoom still seems overpriced. You could purchase the insurance independently of your registered agent service for quite a bit cheaper than the difference in price between LegalZoom and its competitors.
LegalZoom is also a bit of a victim of their own success in that they are so big your business in Minnesota can easily get lost in the shuffle. You simply won’t get the same level of personalized service from LegalZoom that you get from more focused registered agents.
Overall
LegalZoom is a famous name that can take care of almost all of your company’s legal needs including your registered agent service at one web address.
That convenience, however, comes at a very steep price. Although they have some interesting perks like free identity theft insurance, it isn’t enough to justify $299 a year for impersonal service.
If you have an unlimited budget and value a big name over good service and value, check out LegalZoom.
4. ZenBusiness
ZenBusiness made a splash in the small business world by perfecting the LLC formation process and making it affordable.
For a time their registered agent service was only available to those who had used ZenBusiness for LLC formation, but now it is open to everyone.
Unfortunately, they haven’t yet perfected their registered agent service. They do a great job covering all the basics with their Pro Package, such as providing an online dashboard to store important files, they receive paperwork, service of process, and compliance documents on your behalf, provide a worry-free compliance alert system, expedited filing speed to ensure your files are filed within 7 days, and provide access to an Employer Identification Number (EIN).
However, this package costs $199, they don't offer a free year of their registered agent service after signing up, and their customer support isn't as good as Northwest's.
Harbor Compliance and Northwest Registered Agent both offer a cheaper, more comprehensive version of the ZenBusiness Pro package.
Read my full ZenBusiness review to find out more.
5. IncFile
IncFile is a reliable registered agent service that you can trust to be your point of contact with the Minnesota Secretary of State, handle service of process and other legal documents, and keep your personal name and address off the record.
They don’t, however, offer compliance alerts and their price ($119) is more expensive than Harbor Compliance, which does include alerts. And if you want the best, you can probably find the six more dollars required to hire Northwest Registered Agent in the cushions of your couch.
Read more about IncFile in my full IncFile review.
6. Rocket Lawyer
Rocket Lawyer is a less famous, less expensive version of LegalZoom. Rocket Lawyer’s registered agent service is substantially cheaper ($149) than LegalZoom’s but doesn’t include perks like identity theft insurance and is still more expensive than some of the better registered agents listed above.
Rocket Lawyer also suffers from the same impersonal service as LegalZoom as they too fall under the “Jack of All Trades, Master of None” category.
Read more about their online legal services and offers in my full Rocket Lawyer review.
7. SunDoc Filings
SunDoc Filings is another trustworthy agent that misses on price. It’s hard to justify spending $159 per year for a reliable, but basic, service that includes a registered office available during normal business hours and little else.
There’s cheaper, more comprehensive options for your Minnesota registered agent service.
8. InCorp
InCorp could be a contender for my top budget registered agent service, as they offer all the same services, including compliance alerts, as Harbor Compliance for the same price ($99).
Unfortunately, in an effort to keep their prices low, it seems as if they’ve neglected to invest in a decent online system. I found their site to be far more aggravating than convenient.
9. Swyft Filings
Swyft Filings offers the standard registered office address in Minnesota that is open during normal business hours. They don’t do a whole lot more than that. For $149 per year, you can find much more comprehensive services elsewhere.
Read my full Swyft Filings review here.
10. CSC Global
Based on its price ($299) CSC Global seems to consider themselves a premium registered agent service, only they forgot to add any of the premium services. They don’t even offer compliance alerts for that price, and their customer service is substandard.
If your current registered agent is somehow so bad that you decide to switch to CSC Global, they will cover your fees associated with the change of registered agent but you’ll give those savings right back to CSC Global thanks to their outrageous price.
11. Registered Agents Inc.
The registered agent service at Registered Agents Inc. is as uninspiring as their name. They do indeed offer registered agent service, but you’ll get a Minnesota street address and that’s about it.
And the fact that Registered Agents Inc. charges $200 for such a basic service indicates they don’t really have a good grasp on the industry after which they've named their company.
There are far better options for a much better price.
12. Jumpstart Filings
It’s not exactly taking a leap to say that you can do better than Jumpstart Filings. They charge $129 per year for a very basic registered agent service and they haven’t even perfected that.
For $129 you can afford Northwest Registered Agent and have enough left over for a kid’s hotdog at Target Field.
Registered Agent Review Summary
I took a close look at more than 60 registered agents, found 12 that deserved further review, and rated them according to five key factors. When all was said and done, Northwest Registered Agent came out as the clear winner.
They have mastered the essential tasks of a registered agent, a practical, user-friendly website, free extras, such as compliance alerts, and they have the most helpful, knowledgeable customer service team in the industry.
All that and they only charge $125 per year, which is one of the best rates you’ll find.
If you’ve built a company that deserves to be represented by the best Minnesota registered agent, head to Northwest Registered Agent today.
Best Registered Agent Review Methodology
These are the steps I took to conclude who was the best registered agent.
Why You Should Trust Me
You would have to look pretty far and wide to find someone who has spent as much time researching registered agents as I have.
