New Hampshire Registered Agent

Your New Hampshire registered agent should maintain a registered office, a physical address in the state where they accept documents on behalf of your business. Your registered agent accepts any legal documents (service of process) and official mail that gets sent to your  New Hampshire LLC, New Hampshire corporation or New Hampshire 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.

According to the New Hampshire state statute Title XXVIII Section 304-C:36, whether your business is a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation, the state of New Hampshire requires the following from a registered agent:

• The NH registered agent must be a state resident or a business that provides registered agent services.
• NH registered agents must have and maintain a registered office (a physical address in New Hampshire).
• NH registered agents accept legal documents (service of process) during normal business hours.

In New Hampshire, it is possible to be your own registered agent.  This means that it is you who will be answering the door when the process server comes knocking if you get served. A lot of businesses choose to hire a registered agent for this very reason, but it is completely possible for you to act as your own agent.

What are the requirements for being my own registered agent?

The process of appointing (or changing) your registered agent is all relatively straightforward; however there are a few major requirements that must be met:

• You need to have a physical New Hampshire street address. If you wish to act as your own registered agent, it is imperative that you have an actual street address (in New Hampshire), and not a PO Box. Should your business be sued, the state requires an actual location where process servers can serve your business. This way the judge will know you have officially been served your lawsuit.
• You need to have regular business hours. This means you need to maintain normal, regular business hours at your physical address. It will not suffice to be available haphazardly at irregular after-business hours.
• A New Hampshire business cannot act as its own registered agent. Your agent must be an individual or another business. This means you can be an agent for your business, but your LLC or corporation itself cannot be the agent.

How do I change my registered agent if I already have an established business?

If you have already formed a New Hampshire business, you can change your New Hampshire registered agent by filing a Statement of Change document. There are separate documents for corporations and LLCs. Fill out the information requested and send the document, along with the $15 filing fee.

Once you put your name and address on either your New Hampshire LLC or New Hampshire corporation formation documents or the change of agent form, it is searchable public information. Also, you must not only ensure that you are able to keep the regular business hours and physical location required, but that you don’t mind process servers showing up on your door step.

There are two ways to change your registered agent in New Hampshire.

1. Hire us and we’ll complete the change of agent form for you for free.
2. Do it yourself and file a Statement of Change of Registered Agent form with the New Hampshire Department of State, Corporate Division (DOS). There is a $15 fee to file this form.

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.