Northwest Registered Agent: The Agent Service Reviewed (2026)

The quick answer

Any registered agent service solves the core problem: the service's address goes on the public record in the agent field instead of your home. Serving as your own agent does the opposite, because the address you list is the one where you can be reached.

For someone forming a business now, ZenBusiness is the practical place to start. Its registered agent service is $199 a year, sold as an add-on to its formation packages, and its Pro package costs $199 plus state fees and renews at $199 a year. That puts the entity and the agent listing with one provider and one renewal. ZenBusiness reserves its agent address for legal and government mail, so plan on a separate business address for invoices and correspondence.

Why is a registered agent's address public in the first place?

The California Secretary of State puts the requirement directly: "Corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships are required by statute to designate an agent for service of process." At the federal level, the U.S. Small Business Administration says LLCs, corporations, partnerships and nonprofit corporations need a registered agent in their state before they file. It also says the agent must be located in the state where the business registers. The details are set state by state, so check your state's filing office.

Once filed, the designation is searchable. California's Business Search, according to the Secretary of State, "contains the most current filings that are of record in this office, including the name and address of the agent for service of process." Whoever is named as agent, that address is visible to anyone who looks.

This is the whole basis of the privacy argument, and it is a matter of record rather than opinion. It also explains why a registered agent alone may not solve everything.

The agent field is not the only detail a formation filing can carry. The SBA notes that an LLC's articles of organization typically include the company's address and member names alongside the registered agent, and that what goes into these documents varies by state. A registered agent covers one line of the filing, and the rest depends on what your state asks for.

Can you act as your own registered agent and still keep a home address private?

For most home-based businesses, not really. If you run a business from home and serve as your own agent, the address on file is typically the home, because that is where you can actually be reached to accept papers.

It is also worth knowing what "your own agent" means legally. The Texas Secretary of State says a Texas entity may not serve as its own registered agent, although an officer, owner or employee may serve in an individual capacity. California takes the same position: a California entity cannot act as its own agent for service of process. In both states, the DIY route means you personally are the agent, with your personal address attached.

The stakes of getting this wrong are real. The Texas Secretary of State notes that failing to maintain a registered agent may result in involuntary termination of a domestic entity, or revocation of a foreign entity's registration. Other states set their own consequences, so check your state's rules before deciding.

DIY can still make sense in some cases. If you have a commercial address you don't mind being public, and you are reliably there to receive papers, serving as your own agent costs nothing beyond your time. The SBA observes that many business owners prefer a registered agent service to taking on the role themselves, and for someone working from a spare bedroom, the reason is usually privacy.

Northwest Registered Agent: what $125 a year gets you

Northwest Registered Agent builds its entire pitch around privacy. Its homepage lists keeping your home address private among the things the company stands for, and it says privacy protection is built in by default rather than something customers opt into. As of October 6, 2026, its registered agent service is $125 a year, and that price includes a free domain, a website, a business address, a phone line and mail scanning.

The business address is the detail that matters most for the home-based reader. A registered agent covers the agent field on state filings, but a business still needs an address for everything else: invoices, a website footer, bank paperwork, and in some states other parts of the public filing. A service that supplies both the agent address and a usable business address closes more of the privacy gap than one that supplies the agent address alone.

Northwest says it scans every document it receives in its own office, with no outsourcing, and that it lists its own address on public filings in place of the client’s by default. Its page does not commit to a specific turnaround for forwarding legal papers, so anyone who needs a guaranteed timeline should ask before buying. As an agent, Northwest says it accepts all state and legal mail. Whether that address can be used on every filing in a given state depends on the state’s rules, so confirm with your state’s filing office.

Best for: home-based owners whose top priority is keeping a personal address off public records and out of everyday business correspondence.

How does Northwest compare with the alternatives?

The providers below are listed alphabetically, not ranked. Editorial preferences are in the "best for" lines.

Prices are as of October 6, 2026.

Bizee

Bizee includes one free year of registered agent service with every formation package. Its homepage lists those packages as Basic at $0, Standard at $199 and Premium at $299, each a one-time payment plus the state fee. Bizee does not publish what the agent service renews at after the free year, so confirm that before year two.

Bizee also sells a virtual address add-on billed monthly, though its homepage does not list the price.

Best for: someone forming on a tight budget who wants the first year of agent service covered.

Harbor Compliance

Harbor Compliance charges $159 a year on an ongoing basis. Its promotional rate is $99 for the first year, and two- and three-year terms hold at $99 a year before renewing at $159. It is one national price rather than a per-state rate.

Harbor Compliance is built for multi-state and regulated filings, which is a different job from keeping one home address private.

Best for: businesses registered in several states or operating in licensed, regulated industries.

LegalZoom

The LegalZoom LLC formation tiers are Basic at $0 plus state fees, Managed Service at $249 and Expert Service at $999. Its homepage also lists a virtual mail service among its business offerings, which may interest a home-based owner, though the price is not shown there.

Best for: owners who already use LegalZoom for other legal work and want everything in one account.

Northwest Registered Agent

Covered in full above: $125 a year, with a business address, phone line and mail scanning included.

Best for: home-based owners prioritizing privacy.

Rocket Lawyer

Rocket Lawyer lists registered agent service among the business filings on its homepage, and Rocket Lawyer says the service requires a Plus or Pro membership. Billed yearly, Plus is $249 and Pro is $349, with a free 7-day trial; billed monthly, they are $49.99 and $64.99. Members get their first LLC registration free, then $99 plus state fees, and attorney consultations are $149 for 30 minutes or $249 for 60.

Best for: owners who want ongoing legal documents and attorney access alongside their agent service.

ZenBusiness

ZenBusiness charges $199 a year for standalone registered agent service. Its homepage lists Starter at $0 plus state fees, Pro at $199 plus state fees and Premium at $299 plus state fees, with Pro and Premium renewing at those prices each year. The EIN and operating agreement are included from Pro up, at $99 each on Starter. Introductory offers on the agent service change, so check the current terms before buying.

ZenBusiness says its agent address is only for legal and government documents and cannot be used as a business address. A home-based owner who wants a public-facing address would need one separately.

Best for: someone forming a business now who wants formation, EIN, operating agreement and agent from one provider, with one renewal to track instead of two vendors.

Where ZenBusiness fits if the business doesn't exist yet

For someone still at the starting line, the order of operations matters more than the agent choice. The entity comes first, then the EIN, then a separate business bank account, then the books. The IRS is direct about the bank account in Publication 583: "One of the first things you should do when you start a business is open a business checking account." It adds that the business account should stay separate from your personal checking account.

ZenBusiness covers the entity, the EIN and the registered agent in one place, and it offers a free accounting consultation to customers who form with it. From there, ZenBusiness accounting picks up the bookkeeping side. That is a real advantage for someone who feels overwhelmed by the number of vendors involved.

The trade-off is the address. If keeping a home address off invoices and correspondence is the priority, plan for a separate business address alongside a ZenBusiness formation.

What does switching agents later cost?

Some owners start as their own agent and switch to a service later. In Texas, the Secretary of State charges $15 to change the registered agent or registered office, using Form 401. Other states set their own fees and forms, so check your state's filing office.

Switching is inexpensive in Texas, but in the meantime the home address is what the public record shows. For a privacy-minded owner, starting with a service is usually simpler than fixing the listing later.

Which registered agent service fits a home-based business?

If you are forming now, ZenBusiness is the cleaner setup: it sells the agent service as an add-on to its formation packages, so the entity and the agent listing sit with one provider, as long as you arrange a separate business address. If you already have an entity, or a usable business address matters as much as the agent listing, Northwest's $125 a year covers both. If you operate in several states or a regulated industry, Harbor Compliance is built for that.

Serving as your own agent saves the fee but, for most home-based owners, puts the home address on the record.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or accounting advice, and registered agent requirements vary by state and change over time.