Illinois Registered Agent
Illinois corporations and LLCs need an in-state registered agent to remain in good standing with state laws. With a professional Illinois Registered Agent like Northwest, we can mind the procedural compliance stuff for you while you focus on running your business.
Our office in Springfield is just a short drive away from the secretary of state’s office, providing your business with a local address for your paperwork—and we’ll forward your state legal mail to wherever you like. Want more? We’ve also got a free domain name, website, and local Illinois phone number for you.
When You Want More
$125 a Year Every Year
Northwest is the choice of professionals for registered agent service.
- Same-Day Scans, Instant Notifications
- Privacy by Default®
- Business Address & Free Mail Forwarding
- Free Domain, Website, Email & Business Phone
What Is an Illinois Registered Agent?
An Illinois registered agent is a person or business that is designated to accept service of process (legal mail) on behalf of your business. Illinois law requires registered businesses to have a registered agent. You’ll also need to include your registered agent’s name and address on state formation documents you file with the Illinois Secretary of State.
Illinois registered agents must:
- Accept legal documents and official mail on behalf of your Illinois business and deliver them to you as fast as possible.
- Have a physical address (no P.O. boxes) in the state of Illinois where they can accept legal documents (service of process) and official mail like tax notices. This location is called a registered office.
- Maintain normal business hours (9am to 5pm).
These are just the minimum legal requirements for Illinois registered agents. At Northwest, we believe in going above and beyond expectations to ensure top speed, security, privacy and support for all of our clients.
How Do I Change My Illinois Registered Agent?
Changing your Illinois registered agent is a pretty straightforward process. Here’s how it works:
- File a Statement of Change of Registered Agent form with the Illinois Secretary of State.
- If you have a corporation, you file Form BCA 5.10/5.20, Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Registered Office.
- If you have an LLC, you file Form LLC-1.36/1.37, Statement of Change of Registered Agent and/or Office.
- 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 Illinois registered agent page.
Why Northwest Is the Best Registered Agent in Illinois?
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. 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.
- Unlimited Mail Forwarding: Expecting much more business mail? For $20 a month, we also offer unlimited Illinois mail forwarding. Our unlimited option includes an Illinois business address with a unique suite number—great for listing on your website, establishing a business presence, or giving a home or online business a more professional appearance. We even accept Amazon Verification Cards, but we can not be your Amazon return address since our offices aren’t equip to hold anything beyond regular sized mail.
- 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.
How to Order Illinois Registered Agent Service
You sign up online, 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 Illinois Secretary of State is complete, we’ll become your Illinois registered agent.
About a year later, we’ll send an invoice for another year of Illinois 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 Illinois registered agent service or paying a bill but for keeping up with corporate paperwork formalities like the Illinois annual report.
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Illinois Registered Agent FAQs
Anyone forming an Illinois LLC or corporation in Illinois.
Big data. At Northwest, we know how to keep your personal information private. We don’t sell your data to others to make money. We don’t offer “big data” to others for a profit.
We are the only national registered agent that locally scans everything to you in real time. Your Illinois registered agent service is going to be your point of contact for any serious legal notices. We maintain our own registered offices in each state, and when you hire us for Illinois registered agent service we’ll scan everything to you from our office in Springfield, IL within minutes. And we don’t just email you a copy of your notice. Our Corporate Service Manager utilizes the most sophisticated calendaring response and tracking system of any Illinois registered agent service. Plus we make sure you and your lawyer or whoever you want to be notified actually look at the documents we upload for you.
Privacy. Choosing a registered agent is an important decision. If the general public or a government official wants to know who owns your company, your registered agent is who they’ll contact. We have strict privacy policies to keep your personal data private. Our trained staff will not give away your information, and our in-house data security professionals stress-test our systems regularly. Also, we prosecute those who try to hack our system.
Collections. We never send our clients to collections. If you don’t want to pay us, don’t. New clients sign up with us every day because they’re sick of their current registered agent’s billing policies. Our trademarked slogan is “We’re just not annoying.” This isn’t just a saying, they’re the words on which our business was founded.
This is all we do. When you hire us Northwest Registered Agent will be your registered agent in Illinois. Registered agent service is everything to us. Registered agent service isn’t a line item on a profit and loss sheet. It’s not a dividend payment to our owners. This isn’t an idea we hope will work out. And we certainly aren’t a massive corporate conglomerate with any army of salespeople looking for every penny of profit we can grab. This isn’t just a job to us.
All of our Illinois clients’ documents are accepted and scanned on-site at our registered office in Springfield, IL.
When we accept a document on behalf of your business we will scan the docs from our office in Springfield, IL within minutes to your online account.
- If you don’t have a lease at our address, the postal service might not deliver your mail.
- As your registered agent in Illinois, things come directly to us—Northwest Registered Agent Service Inc.—care of you.
- If we do receive any mail for you, though, we’ll scan it to you in real time, in minutes.
Definitely! If you own an LLC or corporation in Illinois, you’ll need to file your IL annual report each year. As part of our registered agent service, we’ll not only send you a reminder, but we’ll give you the form you need to file and instructions on how to file it.
Serving a registered agent is legal proof of notification. Whether you receive the documents your Illinois registered agent signs for or not, once they accept the documents, you’ve legally been notified. This is a serious responsibility and we don’t take it lightly. Here’s how it works:
- A process server, the county sheriff, or any third party will walk into our Springfield office and hands us the documents (service of process), then we sign for them.
- The process server then gives an affidavit (a receipt of service) to the court which states that they “served” us.
- 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.
You should hire us first and then form your LLC or corporation. The Secretary of State’s Corporations Division will reject your business registration filing if you don’t already have a registered agent service. You’ll find all the forms and instructions you need to complete your filing instantly after you place an order.
- Perform an Illinois 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 Illinois registered agent service, just send a certified letter directly to the registered agent at their registered office address.