Massachusetts Registered Agent
When You Want More
A Massachusetts registered agent is a resident or business entity that maintains a physical street address in Massachusetts and accepts service of process on behalf of a business. A Massachusetts registered agent must be open during regular business hours to accept legal documents, and all documents must be forwarded to clients in a timely manner. Massachusetts requires all registered businesses to have a registered agent.
With our Massachusetts registered agent service, get Privacy by Default®, business address, free mail forwarding, free Phone Service for 60 days, and local Corporate Guides®—only at Northwest.
Everything You Need To Know About Massachusetts Registered Agents:
- Get Massachusetts Registered Agent Service
- What Do Massachusetts Registered Agents Do?
- Legal Requirements for Massachusetts Registered Agents
- How Do I Change My Massachusetts Registered Agent?
- What Makes Northwest Different From Other Services?
- Massachusetts Registered Agent FAQs
- How To Order Registered Agent Service
Get Massachusetts Registered Agent Service
Instant Online
Service
Sign up & immediately get a secure account where you’ll find:
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Massachusetts business forms
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Annual report reminders
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All your scanned & stored documents
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Easy access to all our business services
Do Business
the Right Way
See why the pros choose Northwest:
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Same price every year
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Free limited mail forwarding
- Free 60-day trial of Phone Service
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Privacy by Default®
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Lifetime support from our Corporate Guides®
Massachusetts Registered Agent Service
$ 125 Per Year
Hire Us What Do Massachusetts Registered Agents Do?
Massachusetts registered agents accept documents on behalf of your business in Massachusetts, get them to you fast, and keep normal business hours. In other words, your registered agent’s address acts as the official place where any service of process and official mail for your Massachusetts LLC, Massachusetts corporation or Massachusetts nonprofit will be sent.
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 Massachusetts Registered Agents?
Per Massachusetts Law (Title XXII, Chapter 156D Section 5.01), whether your business is a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation, the state of Massachusetts requires the same from a registered agent:
- Must be a state resident or a company that provides registered agent services.
- Must have a physical address (no P.O. boxes) in the state of Massachusetts where they can accept legal documents (service of process) and official mail. This location is called a registered office.
- Must be able to accept legal documents (service of process) during normal business hours.
Note: Some Massachusetts documents and codes refer to registered agents as “resident agents”—they fulfill the same duties and the names are interchangeable.
How Do I Change My Massachusetts Registered Agent?
There are two ways to change your registered agent in Massachusetts.
- 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 Agent/Registered Office form with the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth (SOC).
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.
Massachusetts Registered Agent FAQs
Why Do I Need A Massachusetts Registered Agent?
- The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires all registered businesses to appoint a registered agent.
- The Secretary of the Commonwealth (SOC) will reject your business filing if you don’t appoint a registered agent.
- The registered agent requirement exists so the general public and SOC have a reliable way to contact your business.
Can I Be My Own Registered Agent In Massachusetts?
Yes, you can be your own registered agent in Massachusetts. 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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts?
We accept and scan all of our Massachusetts clients’ documents on-site at our registered office in Pittsfield, MA in Berkshire County.
Can I Use Your Massachusetts Registered Office Address For Everything On My Business Filing?
Please do! 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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts?
You should hire us first and then form your LLC or corporation because the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s corporations division 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 Massachusetts Registered Agents Get Served?
Serving a registered agent is legal proof that you were notified. Regardless of whether you receive the documents your Massachusetts 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 minutes of having been served.
How Do I Search For A Massachusetts Registered Agent?
- Perform a Massachusetts business name search.
- Type in the name of the company you’re searching for.
- Find the registered agent’s name and registered office street address in the search results.
If you want to legally notify a business through their Massachusetts registered agent service, just send a letter through certified mail directly to the registered agent at their registered office address.
How Do I Resign From Being A Registered Agent In Massachusetts?
In Massachusetts, to resign as a registered agent, you need to submit a Statement of Resignation of Resident Agent (LLCs) or a Statement of Resignation of Registered Agent (corporations) to the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division. For a more detailed walkthrough, you can refer to our guide on how to resign as a registered agent in Massachusetts.
How To Order Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts registered agent service once your business registration filing with the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division is complete.
About a year later, we’ll send you an invoice for another year of Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts registered agent service or paying a bill but for keeping up with Massachusetts corporate compliance.
Information Your MA Registered Agent Should Help You Understand:
- Business filings are submitted to the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division.
- Domestic and foreign LLCs cost $500 to file.
- Domestic corporations cost $265, and foreign corporations and nonprofits cost $400.
- Domestic nonprofits are $35.
- Each year, your business will need to file an annual report. LLC annual report fees are particularly steep: $500 a year. Corporations pay $125, and nonprofits pay $15.
At Northwest, we can also form your LLC or form your corporation in Massachusetts 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®.