Minnesota Registered Agent
Order $89 to $99 Minnesota registered agent service online for immediate access to our address and state forms. No additional charges.
Your business must appoint a Minnesota registered agent to receive documents in legal matters, including notice of lawsuit. Our reliable registered agent service fulfills this requirement. You get:
- Same-day documents from our local office in Owatonna
- Immediate online access to state forms with our address and, where required, our signature
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Starting at $99 for new customers per state, renewing at $149 annually.
Registered Agent in Minnesota—Duties, Requirements, and Appointment
Designating a registered agent with the Minnesota secretary of state is an essential step toward ensuring your organization runs in accordance with the law. The agent accepts service of process and other official notices on your behalf, helping you meet your obligations and respond to legal challenges.
In this guide, you’ll learn who can serve as a registered agent in Minnesota, what their responsibilities are, and what the appointment process looks like. We’ll also show you how Harbor Compliance performs the duties of a registered agent to help your organization operate without any legal setbacks.
Responsibilities of Minnesota Registered Agents
A Minnesota registered agent is your main point of contact with the secretary of state. They accept official documents such as lawsuit notices at the registered office—a designated physical location every Minnesota organization needs to have. Your agent then forwards the notice to you, ensuring you’re aware of any legal obligations or proceedings related to your organization.
Your agent must be available at the registered office during all regular business hours, or they run the risk of missing your notice. If this happens, you may be unaware that your organization is involved in litigation and might miss the court hearing. In such cases, courts typically issue a default judgment in the plaintiff’s favor, which can negatively affect your organization’s reputation and legal standing.
Minnesota Registered Agent Requirements
According to Section 5.36 of Minnesota Statutes, you are allowed to appoint the following as registered agents:
- Individuals residing in the state
- Domestic corporations or LLCs
- Foreign corporations or LLCs authorized to transact in Minnesota
If you go with an individual agent, you can appoint an employee, family member, friend, or even yourself. Still, none of these options are particularly appealing, as they all come with specific disadvantages, as explained in the following table:
| Individual Agent | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Employee | You might receive lawsuits and court summons in front of your team or clients. |
| Friend/family member | They might be absent due to personal obligations, travel, and various other reasons, which increases the chance of missed notices. |
| Yourself | You’d have to be at the registered office during business hours, which is limiting or even impossible if you run a multistate organization. If you list your home address as your registered office, you’ll be at risk of receiving service of process in front of your family and friends. |
With the above in mind, it’s no surprise that many organization leaders appoint specialized registered agent service providers, known as commercial registered agents. They offer the necessary availability, expertise, and systems to ensure your notices are received and forwarded timely.
Appointing and Changing Your Minnesota Registered Agent
The process of appointing a registered agent depends on whether you’re registering a new entity in Minnesota or expanding from another state:
- Forming a new legal entity—Domestic organizations can appoint a registered agent in their formation documents ( Articles of Incorporation for profit and nonprofit corporations or Articles of Organization for LLCs).
- Expanding to Minnesota—Organizations formed in another jurisdiction must appoint an agent in their foreign qualification filings to be able to operate in Minnesota.
If you want to change your existing agent, you must file the Notice of Change of Registered Office/Registered Agent form with the secretary of state. Note that if your current agent changes their address, it’s the agent’s responsibility to notify the secretary of state.
It’s crucial to keep your agent’s information accurate on official filings like annual reports. Failing to do so can lead to administrative dissolution—the process by which the state revokes your right to operate in Minnesota, effectively shutting down your organization. To avoid this, make sure the secretary of state is updated on any changes.
Reliable Minnesota Registered Agent Services by Harbor Compliance
If you want to outsource the registered agent responsibility to a team of experts, consider Harbor Compliance. We offer a convenient Registered Agent Service that comes with numerous benefits, such as:
- Same-day document delivery—We scan your time-sensitive correspondence and deliver it electronically on the same day we receive it. We’ll also call you by phone in case of legal action to ensure you don’t miss a lawsuit or subpoena notice.
- Local office in Owatonna—Our office is open during regular business hours, and someone is always there to receive your notices.
- Secure Client Portal—The Client Portal gives you access to all your notices and pre-filled state forms that drastically reduce filing time.
The Registered Agent Service is only a part of our extensive portfolio. We can help you meet all the legal obligations for operating in Minnesota through various services, most notably:
| Service Category | Services |
|---|---|
| Entity lifecycle management | |
| Tax registration and management | |
| Nonprofit formation | |
| Document filing and retrieval |
Individual Registered Agent in Minnesota vs. Harbor Compliance
We’ve mentioned some of the biggest drawbacks of appointing an individual agent, from limited flexibility if you appointed yourself to the increased risk of missed notices if you named another individual. You don’t need to worry about any of this if you partner with Harbor Compliance.
Thanks to a combination of extensive experience, advanced infrastructure, and nationwide presence, we offer the following benefits unavailable with a typical individual agent:
- Enhanced security—Harbor Compliance keeps every partner’s data safe through security measures like strong encryption and cloud monitoring. Our employees sign confidentiality agreements before joining our team, ensuring complete privacy.
