Oregon Registered Agent
When you choose Northwest as your Oregon Registered Agent, you get instant service, Privacy by Default®, and a business address. And if you want more, you can get a domain name, website, email, and phone number for free.
Want to learn more about what a registered agent does in Oregon? We'll explain the Oregon Corporation Division’s requirements, what your registered agent should do for you, and how to change your registered agent in Oregon.
When You Want More
$125 a Year Every Year
Northwest is the choice of professionals for registered agent service.
- Same-Day Scans, Instant Notifications
- Privacy by Default®
- Business Address
- Free Domain, Website, Email & Business Phone
What Is an Oregon Registered Agent?
An Oregon registered agent is a person or company that you designate to receive legal mail (like service of process) on behalf of your business. Registered agents exist to provide an official and reliable way to contact your business.
If your business is ever served with a lawsuit, the process server will deliver the paperwork directly to your registered agent. At that point, your business is legally considered “served.” The registered agent should then forward you your mail, quickly and securely.
Per, Oregon’s state statutes (ORS 60.111), registered agents are legally required in Oregon. At a minimum, your registered agent must list a physical address on the public record and be present at that address during business hours. But ideally, your registered agent should do more.
What Are The Legal Requirements For Oregon Registered Agents?
According to Oregon law (ORS 60.111) the state of Oregon requires the following of a registered agent:
- A registered agent must be a state resident or a company that provides registered agent services.
- Registered agents must maintain a registered office (a physical address in Oregon).
- Registered agents must accept legal documents (service of process) during normal business hours.
Note: In Oregon, if your registered agent is unable to be reached or served, the Secretary of State will be served on behalf of your business. This may seem like a good thing, but if your registered agent in Oregon can’t be reached by a process server and the Secretary of State receives your business’ service of process, it’s possible that you’ll never know your business was served. This could result in a judgment against your business without you ever knowing. In short, it’s important to hire a registered agent that you know can always be reached.
How To Be Your Own Oregon Registered Agent
If you do not mind your name and address on public record, you may act as your own registered agent in Oregon. Keep in mind that you must keep regular business hours at this address, as to be available to accept certain documents in person.
To act as your own registered agent, simply fill out your name and address on the formation documents in the spaces where it asks for registered agent information when forming your business.
Change Your Registered Agent to Yourself
If you have already formed your company, you can change your Oregon registered agent by filing a Change of Registered Agent/Address Form with the Oregon secretary of state. If you mail in the form it will take roughly one week to process, and same goes for a faxed-in filing. If you deliver it in person or mail your form via FedEx, processing will only take a day. Here are some pointers for filing the form:
- You will need your registry number – if you do a name search on the Oregon secretary of state website, you will be able to find the number for your Oregon LLC or Oregon corporation. This is an identification number for your business, given to it by the state when you form your business.
- Put your name and address in the spaces where it asks for new registered agent information.
- If you do not want to mail it, you may fax file. Fax file the credit card cover sheet and Change of Registered Agent form. There is no fee unless you request a confirmation copy, which is $5.
- You are now your own registered agent!
Being your own registered agent in Oregon is pretty simple. The only concern, however, is whether you want your name and address to become public information—this makes it accessible to anyone. Also, if your address is liable to change frequently or you are unable to maintain the required business hours, it could be a hassle to serve as your own registered agent.
How Do I Change My Oregon Registered Agent?
There are two ways to change your registered agent in Oregon.
- Hire us and we’ll complete the change of agent form for you for free.
- Do it yourself and file a Change of Registered Agent/Address Form with the Oregon secretary of state. There is no fee to file this form.
Why Northwest Is the Best Registered Agent in Oregon
Our Oregon Registered Agent Service includes the tools you need to keep your business running without a hitch. When you hire Northwest as your registered agent, you get:
- Same-Day Scans: We scan your legal docs the same day we receive them and reach out if your essential mail goes unread.
- Privacy by Default®: We list our business address on public docs to keep your personal info safe. And unlike those other guys, we never sell your data.
