Kentucky Registered Agent
Do Business the Right Way
A Kentucky resident or corporation that maintains a registered office address in Kentucky and is willing to accept service of process and official mail on behalf of a business. The agent must be capable of accepting service of any process, notice, or demand required by law to be served on a business.
For your company’s registered agent service, get Privacy by Default®, free mail forwarding, and local Corporate Guides®—only at Northwest.
Everything You Need To Know About Kentucky Registered Agents:

What Do Kentucky Registered Agents Do?
Kentucky Registered Agents accept documents on behalf of your business in Kentucky, get them to you and keep normal business hours.
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.
What Are the Legal Requirements for Kentucky Registered Agents?
According to the Kentucky state statute (§14A.4-010), whether your business is a limited liability company (LLC), C-corp, or S-corp, the state of Kentucky requires the same from a registered agent:
- The KY registered agent must be a state resident or a company that provides registered agent services.
- Kentucky registered agents need to have a physical address (no P.O. boxes) in the state of Kentucky where they can accept legal documents (service of process) and official mail. This location if called a registered office.
- Accept legal documents (service of process) during normal business hours.
Note: In order to accept the appointment of service, a registered agent in Kentucky must either sign the appointing document (the company’s formation document) or submit a written statement to the secretary of state acknowledging the appointment.
How Do I Change My Kentucky Registered Agent?
- File a Statement of Change of Principal Office Address, Registered Agent and/or Registered Office Address form with the Kentucky Secretary of State. Or, you can also change agents online on the secretary of state’s website. The fee to change agents is $10 (add another $10 if you’re also changing your principal business address).
- If you place an order with us, the form will be available instantly.
- It’s a simple process, but for more info, see our change your Kentucky registered agent page.
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.
Kentucky Registered Agent FAQs
Why Do I Need A Kentucky Registered Agent?
- 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.
Can I Be My Own Registered Agent In Kentucky?
Yes, you can be your own registered agent in Kentucky. 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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky?
We accept and scan all of our Kentucky clients’ documents on-site at our registered office in Richmond, KY.
Can I Use Your Kentucky Registered Office Address For Everything On My Business Filing?
Definitely! We’re the only national registered agent service that allows our clients to list our address for everything when you’re doing a filing to keep your private address off public records.
Can I Have My Business’s Mail Delivered To Your Kentucky 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.
Do I Hire A Registered Agent Before Or After I Start My Business In Kentucky?
You should hire us first and then form your LLC or corporation because the Kentucky Secretary of State will reject your business registration filing if you don’t. You’ll find all the forms and instructions you need to complete your filing instantly after you place an order.
How Do Kentucky Registered Agents Get Served?
Serving a registered agent is legal proof that you were notified. Regardless of whether you receive the documents your Kentucky registered agent signs for on your business’ behalf, once they accept the documents, you’ve been notified. This is a serious responsibility that we do not take lightly. This is how it works:
- A process server, the county sheriff, or any third party will walk into our office and hand us the documents (service of process), which we sign for.
- The process server then gives an affidavit (a receipt of service) to the court as confirmation that they “served” us.
Note: 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.
How Do I Search For A Kentucky Registered Agent?
If you want to legally notify a business through their Kentucky registered agent service, just send a certified letter directly to the registered agent name and registered office address. To find a company’s Kentucky registered agent:
- You can do a Kentucky business name search.
- Type in the name of the company you’re searching for.
- In the results, you’ll find the registered agent’s name and registered office street address.
How To Order Kentucky 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 Kentucky registered agent service once your business registration filing with the Kentucky Secretary of State is complete.
About a year later, we’ll send you an invoice for another year of Kentucky 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 Kentucky registered agent service or paying a bill but for keeping up with Kentucky corporate compliance.
Information Your Kentucky Registered Agent Should Help You Understand:
- Business documents are submitted to the Kentucky Secretary of State, Division of Business Filings.
- Domestic LLCs and corporations cost $40 to form. Corporations are also required to pay an Organization Tax Fee upon incorporation, which is a minimum of $10 for up to 1,000 shares.
- Nonprofits are a mere $8 to form.
- Foreign LLCs, corporations and nonprofits cost $90 to register.
- The state also requires businesses to submit an annual report each year by June 30th ($15).
At Northwest, we can also form your LLC or form your corporation in Kentucky 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®.