Becoming an expert on registered agents was never a goal of mine, but as I started to research registered agents for my own business, I learned two things.
First, I learned how critical a registered agent is. They are the thin line between your personal identity and your company’s identity. Your name and address are kept off the public record because your registered agent assumes the responsibility of being your point of contact with the Minnesota Secretary of State and accepting service of process and other legal documents on your behalf. That’s a huge responsibility.
Second, I realized there was a lack of coherent, comprehensive reviews. I couldn’t find a really good source breaking down the registered agent universe and reviewing the major players, so I decided to create one.
I started with a simple search of Minnesota registered agents and quickly found over 60. I went through the websites of all of them from the splashy, banner promotions on the top of the page to the tiniest of small print at the bottom. I put together a database of all of them and what they offered as a part of their service.
My next step was to dive deep into the abyss of online reviews. I read as many as I could about each company and tried to come up with consensus opinions.
Finally, I got on the phone and actually talked to the companies themselves, provided that I could get past their automated guardians and get hold of a real person.
All of this is to say that I have done my homework and then some.
As I was working on all of this, I also talked to others in my small business network who were searching for a Minnesota registered agent. They were as baffled about the business as I had been and encouraged me to share and publish my findings.
The result is this website, which has already helped thousands find their Minnesota registered agent. I hope it can be of help to you too.
How I Selected the Best Registered Agent
Here is a detailed breakdown of the four-step process I used to select the best Minnesota registered agent service for your Minnesota LLC.
Stage 1: Reviews
After I had identified more than 60 Minnesota registered agents, I tried to narrow down the field a bit using online reviews.
I went through the reviews on Google Business, TrustPilot, the Better Business Bureau, and Facebook, among others.
Since you never know the agenda of the author, I always take online reviews with a grain of salt, but if you read enough of them you can come up with something resembling a consensus opinion.
The most common complaint was about dishonest pricing, which seems to be pretty widespread in the registered agent business. There are a number of registered agents that advertise one low price, sometimes as low as $39, but they don’t make it obvious that this price is just a one-time, introductory sign-up fee. On an annual basis, the real cost to you is substantially higher.
Since one of the most important factors in selecting a registered agent is finding a company you can trust, I eliminated any registered agent that used this bait-and-switch scam to lure in customers.
Nearly 50 Minnesota registered agents used this scheme. When I got rid of the scammers, I had only 12 agents left on my list.
Stage 2: Website Analysis
Next, I took a really hard look at the websites of the 12 remaining Minnesota registered agents. Mainly, I was mining them for information, but I also wanted to get a feel for which registered agents seemed to invest in their online system and which ones didn’t.
The most important information I was looking for at this stage was exactly what each company included with their Minnesota registered agent service.
All registered agents offer a physical street address at which they accept service of process and legal documents on behalf of your company, but some offer a good deal more.
What made this a little tricky is the fact that some registered agents, like ZenBusiness, charge extra for “premium” services, such as compliance alerts, so I went through the fine print to see what services cost more than the standard rate.
Stage 3: Speaking with Real Customers
I am blessed to have a pretty large network of fellow small business owners so I reached out to anyone who had recently hired a Minnesota registered agent service or had an LLC formed in Minnesota and really picked their brain.
I’m grateful that a number of business owners took the time to talk to me, as I found these conversations to be much more honest and informative than the online reviews. I was also able to ask specific questions which was a big help.
Now that this website is live, I am getting a lot of feedback from readers which helps keep my ratings current and providing me with new information.
Stage 4: Speaking with Their Sales Teams
When I was sure I had a really good grasp of the strengths and weaknesses of the remaining 12 registered agents, I talked directly to the companies themselves.
My goal was to get a really good feel for each registered agent’s company culture. I challenged the sales reps with specific questions based on my research to see how they’d respond.
I wanted to know how open they were to customer complaints, how eager they were to fix mistakes, and how dedicated they were to improving their service.
Rating Factors
Based on all the research I had done, I rated the best registered agents for your Minnesota LLC based on the following steps.
Factor 1: Offerings
The registered agent business seems quite simple, but some registered agents have become pretty creative with what they include in their service package.
All registered agent services provide a Minnesota address open during business hours to receive legal service of process and other legal documents and will also serve as liaison with the Minnesota Secretary of State.
Many registered agent services stop there, but others include some valuable extras, such as compliance alerts to keep you aware of deadlines for your annual report, and other filings.
Some registered agents also help with your Articles of Organization and provide a cheap LLC service (or the best LLC service).
Between my 12 registered agents combined, I found 24 distinct services. I rated each Minnesota registered agent based on how many services they offered.
Factor 2: Value
It is also very important to assess value especially when your business is in its infancy and every penny counts.
This is a little complicated when judging registered agents due to the wide price range and varying standards of service. Minnesota registered agent service can cost anywhere between $99–$299 per year and, as mentioned above, different registered agents’ services offer different products with their subscriptions.
There’s also the issue of quality. A registered agent can offer a lot of different services, but if they don’t execute them very well they don’t represent a good value.
In order to rate each registered agent based on value, I looked at their price, the number of services they offered, and also factored in the feedback I had received about the quality of their service.
