Florida Registered Agent
When you register a business in Florida, state law requires you to have a registered agent to receive legal and state documents on your behalf. With Northwest, it’s easy. You’ll get a reliable local Florida registered agent who takes care of your legal mail and keeps your business in good standing with the state.
Need more than just a registered agent? We offer everything a business needs, like domains, websites, annual compliance reporting, phone service, business email, and more. See why so many business owners trust Northwest.
When You Want More
- $125 a Year
- Business Address & Mail Scanning
- Instant Domain, Website, Email & Phone Number
- Use Our Address, Not Yours
- Privacy By Default®
What Is a Florida Registered Agent?
Florida registered agents are business entities or individuals that agree to accept service of process and official mail for corporations, LLCs and other entities registered in Florida. Having a registered agent gives the public and the state a reliable way to contact your business. Florida law requires all legitimate, registered businesses to appoint a registered agent. Your business filings will be rejected by the Florida Department of State if you don’t appoint a registered agent.
Essentially, your registered agent’s address acts as the official place where any service of process and official mail for your Florida LLC, Florida corporation or Florida nonprofit will be sent.
Florida’s registered agent requirements dictate that your registered agent must:
- Have physical addresses in the state (not a P.O. Box or virtual office)
- Be open during business hours (9 AM to 5 PM)
- Accept service of process on your behalf and get them to you right away
The right registered agent service can also do much more. At Northwest, we go above and beyond the minimum to ensure top speed, security, privacy and support.
How Do I Change My Florida Registered Agent?
Changing your registered agent in Florida is straightforward:
- You’ll file a Statement of Change of Registered Office or Agent or Both form with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations.
- If you place an order with us, the form will be available instantly. We’ll even pay and file the change of agent filing for you.
- It’s an easy change, but for more information, read our guide: How to Change Your Registered Agent in Florida.
Can I be my own registered agent?
Yes, you can be your own registered agent, but many business owners choose to hire a service instead. Why? Because while it’s free to act as your own agent, your name and address become public, and you must be available during business hours, Monday through Friday, to receive legal documents. If that doesn’t sound like something you can do, it’s best to hire a professional registered agent like Northwest.
Why Northwest Is the Best Registered Agent in Florida
Choosing the right registered agent is a critical decision for your business’s success. As the industry’s leading registered agent service, we provide the tools, support, and reliability you need to keep your business compliant and running smoothly. Hire Northwest and get:
- Same-Day scans: We scan your legal docs the same day we receive them and reach out if your essential mail goes unread.
- Mail Forwarding Service: We accept and scan all your state and legal mail, and will scan up to five personal documents for free. We also offer unlimited Florida mail forwarding.
- 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.
- Business Identity: Northwest is a Business Identity provider. Get a domain name that matches your business name. Tack on website hosting, we’ll get you an expert-built website, hosted and secured by us. Want to start talking to suppliers, advertisers, customers, and more? Set up business email addresses and a separate business phone number so you can protect your data and keep your communication professional.
How to Order Florida Registered Agent Service
Place an order for Florida Registered Agent Service. Sign up on our site, 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 Florida Division of Corporations is complete, we’ll become your Florida registered agent.
About a year later, we’ll send an invoice for another year of Florida 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 Florida Registered Agent Service or paying a bill but for keeping up with corporate paperwork formalities like Florida’s Annual Report.
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Florida Registered Agent FAQs
We provide a commercial registered office location in St. Petersburg, FL.
Absolutely! We’re the only national registered agent that allows our clients to list our addresses for everything when you’re doing a filing to keep your private addresses off of public records.
Yes! Just sign up for our unlimited Florida Mail Forwarding option. You’ll get a unique suite number and a Florida business address you can use for mail, advertising and more. While you can use our address, we are not a return depot for online or Amazon sellers, though we’d love to accept your foosball tables.
Don’t need a unique suite number? Our Florida registered agent service comes with free limited mail forwarding. We’ll list our business address (no unique suite number) on your public docs to better protect your privacy. And, we’ll scan the occasional business mail we receive—up to 5 documents a year, for FREE. You can request any additional documents to be forwarded at a per document rate of $15.
As your registered agent we allow the use of our address wherever it is accepted. We want your information to be as secure as possible. However, Amazon changed their Terms of Service to start a business account and now requires additional documentation such as utility bills and more, which registered agents cannot provide.
You should hire us first and then do your business registration filing, because you can’t form an LLC or corporation without a Florida registered agent service. Also, we provide all the forms and instructions you need to complete your filing instantly after you place an order.
- A process server, the sheriff, 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 that they “served” us.
Serving a registered agent is legal proof that you were notified. Regardless of whether you look at the docs or even receive them from your registered agent service. You were notified. We take this responsibility very seriously.
To find a company’s registered agent:
- Perform a Florida business name search with the FL Department of State.
- Type in the name of the company whose registered agent you are trying to look up.
- Look for the FL registered agent name and registered office street address.
In Florida, to resign as a registered agent, you need to submit a Resignation of Registered Agent, cover sheet and payment for processing to the Florida Department of State. For a more detailed walkthrough, you can refer to our guide on how to resign as a registered agent in Florida.