- Freedom and flexibility—If you engage with us, it doesn’t matter where in the U.S. you are or how many states your organization operates in. Manage all your notices from various jurisdictions through our centralized platform, regardless of your physical location.
- Privacy and discretion—When you appoint us, our information is given to the secretary of state, and you don’t need to worry about being served lawsuits and subpoenas in front of colleagues, clients, or family members.
- Near-constant availability—Our Owatonna office works during regular business hours, so there’s no risk of our team missing your notice. You’ll receive it soon after we do and be able to respond to any legal action promptly.
How To Appoint Harbor Compliance as Your Minnesota Registered Agent
The process of appointing us as your registered agent varies depending on three scenarios:
- Forming a new legal entity in Minnesota
- Expanding your organization from another state
- Changing your existing registered agent
Whatever your circumstances, Harbor Compliance makes it easy to meet the registered agent requirement—check out the specific steps in the following breakdowns.
Forming a New Organization
We offer both a fully managed and DIY approach to appointing Harbor Compliance while registering your entity so you can decide how involved you want to be in the process.
If you want us to handle the formation on your behalf, you can choose between three services based on your business structure:
When you sign up for your preferred service, we’ll complete the registration from start to finish and list Harbor Compliance as your registered agent.
If you prefer to form your entity independently, you can appoint us by following these steps:
- Order our Registered Agent Service.
- Open the Client Portal to find the address of our Owatonna office.
- Fill out the formation documents and submit them to the Minnesota secretary of state.
Foreign Qualifying in Minnesota
You can’t expand to Minnesota before appointing a registered agent. Our Foreign Qualification Service package helps you meet this requirement alongside all others to help you qualify as quickly as possible.
Once you complete the simple wizard, we’ll gather and submit all the necessary documentation and obtain your Minnesota certificate of authority. Not only will we appoint Harbor Compliance on your behalf, but you’ll also get the Registered Agent Service at no extra cost for a year if you opt for the package.
Changing Your Registered Agent
If you want to change your agent without submitting any forms, sign up for our Registered Agent Service.
You’ll see the Change of Agent service option before checking out. Select it, and we’ll submit the relevant filings and appoint Harbor Compliance as your new agent.
Located in nearby Owatonna, MN!
How to Appoint Us as Your Minnesota Registered Agent
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Scenario A:
Formation -
Scenario B:
Foreign Qualification -
Scenario C:
Change Agent -
Scenario D:
Book of Business
Formation
Appoint us as your Minnesota registered agent when you incorporate your business or form your LLC. Sign up for registered agent service and file using the state forms and instructions in your Client Portal. The forms are pre-filled and signed as required by the state.
Foreign Qualification
Appoint us as your agent when you apply for a certificate of authority to transact business in Minnesota. Sign up for Minnesota registered agent service and file using the forms and instructions in your Client Portal. The forms are pre-filled and signed as required by the state.
Change Agent
Changing your registered agent to us is easy. Sign up for Minnesota registered agent service and file using the forms and instructions in your Client Portal. The forms are pre-filled and signed as required by the state.
Book of Business
Harbor Compliance is a provider of nationwide registered agent service. We can help you consolidate your agent representation and achieve cost savings. Our specialists manage the process to change registered agents so that virtually no work is required on your part. We will complete the state filings to appoint us as your registered agent. Additionally, we can extend your subscription term so that you avoid double payment for any portion of your current contract. There’s no reason to wait. Simply contact us for consolidation and we’ll take care of the rest. If you have registered agent appointments spanning multiple states or entities, contact us today.
Minnesota Registered Agent FAQs
You’ll see some of the most commonly asked questions about Minnesota registered agents below. If you need additional information, visit the Harbor Compliance Information Center.
Regardless of whether your organization is a nonprofit or an LLC, a registered agent is a person or legal entity that accepts service of process and other official correspondence and forwards it to you.
A registered agent can be a Minnesota resident, domestic organization, or foreign organization authorized to do business in the state.
You can be your own registered agent, but your personal details would enter the public record, and you’d have to be available at the registered office five days a week during business hours.
You can look up an organization’s information online through the secretary of state’s portal, and the results will include its registered agent details.
Choose Harbor Compliance as Your Minnesota Registered Agent
Harbor Compliance is a convenient, reliable solution for your registered agent needs. Sign up for our Registered Agent Service today, and let us help you meet Minnesota’s regulatory requirements with ease.
We’re here to support your organization’s overall regulatory standing—find out how by doing the following:
- Inquire about our additiona; services
- Get a free Harbor Compliance Score™ to see if your organization meets all its obligations.
- Schedule a demonstration of our comprehensive software to see how it can help you navigate Minnesota’s regulatory landscape.
To learn more about registered agent service in other U.S. states and territories Harbor Compliance operates in, refer to the following table: