Updated October 6, 2026 · 7 services tested
We tested 7 registered agent services for North Dakota. Northwest Registered Agent is our pick: $125 first year, then $125/yr.
By Jon Morgan · Fact-checked by Jon Tobin, Business Attorney · How we test
Northwest Registered Agent
$125 first year, then $125/yrFree first year with its $39 LLCGet Northwest's agent service (opens in a new tab)
ZenBusiness
$99 first year, then $199/yrHalf price in year one when you switch to ZenBusiness (state fee extra)See ZenBusiness agent plan (opens in a new tab)
Harbor Compliance
$99 first year, then $159/yrFor new customersSee Harbor Compliance agent plan (opens in a new tab)Prices checked October 6, 2026.
We compared registered-agent pricing, documented features, and account observations for North Dakota founders. Our tests covered different service steps by provider, including LLC formation and active-agent account access where available.
Northwest Registered Agent remains our top pick. ZenBusiness ranks second at 4.7/5 for its guided platform and stronger public customer-review score, while Harbor Compliance ranks third at 4.6/5 and remains a strong option for multi-state compliance.
North Dakota also splits registered agents into commercial and noncommercial categories, a distinction some states skip entirely.
The table below reflects that renewal-price ranking, so read it as the number you'll actually pay each year instead of the number at signup.
| Service | Agent price | RA bundled with formation | Service features | Score | Compare offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $125 first year, then $125/yrFree first year with its $39 LLC | Yes (free first year with formation) | • Same-day scanning of legal and state mail • Files change-of-agent form for switching customers • Notifications tab shows every document received | 4.9 | Get agent service (opens in a new tab) |
| $99 first year, then $199/yrHalf price in year one when you switch to ZenBusiness (state fee extra) | No (paid option never pre-selected) | • Same-day scanning with an email alert • Address limited to legal and state mail • Compliance dashboard keeps the option open | 4.7 | See plan (opens in a new tab) |
| $99 first year, then $159/yrFor new customers | No (sold separately) | • Same-day scanning into a client portal • Entity monitoring across every state • 3-year prepay locks the $99/year rate | 4.6 | See plan (opens in a new tab) |
 | $249 first year, then $249/yr | No | • Documents scanned and uploaded with email alerts • Unlimited cloud storage • Not offered during the formation checkout | 4.4 | See plan (opens in a new tab) |
 | $149 first year, then $149/yrFree first year with a Bizee LLC | Yes (free first year with formation) | • Dedicated Registered Agent tab in the dashboard • Third-party agent of record on file • Checkout discloses coverage before you buy | 4.3 | See plan (opens in a new tab) |
 | $596 first year, then $596/yrBilled $149 a quarter | No | • Documents typically reach the account within hours • Standalone purchase, not bundled with formation • Plain-language scope: no filing overreach | 4.2 | See plan (opens in a new tab) |
 | $30 first year, then $30/yrYear one included in its $130 + state fee LLC formation service | No (sold as a standalone service) | • Instant scan-and-store service of process • Deadline-tracking system for state dates • Bundled domain, website, and business email | 3.9 | See plan (opens in a new tab) |
Prices checked October 6, 2026.
Each score combines support, price, features, privacy and security, compliance alerts and user ratings.
Refund: 90 days
The Northwest Registered Agent dashboard keeps a running notifications tab and a documents folder. An owner can see what arrived without digging through email.
The same login also opens a forms library and a renewals manager. Northwest Registered Agent files the change-of-agent form for a business switching from another provider.
Pros
Cons
Refund: 60 days
ZenBusiness asks about a registered agent during its own formation flow, but the paid option is never pre-selected for you.
Decline the offer at signup and the compliance dashboard still shows an "Appoint ZenBusiness" prompt later. The option simply stays open.
ZenBusiness is clear that the address covers legal and state mail rather than general correspondence. Even after you decline the option at signup, the compliance dashboard keeps prompting you to add it later.
Pros
Cons
The account portal links to an entity manager that checks in with each state's Secretary of State and flags good standing everywhere a business operates. That setup fits owners juggling more than one state rather than just North Dakota.
The service also suits businesses managing agents in several states at once. Harbor Compliance backs that with monitoring that flags compliance issues before they turn into late filings, on top of same-day document scanning.
Pros
Cons
Refund: 60 days
LegalZoom did not present a registered agent option anywhere in the formation checkout we documented. The service exists and can be bought separately, but a new LLC owner has to go looking for it instead of being offered it along the way.
It lives outside LegalZoom's main formation flow, in a separate part of the account. LegalZoom fulfills this job through United States Corporation Agents, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary.
Its terms say the plan renews each year at whatever price you first paid, without a fixed renewal number.
Pros
Cons
Refund: Before state payment
Bizee includes its registered agent service free for the first year (then $149/yr) of LLC formation, and checkout explains what it covers. Our order record named Republic Registered Agent LLC as the agent of record, rather than the Bizee brand.
Bizee says it operates its own offices and does not outsource its service; because the brand and legal agent name differ in our record, confirm the agent name on your North Dakota filing.
Correspondence lands in a dedicated mail tab inside the account dashboard, separate from the general virtual mailbox Bizee sells on its own.
Pros
Cons
Open any card for the complete review, scores and packages.
Refund: 60 days
Swyft Filings prices its registered agent service as a clear standalone purchase instead of folding it into formation. That makes it easy to compare against buying the service alone from a competitor.
Swyft Filings is direct about scope, describing the service as receiving and forwarding notices rather than filing anything on the customer's behalf. Documents typically reach the account within a few hours of the company receiving them.
Pros
Cons
AAA North Dakota Registered Agent LLC keeps its pitch simple. One flat price, charged the same way every year, from a real Fargo office. Several competitors above it on this list raise the price once year one ends.
In our testing, its online portal scanned and stored a service of process the moment it arrived, with a few practical extras most competitors charge for separately.
Pros
Cons
Our testing methodology combines provider research with account observations where access was available.
The ZenBusiness test purchased LLC formation only, without activating its paid registered-agent service; the Harbor Compliance assessment covered direct Q&A and a pricing and signup-wizard walkthrough without a paid order.
We average six numeric categories equally to calculate each overall score, rounding the result to one decimal place. The separate North Dakota Fit subsection adds context and is not a seventh numeric score.
ZenBusiness's six scores average 4.700/5; Harbor Compliance's average 4.633/5, giving displayed overall scores of 4.7 and 4.6, respectively.
Support quality showed up fastest in how each company answered basic questions before we ever filed a document. Phone and email responsiveness varied more than pricing did across the group we tested.
Northwest Registered Agent posted the strongest support score in this group. Providers further down the list were serviceable but slower to respond to non-urgent questions.
Renewal price matters more than the signup discount when comparing recurring costs. Harbor Compliance renews at $159 per year, compared with ZenBusiness at $199 per year, so Harbor earns the higher Price score: 4.7 versus 4.6.
Their current introductory rates both start at $99. Compare the final checkout total and any formation or multi-year conditions before deciding how much the first year will cost.
Northwest Registered Agent has the highest Features score at 4.8, while ZenBusiness and Harbor Compliance each score 4.7. Northwest's forms library and handling of agent-change paperwork add practical value beyond receiving documents.
Harbor Compliance's Entity Manager stands out for tracking registrations in multiple states, while ZenBusiness provides guided account tools through Velo. Those different strengths may matter more to an individual owner than the small numerical gap.
Northwest Registered Agent and Harbor Compliance share the highest Privacy and Security score at 4.9, while ZenBusiness scores 4.7.
We considered documented address-use policies and secure document handling alongside the account observations available to us.
An agent's address can replace a personal address in the registered-agent field, but it does not remove information required elsewhere on state filings.
ZenBusiness explicitly limits its agent address to legal and state mail, rather than general business correspondence.
