What is a registered agent in North Dakota?

A registered agent is the person or business that accepts lawsuits and official notices for your LLC. North Dakota law requires every LLC to have a registered office and a registered agent. The agent can be a commercial registered agent listed with the Secretary of State, or a noncommercial agent: an individual who lives in North Dakota, or a corporation or LLC that the Secretary of State says must be authorized in North Dakota, have a physical North Dakota address and be in good standing. A noncommercial agent's address must be an actual street address or rural route box number in North Dakota. The Secretary of State also says a business cannot be its own registered agent, though an individual from the business who lives in North Dakota can serve.

What happens if my North Dakota LLC doesn't have a registered agent?

North Dakota law lets the Secretary of State involuntarily terminate an LLC that fails to appoint and maintain a registered agent and registered office. Before doing so, the Secretary of State must mail at least 60 days' notice, and the LLC is terminated only if it does not file the change of registered agent or office within those 60 days. The Secretary of State also warns that naming an agent without the agent's approval can lead to involuntary dissolution. Without an agent you can also miss a lawsuit and face a default judgment without knowing you were sued. If your LLC is terminated, ask the Secretary of State which reinstatement route and fees apply.

How much does a registered agent cost in North Dakota?

Serving as your own registered agent costs nothing if you live in North Dakota and can accept papers at a North Dakota street address. A professional registered agent service charges its own annual fee, which varies by provider. Among the national services we compare, Northwest charges $125 a year for registered agent service (a year is included when you form a new LLC with its paid package, $39 plus your state's filing fee), and LegalZoom charges $249 a year and does not include the service in any formation plan. Changing your agent later costs $10.

Does using a registered agent service protect my privacy in North Dakota?

Yes. Your registered agent's name, and for a noncommercial agent its North Dakota address, go on your Articles of Organization and appear with your LLC's record in the Secretary of State's public business search. If you are your own agent, that is your address. A commercial registered agent is identified by name only, with its address already on file with the Secretary of State. It does not hide everything: other filings for your LLC can still show names and addresses, so check what each form asks for before you file.

Can I change my registered agent in North Dakota?

Yes. To change your North Dakota registered agent, file a Registered Agent/Office Change (a statement of change) with the North Dakota Secretary of State. The fee is $10. The new agent does not sign: North Dakota law treats naming the agent as your LLC's statement that the agent has agreed, so get the agent's approval before you file. The change takes effect when it is filed.

North Dakota Registered Agent: Requirements, Costs and How to Choose One

Everything you need to know about choosing and maintaining a registered agent for your North Dakota LLC in 2026

By Edmond Hui · Last updated: October 2026

North Dakota requires every LLC to name a registered agent in the Articles of Organization it files to form. Hiring a paid service is optional: in most states the LLC's owner, or another individual who qualifies, may serve as its registered agent, and the rules below set out who qualifies in North Dakota. See the rules below.

Affiliate disclosure: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Get registered agent service from Northwest$125/yr, or included for year one when you form your LLC with them ($39 plus your state's filing fee). Registered agent customers are enrolled by default in annual report filing at $100 plus state fees, charged automatically to your saved payment method and cancellable any time.

Not sure which service is right? Compare formation services →

North Dakota Registered Agent Rules at a Glance

Can an individual serve?	Yes, an individual who lives in North Dakota
Can a company serve?	Yes, a commercial registered agent, or a corporation or LLC authorized and in good standing in North Dakota
Can you be your own agent?	Yes, as an individual who lives in North Dakota (the LLC itself cannot be its own agent)

How North Dakota's rules compare: registered agent requirements in all 50 states.

Best Registered Agent Services for North Dakota LLCs (2026)

Affiliate disclosure: Northwest Registered Agent, Bizee, ZenBusiness and LegalZoom pay us a commission if you sign up through our link, at no extra cost to you. We list only the registered agent services we have an affiliate relationship with, so this is not a survey of the whole market.

This table is not scored. The four are listed cheapest annual renewal first, and the rows below it say which one fits which situation. The scored ranking, and the formula behind it, is on the formation services review, which orders them on three-year cost, BBB rating and Trustpilot score.

