Registered Agents or Registered Agent Offices serve two basic services among other services. We receive official notices or service of process notices from the county sheriff, courts of law, or other agencies and each year the Secretary of State mails out the preprinted annual report forms that must be filed each year to keep your Certificate of Authority in Good Standing in North Dakota. NDCC Chapter 10-01.1
We may charge an additional fee if or when the sheriff or service of process happens more than 5 times @ year if your company gets served a lot.
The bulk of our business is walking applications thru different agencies in North Dakota to expedite the processing of your applications as sometimes the mailed applications can take several weeks to process where agencies allow we can file your application same day if RUSH service is needed. Also if there are any problems we can contact you and help you solve problems that usually pop up on application submissions. Our state is very picky. All punctuations must be present, for example if a comma or period is missing that is usually enough to deny applications and can delay your applications for days or even weeks.
We cannot give you legal advice as we are not attorneys. We are a public document retrieval and filing company.
If you would like to use our company please submit your information using the contact form below and we will setup a file in our office for your company and will invoice out the first year upon receiving your request. Once you have submitted the contact form below you have our permission to list us on your business forms as your registered agent.
Forms
- Commercial or Noncommercial Registered Agent Statement of Change (SFN 13019)
- Registered Agent Statement of Change for Search Company of North Dakota, LLC
- Registered Agent Statement of Change for North Dakota Registered Agents, LLC
- Registered Agent Statement of Change for NDRA Services, LLC
- Commercial or Noncommercial Registered Agent Resignation (SFN 59240)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What is a registered agent in North Dakota and why do I need one?
A: By law (N.D.C.C., Century Code) most all business in North Dakota must appoint a registered agent in North Dakota to accept service of process (SOP), legal notices, and state mandates for the companies they serve. This is so that service of these documents can be done efficiently and effectively in the state of North Dakota.
ND Century Code allows for ND residents or ND registered companies to act as a registered agent for another company. A company, however, cannot act as its own registered agent.
Q: What business do not have to have a registered agent in North Dakota?
A: There are entities that do not have an entity registration filing required with the ND Secretary of State, i.e. national banks, trusts, out-of-state insurance companies, unincorporated foundations, etc. Under the provisions of N.D.C.C, chapter 10-01.1, these entities may choose to appoint a registered agent in the State of North Dakota and file that appointment with the Secretary of State. They may choose to appoint a commercial or noncommercial registered agent.
Q: What service are covered under registered agent services?
A: We accept all service of process delivered to our office on your company’s behalf and we quickly turnaround (usually minutes) and get that SOP to you by email, fax, UPS, FedEx, or US Mail based on your preferences.
We:
- Maintain privacy and separation from the public
- Accept legal documents outside of the business and its employees
We notify you annually by US Mail when it’s time to file your annual reports with the ND Secretary of State’s office.
We answer questions regarding business registrations in North Dakota and we provide a service to get your business forms filed efficiently and effectively in the state of North Dakota.
By hiring our professional registered agent company, it provides your company flexibility and freedom. Often, to save money, companies choose to designate an employee as their agent for service of process. If that employee were out of the office on vacation or sick leave critical service of process and annual reports may not be received and processed efficiently, which can result in legal consequences and/or additional fees for your company.
We strive for 100% customer satisfaction at a reasonable rate. Do you have a need that you don’t see here? Give us a call and let’s discuss.
Q: What is a commercial registered agent?
A: A commercial registered agent has filed a Commercial Registered Agent Listing with the ND Secretary of State and may be:
- An individual residing in the State of North Dakota.
- A domestic or foreign corporation registered with the Secretary of State and having a business office in North Dakota, or
- A domestic or foreign limited liability company registered with the Secretary of State and having a business office in North Dakota.
Q: What is a noncommercial registered agent?
A: A noncommercial registered agent does not have a Commercial Registered Agent Listing with the ND Secretary of State and may be:
- An individual residing in the State of North Dakota.
- A domestic or foreign corporation registered with the Secretary of State and having a business office in North Dakota, or
- A domestic or foreign limited liability company registered with the Secretary of State and having a business office in North Dakota.
Q: What is the difference between a commercial registered agent and a non-commercial registered agent?
A: The only difference is the commercial registered agent has a Commercial Registered Agent Listing with the ND Secretary of State and the noncommercial registered agent does not. The Commercial Registered Agent Listing statement is a voluntary filing. Note: As a company looking for a ND registered agent you can select either a commercial or noncommercial registered agent.
Q: What do you charge for registered agent services in North Dakota?
A: Search Company of North Dakota LLC (Commercial Registered Agent) $35/per calendar year.
North Dakota Registered Agents LLC (Commercial Registered Agent) $40/per calendar year. (Became a commercial agent January 2016, prior to that was a non-commercial agent)
North Dakota Registered Agent Services LLC (Non-Commercial Registered Agent) $40/per calendar year. (Was formed in January 2016 to be a non-commercial agent)
Q: What do you charge for registered agent services in other states besides North Dakota?
A: At the present time we are not serving as a registered agent outside of North Dakota, however, we have some great businesses that we can recommend. Please call our office to discuss.
Q: When do you invoice out for registered agent services?
A: To minimize our expenses and to keep our service fee low we invoice out for registered agent services when we send out the pre-printed annual reports that your business is required to file annually with the ND Secretary of State’s office. Our registered agent service runs from 1/1-12/31 of each year. It does automatically renew and we do not prorate our fee as we are one of the lowest, if not the lowest, in the state of North Dakota.
- For Profit Corporations are usually invoiced out in February of each year.
- Non-Profit Corporations are usually invoiced out in December of each year.
- Limited Liability Companies are usually invoiced out in September of each year.
- Other types of entities vary …
Q: Do I have to pay for registered agent services if I cancel before I receive the pre-printed annual report?
A: Unfortunately, the answer is yes as we have acted as your registered agent from the beginning of the year until the day you cancel, withdrawal, or involuntarily get terminated from doing business in North Dakota.
Q: I would like to change my registered agent, what fees and paperwork would be required?
A: Depending on the company chosen to serve as your agent you would pay that year fee plus the ND Secretary of State charges $10 for a Registered Agent Statement of Change filing. If you would like us to file the paperwork on your behalf we charge an additional $20 for this service (we will walk the filing thru and provide proof of filing), otherwise you can file the paperwork and pay the ND SOS fee on your own and only pay the registered agent yearly fee to our company.
Q: Are there additional fees for the registered agent service.
A: The only fee we charge is the calendar year annual fee. We have to note that if your business gets served more than 5 times in a calendar year additional fees may be required, however, we haven’t run into this yet.
Q: Why do you have multiple companies on the registered agent sheets provided by the ND Secretary of State?
A: The ND Secretary of State maintains two lists that they hand out to businesses that are in need of a registered agent. We wanted to be on both list along with our competition as we feel that we provide an outstanding service for a reasonable price.