- Corporate Guides®: Have questions? We have answers. Our guides are business experts whose sole job is to provide support for all your business questions.
And if you want more? Add free trials of any of these options at checkout:
- Domain Name: Choose a domain name from a list of popular extensions (like .com and .net).
- Website: We provide a pre-built business website, customizable using an open source platform.
- Business Email Address: Create up to 10 business email addresses of your choosing. They’ll end in your domain name for branding ease.
- Phone Number: Keep your personal line private by using a business phone number for client communications.
How to Order Oregon Registered Agent Service
You sign up online, clicking on one of the buttons or links that says “HIRE US.”
We collect the first year’s fee for registered agent service up front.
For new businesses, once your business registration filing with the Oregon Secretary of State is complete, we’ll become your Oregon registered agent.
About a year later, we’ll send an invoice for another year of Oregon registered agent service. If you want to keep using us, great; if you don’t, you can easily cancel.
It’s easy to add registered agent services in other states if your business expands. We have offices in every state. We don’t farm out work (or your info) to other companies—wherever you are, WE are your registered agent.
We make your account a real go-to resource for you, not just for Oregon registered agent service or paying a bill but for keeping up with corporate paperwork formalities like the Oregon annual report.
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Oregon Registered Agent FAQs
- State law requires all legitimate, registered businesses to appoint one.
- The secretary of state will reject your business filing if you don’t appoint a registered agent.
- A registered agent requirement gives the public and the state a reliable way to contact your business.
Yes, you can be your own registered agent in Oregon. However, after considering the registered agent requirements most business owners elect to hire a registered agent service instead. Why? Well although being your own registered agent will cost you $0, an Oregon registered agent’s name and address becomes part of the public record. Additionally, the registered agent is required to be available to accept service of process during normal business hours 5 days a week.
We accept and scan all of our Oregon clients’ documents on-site at our registered office in Portland, OR.
When we accept a document on behalf of your business we will scan the docs from our Portland office within minutes to your online account.
Yes! We don’t mind if you put our address on your filing with the Secretary of State. We’re the only national registered agent service that allows clients to use the registered office address and keep your own address of the public record.
Yes! Privacy is important to us. If it’s important to you, too, you can use our Oregon Virtual Office ($29/month) or Oregon Mail Forwarding ($20/month) service to use our address as your own. With Oregon Virtual Office or our premium mail forwarding, you get a unique suite number, so the only company with that address is you.
Not expecting much mail? Our Oregon Registered Agent service includes 5 pieces of free mail forwarding a year. After that, you can pay $15 bucks for each extra piece you want forwarded.
If you want to legally notify someone through their Oregon registered agent service, just send a certified letter directly to the registered agent name and registered office address.
- You can do an Oregon business name search on the state’s website
- Type in the company name you are trying to look up.
- Look at the OR registered agent name and registered office street address.
Serving a registered agent is legal proof of notification. Whether you receive the documents your Oregon registered agent signs for or not, once they accept the documents, you’ve legally been notified. This is a serious responsibility and we don’t take it lightly. Here’s how it works:
- A process server, the county sheriff, or any third party will walk into our Portland office and hands us the documents (service of process), then we sign for them.
- The process server then gives an affidavit (a receipt of service) to the court which states that they “served” us.
- If you’ve hired us, long before the server hands in their affidavit to the court, you’ve received your documents because we scanned them to your online account within minute of having been served.
The best way to get started is to sign up for our instant registered agent service online. Then you can do the filing with the Oregon Secretary of State to form your business. This is because you must list your registered agent when you complete the filing. If you don’t have one, your filing will be rejected. Signing up for our registered agent service is also ideal because we provide all the forms and filing instructions you may need in your online account. We make the filing process as simple as possible.
In Oregon, to resign as a registered agent, agents need to submit written notice of resignation to the company they had been representing at the company’s mailing address or principal office. For a more detailed walkthrough, you can refer to our guide on how to resign as a registered agent in Oregon.