Service	With formation, year 1	Annual renewal	BBB	Trustpilot	Privacy
Northwest Registered Agent	Included with $39 formation	$125/yr	A	4.1/5 (297)	Says it does not sell your information; runs its own servers
Bizee	Free year one (some visitors are being shown shorter free periods, so confirm at checkout)	$149/yr	C (unaccredited)	4.8/5 (26,100+)	No data-sharing commitment
ZenBusiness	$99, not included in any plan	$199/yr	A	4.8/5 (32,500+)	Partial
LegalZoom	Not included, $249 extra	$249/yr	A+	4.6/5 (32,900+)	Partial

Note: Bizee holds a C rating from the BBB and is not accredited. BBB's profile carries a live alert describing a pattern of complaints about unexpected charges, difficulty canceling and filing delays, and Bizee has posted a response to it. We flag this so you can make an informed choice.

Prices are each provider's standard published rates; year-one pricing applies when you form your LLC through the same service. BBB and Trustpilot figures as recorded September 15, 2026, not re-checked since, and both sources update continuously. These are the dates the figures were last written to our dataset, which is the most we can show: they are not verification dates. See how we evaluate these companies in our full formation services review →

Which Registered Agent Is Best for Your North Dakota LLC?

You're forming a new LLC and want phone, email and chat support

Our pick: ZenBusiness

A $0 Starter formation plan, backed by an A from the BBB and a 4.8/5 Trustpilot score. Registered agent is not included in any plan: it is $99 for the first year when you form with them, then $199/yr.

Your LLC already exists and you just need an agent

Our pick: Northwest Registered Agent

A flat $125/yr for registered agent service, the lowest renewal of the services listed here, and a privacy policy that says it does not sell your information. Registered agent customers are enrolled by default in Northwest's report filing service, which charges your saved payment method $100 plus state fees each time it files for you and which you can cancel.

You want year one free and the cheaper renewal after it

Our pick: Bizee

Registered agent is free for year one on every Bizee plan and renews at $149/yr, $50/yr less than ZenBusiness. Northwest renews lower still at $125/yr, but its first year comes inside a paid $39 formation package rather than free. Tradeoff: a C rating from the BBB, which cites a pattern of complaints about charges and cancellation, so read every auto-renewal term.

Complex legal needs alongside your filing

Our pick: LegalZoom

The only one of the services listed here with attorney consultations, which come with LegalZoom's $299 formation plan (and in one version of its plans its $249 plan) for 30 days and then cost $49 or $99 a month until you cancel, depending on the version. Also the most expensive registered agent listed here at $249/yr, which is never included in their plans.

Need the North Dakota Secretary of State?

Go directly to the North Dakota Secretary of State website.

Go to the North Dakota Secretary of State →

Your Registered Agent Options

Self / owner

Pros

No additional cost
Direct control over documents
Immediate access to legal papers

Cons

Must be available during business hours
Address becomes public record
Risk missing important documents

Best for: Solo entrepreneurs with a fixed North Dakota business address who are always available

Friend or family member

Pros

Low cost or free
Personal trust
Someone you know handling documents

Cons

Must live in North Dakota
Relies on their availability
Could strain personal relationships

Best for: New LLCs with trusted contacts in North Dakota willing to accept legal responsibility

Professional service

Pros

Your home address is not the one listed for the registered agent
Staffed to accept documents during business hours
Professional document handling
Mail forwarding services

Cons

An annual fee set by the provider
Less personal control
Potential for service interruptions

Best for: Business owners who value privacy, live outside North Dakota, or want reliable professional service

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state publishes about filing deadlines, fees, and the consequences of missing them, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you what your own company owes: the date turns on when and where you formed, states change these rules between our reviews, and in several states an entity-level tax falls due in a year when no report does. Confirm your own dates with the filing office named on this page before you rely on one here, because missing a deadline can cost the company its good standing or, in many states, its existence.

