Iowa Registered Agent
Everything You Need To Know About Iowa Registered Agents:

What Is an Iowa Registered Agent?
An Iowa registered agent is any company or resident of Iowa that agrees to accept official state correspondence, service of process, and annual charter renewal notifications on behalf of business entities registered in the state.
At minimum, your Iowa registered agent should accept important legal documents on behalf of your Iowa LLC, Iowa corporation, or Iowa nonprofit.
However, the right registered agent service can do much more. At Northwest, we go above and beyond the minimum to ensure top speed, security, privacy and support. Get Privacy by Default®, a business address, free mail forwarding, and local Corporate Guides®—only at Northwest.
What Are the Requirements for Iowa Registered Agents?
An Iowa registered agent must have a registered office with a physical street address in Iowa. The registered office must remain open during normal business hours. Whenever documents are served upon the registered office, your Iowa registered agent is required to forward those documents to you in a timely manner. This system ensures that the state has a reliable means by which to contact a business entity.
Or more specifically, according to Iowa State Code § 489.113 and Iowa State Code § 490.501, a registered agent must:
- Be able to accept legal documents.
- Have a physical, registered office address located within the state. No P.O. Boxes.
- Be an Iowa resident or a business that provides registered agent services.
Note: If a company’s registered agent cannot be served after a reasonable attempt, the company’s secretary will be served at the company’s principal address. If your secretary cannot be reached, you’ll never know you were served.
How Do I Change My Iowa Registered Agent?
There are two ways to change your registered agent in Iowa.
- Hire us and we’ll complete the change of agent form for you for free.
- Do it yourself and file a Statement of Change of Registered Office and/or Registered Agent form with the Iowa Secretary of State.
What Makes Northwest Different From Other Services?
At Northwest, we do business the right way. We’re dedicated to getting you your docs fast, protecting your privacy and offering you support. Here’s how:
- Same-Day Scans, Instant Notifications: We accept and scan your docs at our local office the same day. We notify you instantly and reach out to you if your essential mail goes unread.
- Privacy by Default®: We automatically minimize the exposure of and access to your personal data. If we can put our address on a public doc instead of yours, we do. If we don’t have to list your personal info, we don’t. We have tough privacy policies to keep your data safe and private. And we never sell your data.
- Free Limited Mail Forwarding: Of course we’ll get you your state and legal mail. That’s our job. But what if we get some of your regular business mail? It happens a lot—clients and businesses trying to connect with you via your registered agent. We scan 5 documents per year for FREE. We can also scan additional mail at a per document rate of $15.
- Corporate Guides®: Have questions? We have answers. Our guides are business experts whose sole job is to provide phone and email support for all your toughest business questions.
Iowa Registered Agent FAQs
Why Do I Need An Iowa Registered Agent?
- All businesses registered with the state must appoint a registered agent.
- The Iowa Secretary of State will reject your filing if you do not appoint one.
- So that the state and the general public have a reliable way to deliver to your Iowa business legal notices and other types of official mail.
Can I Be My Own Registered Agent In Iowa?
Yes, you can be your own registered agent in Iowa. 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 Iowa 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.
Where Is Northwest’s Registered Office In Iowa?
We scan all documents locally from our office in downtown Des Moines, IA.
Can I Use Your Iowa Registered Office Address For Everything On My Business Filing?
Yes. We’re the only national registered agent that allows our clients to list our address for everything when you’re doing a filing to keep you private address off public records.
Can I Have My Business’s Mail Delivered To Your Iowa Office?
We don’t want ALL of your business mail. It’s not what we do. And it wouldn’t serve you well. You wouldn’t have unique address or suite number. Any mail we receive on your behalf would come to to Northwest Registered Agent, care of you.
But we understand that businesses and clients sometimes reach out to you through your registered agent. Through us. That’s why we give you 5 FREE scans of regular business mail a year. You can request any additional documents to be forwarded at a per document rate of $15.
Should I Hire A Registered Agent Before Or After I Start My Business In Iowa?
You hire us first and then do your business registration filing with the Secretary of State. The state won’t allow you to form an LLC or corporation without a registered agent. Plus, you’ll find all the forms and instructions you need to complete your filing instantly after you sign up.
How Do Iowa Registered Agents Get Served?
Serving a registered agent is legal proof that you were notified of an event. It doesn’t matter if the company sees the documents or even gets them from their registered agent. You were notified if your registered agent signs for the documents; this is a responsibility we take seriously.
- A sheriff, process server, or any third party will walk into our office and hand us legal papers (service of process).
- The process server then gives an affidavit to the court stating that they “served” us.
How Do I Search For An Iowa Registered Agent?
- Perform an Iowa business name search.
- Use the name of the company you’re trying to look up.
- Look at the IA registered agent’s name and registered address.
- If you want to legally notify a business through their registered agent, simply send a letter as certified mail to the registered agent at their registered office address.
How Do I Resign From Being A Registered Agent In Iowa?
In Iowa, to resign as a registered agent, you need to submit a Statement of Resignation of Registered Agent to the Iowa Secretary of State’s Business Services Division. For a more detailed walkthrough, you can refer to our guide on how to resign as a registered agent in Iowa.
How To Order Iowa Registered Agent Service:
You sign up online, clicking on one of the buttons or links that says “HIRE US.”
We collect the first year of the registered agent service fee up front.
For new businesses, we’ll become your Iowa registered agent service once your business registration filing with the Iowa Secretary of State is complete.
About a year later, we’ll send you an invoice for another year of Iowa registered agent service. If you want to keep using us, great; if you don’t, you can easily cancel.
With offices in every state, we make it easy to add registered agent services anywhere in the country. 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 Iowa registered agent service or paying a bill but for keeping up with Iowa corporate compliance.
Information Your Iowa Registered Agent Should Help You Understand:
- Business documents are filed with the Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services Division.
- Domestic LLCs and corporations cost $50 to file.
- Foreign LLCs and corporations cost $100 to register.
- Domestic nonprofits cost $20, and foreign nonprofits cost $25.
- Iowa has a biennial report due every two years. For LLCs and corporations, the fee is $45 online ($60 paper). Nonprofits must file, but there is no filing fee.
At Northwest, we can also form your LLC or form your corporation in Iowa for $100 plus state fees. As part of our commitment to Privacy by Default®, we put our business address on your filings to better protect your privacy. And you always have the support of our Corporate Guides®.