Northwest Registered Agent and Harbor Compliance each score 4.9 for Compliance Alerts, while ZenBusiness scores 4.6. We considered the clarity and availability of deadline reminders; managed filing services, when offered, may carry a separate charge.
Public customer reviews are one input in our comparison, alongside service features and account observations. ZenBusiness earns a 4.8 User Ratings score; Harbor Compliance earns 3.9.
These are editorial category scores derived from the review snapshot checked on October 2, 2026, rather than ratings of a state-specific office.
ZenBusiness's score combines Trustpilot's 4.8/5 from 32,767 reviews and BBB's 4.04/5 from 817 customer reviews, weighted by review count. The result is 4.78/5, rounded to 4.8.
Harbor Compliance's score uses Trustpilot's 3.1/5 from 53 reviews, BBB's 1.0/5 from 8 customer reviews, and Birdeye's 4.2/5 from 245 Google reviews. The same weighting gives 3.93/5, rounded to 3.9.
Review counts and invitation practices differ across platforms, so these samples are not directly comparable measures of service quality.
BBB customer-review averages are separate from its business letter grades; Harbor's own site also reports a separate Google sample of 4.3/5 from 212 reviews.
North Dakota is one of the states that splits registered agents into commercial and noncommercial categories. That split changes what an entity's own filing has to disclose, depending on which type of agent it names.
Northwest Registered Agent and Harbor Compliance both handle the November 15 Annual Report deadline cleanly through their reminder systems.
AAA North Dakota Registered Agent LLC's local Fargo office is its strongest selling point against the national names above it.
Standalone annual rates among these providers start at $30 and reach about $249 per year, excluding quarterly billing, prepaid discounts and paid membership requirements.
ZenBusiness starts at $99 and renews at $199; Harbor Compliance starts at $99 and renews at $159.
Swyft Filings bills $149 or more per quarter, which totals at least $596 across twelve months.
A North Dakota business entity cannot serve as its own registered agent, though a resident owner can serve personally at no cost. This fee is separate from the state's Annual Report, which carries its own $50 fee and November 15 due date.
If you're still weighing which company should form the LLC itself, our full guide to the best LLC services in North Dakota compares formation providers the same way this page compares registered agents.
North Dakota sets a few clear rules for who can serve as a registered agent and what the job does and does not require.
Yes. Every North Dakota LLC and corporation must designate and maintain a registered agent with a physical North Dakota street address as a condition of staying in good standing.
No, a business entity cannot name itself. An individual owner or officer can serve personally, but only if that person is a North Dakota resident with a qualifying address.
A commercial registered agent files its own registration with the Secretary of State and appears on the official list. A noncommercial agent hasn't made that filing, so its address must appear on every entity filing it serves.
Standalone annual rates on this list start at $30 and reach about $249, excluding prepaid discounts, with first-year promotions starting at $99.
Swyft Filings costs at least $596 first year, then $596/yr (billed $149 a quarter) when its quarterly bills are added together.
File a Commercial or Noncommercial Registered Agent/Office Statement of Change through the FirstStop online portal along with a $10 fee. The new agent must agree to the role before the change is filed.
Not by default. Most providers only receive and forward the notice. A few offer a separate compliance filing service, but that's an added purchase, not a standard part of registered agent service.
Every provider on this list will accept your North Dakota service of process and keep your personal address off public filings.
The real differences show up in renewal pricing and how fast documents actually reach you, and those two factors decided this ranking.
Northwest Registered Agent takes the top spot for pairing a steady renewal price with the fastest document handling in this group.
If price alone is the deciding factor, AAA North Dakota Registered Agent LLC's flat $30 rate ($30 first year, then $30/yr) is hard to beat. If multi-state compliance monitoring matters more than price, Harbor Compliance is the stronger fit.
ZenBusiness is our second overall choice at 4.7/5, combining guided account tools with the stronger public customer-review score.
Harbor Compliance ranks third at 4.6/5 and is still the specialist pick for owners tracking compliance across multiple states.
References
Our verdict
$125 first year, then $125/yr. 90-day money-back guarantee.
Prices checked October 6, 2026.