Factor 3: Ease of Sign-up
I also rated each of the 12 registered agent services according to how much they value your most valuable resource as a small business owner—your time.
For whatever reason, many registered agents make their sign-up process so complicated and time consuming that it completely negates whatever positives led you to select that particular registered agent in the first place.
I actually took the time to sign-up with all 12 Minnesota registered agent services and rated them based on how quickly and painlessly I was able to complete the process.
Factor 4: Ease of Use
I also thought a lot about the value of time when I rated each registered agent based on the ease of use of their online systems.
Unless something unusual happens, you shouldn’t have to interact with your registered agent that often and most of your interactions will be conducted online.
With that in mind, I tried to complete simple, common tasks on each website and rated each registered agent based on how quickly and easily I was able to complete the tasks.
Factor 5: Customer Service
Hopefully, you won’t spend much time talking to your registered agent’s customer service department but if you run into trouble with the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office due to a regulatory issue a good customer service department could potentially save your company.
I spent a lot of time on the phone with the customer service departments of each Minnesota registered agent in order to assess them based on efficiency, helpfulness, speed, accuracy, and courtesy.
The Best Minnesota Registered Agent Results Summary
I assessed more than 60 companies that operate as a registered agents in the state of Minnesota, narrowed the field to the best 12 and selected these registered agents as the best of the best:
Best Overall Registered Agent — Northwest Registered Agent (9.13/10)
Northwest Registered Agent came out as the clear winner based on my five-factor rating system. They are the best registered agent in Minnesota due to their comprehensive service, incredible customer support, and competitive price.
They take the essential tasks of a registered agent very seriously and are trustworthy enough to handle service of process, legal notices, and communications from the Minnesota Secretary of State on behalf of your company.
Northwest Registered Agent also throws in extra services that are designed to proactively keep you in compliance. Compliance alerts, a personalized filing calendar, as well as an online portal giving you instant access to your mail are all included with your service.
What truly separates Northwest from the pack is their customer service department. A call to Northwest Registered Agent will be answered by a real human being, which is becoming increasingly rare, and many of these real human beings have extensive experience in the business world as former lawyers, accountants, or entrepreneurs.
With over 3,000 positive Northwest Registered Agent reviews, it's clear it's not a fluke, and their service is consistently good.
If you’ve put in hundreds of hours building your company from scratch, don’t entrust it to just anyone. Put it in the hands of the best registered agent in Minnesota, Northwest Registered Agent.
Best Budget Registered Agent — Harbor Compliance (7.92/10)
If your budget is your only priority, Harbor Compliance can save you $26 per year compared with Northwest Registered Agent.
You may not get the best customer service, but you will get a reliable, trustworthy registered agent that will keep you in compliance with the Secretary of State and protect your personal data.
Harbor Compliance is content to offer a budget service for a budget price, they offer compliance alerts amongst other offerings not common for budget registered agents.
And if you still aren't sure, just browse the hundreds of positive Harbor Compliance reviews online.
If you are really pinching pennies and can afford to forgo great customer service, check out Harbor Compliance.
Best Premium Registered Agent — Legal Zoom (6.59/10)
On the other hand, if you have no budget whatsoever and appreciate a famous name, LegalZoom offers a premium registered agent service for more than twice the price of Northwest Registered Agent.
LegalZoom offers a ton of online legal services, so in addition to registered agent service they can help form your LLC or other business entity, complete your last will and testament, or do just about anything else in the legal world so they are appealing if you want to take care of all that at one website.
There’s a downside to that versatility, however. LegalZoom offers so many services that your Minnesota LLC can get lost in the shuffle so, if you are looking for really personal service, you should look elsewhere.
LegalZoom offers some perks with their service, including identity theft insurance, but overall it is not enough to justify their sky-high price.
If you prefer a one-stop legal shop to a dedicated registered agent and don’t mind paying a premium price, check out LegalZoom.
In Conclusion
It's easy to overlook just how important a registered agent can be to your business. Before I began my research, I thought of a registered agent as little more than a glorified PO Box.
The more I thought about it, however, the more I realized just how important your registered agent can be. They are the ones who handle all of your most critical legal paperwork and they are the ones preserving the distinction between your assets and your company’s assets.
An irresponsible registered agent could put all you’ve worked for at risk. This is a decision you have to take seriously.
I examined more than 60 registered agents, found 12 that were worthy of further review and rated them based on five key factors.
According to my thorough analysis, Northwest Registered Agent is clearly the best registered agent in Minnesota.
They offer all the basics, plus a lot of extras to help keep your business on track:
- A physical Minnesota address open during regular business hours to receive critical legal notices and communication from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office
- Prompt mail forwarding
- Document scanning and uploading
- An online portal giving you instant access to your documents
- Help with your LLC filing and Articles of Organization
- Compliance alerts
- A personalized filing calendar to keep you looking forward towards key deadlines
All that, plus they offer the most experienced customer service team in the industry and charge a very competitive rate.
If you need a registered agent but won’t settle for anything but the best, go to Northwest Registered Agent today.