Read this guide for another state:

Frequently Asked Questions

: A registered agent is the person or business that accepts lawsuits and official notices for your LLC. North Dakota law requires every LLC to have a registered office and a registered agent. The agent can be a commercial registered agent listed with the Secretary of State, or a noncommercial agent: an individual who lives in North Dakota, or a corporation or LLC that the Secretary of State says must be authorized in North Dakota, have a physical North Dakota address and be in good standing. A noncommercial agent's address must be an actual street address or rural route box number in North Dakota. The Secretary of State also says a business cannot be its own registered agent, though an individual from the business who lives in North Dakota can serve.
: North Dakota law lets the Secretary of State involuntarily terminate an LLC that fails to appoint and maintain a registered agent and registered office. Before doing so, the Secretary of State must mail at least 60 days' notice, and the LLC is terminated only if it does not file the change of registered agent or office within those 60 days. The Secretary of State also warns that naming an agent without the agent's approval can lead to involuntary dissolution. Without an agent you can also miss a lawsuit and face a default judgment without knowing you were sued. If your LLC is terminated, ask the Secretary of State which reinstatement route and fees apply.
: Serving as your own registered agent costs nothing if you live in North Dakota and can accept papers at a North Dakota street address. A professional registered agent service charges its own annual fee, which varies by provider. Among the national services we compare, Northwest charges $125 a year for registered agent service (a year is included when you form a new LLC with its paid package, $39 plus your state's filing fee), and LegalZoom charges $249 a year and does not include the service in any formation plan. Changing your agent later costs $10.
: Yes. Your registered agent's name, and for a noncommercial agent its North Dakota address, go on your Articles of Organization and appear with your LLC's record in the Secretary of State's public business search. If you are your own agent, that is your address. A commercial registered agent is identified by name only, with its address already on file with the Secretary of State. It does not hide everything: other filings for your LLC can still show names and addresses, so check what each form asks for before you file.
: Yes. To change your North Dakota registered agent, file a Registered Agent/Office Change (a statement of change) with the North Dakota Secretary of State. The fee is $10. The new agent does not sign: North Dakota law treats naming the agent as your LLC's statement that the agent has agreed, so get the agent's approval before you file. The change takes effect when it is filed.

Sources

5 documents

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified North Dakota sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.

ndlegis.gov/cencode/t10c32-1.pdfN.D.C.C. 10-32.1-16, registered office and registered agent
ndlegis.gov/cencode/t10c01-1.pdfN.D.C.C. chapter 10-01.1, registered agents (statement of change, fees, resignation)
sos.nd.gov/business/business-services/registered-agentsNorth Dakota Secretary of State, Registered Agents
sos.nd.gov/business/business-services/maintain-registrationNorth Dakota Secretary of State, Maintain Registration (Registered Agent/Office Change, $10)
sos.nd.gov/business/business-services/business-structures/limited-liability-company-llcNorth Dakota Secretary of State: business entity filings

More for North Dakota LLCs

Start and set up

Taxes, money and growth

Stay compliant

Operate in other states

Compare structures

By owner type

By profession

Forming an LLC in North Dakota?

See how Northwest Registered Agent, Bizee, ZenBusiness and LegalZoom, the formation services we partner with, compare on 3-year cost, BBB rating and Trustpilot score before you choose.

Compare Services →

Need a Registered Agent in North Dakota?

Affiliate disclosure: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Not sure which service is right? Compare formation services →

Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.

How we check facts

North Dakota Registered Agent Rules at a Glance

Best Registered Agent Services for North Dakota LLCs (2026)

Which Registered Agent Is Best for Your North Dakota LLC?

You're forming a new LLC and want phone, email and chat support

Your LLC already exists and you just need an agent

You want year one free and the cheaper renewal after it

Complex legal needs alongside your filing

Your Registered Agent Options

Self / owner

Friend or family member

Professional service

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

More for North Dakota LLCs

Start and set up

Taxes, money and growth

Stay compliant

Operate in other states

Compare structures

By owner type

By profession

Need a Registered Agent in North Dakota?

More North Dakota LLC Guides

Related guides