WEBVTT 00:00:00.250 --> 00:00:06.250 The 5 best registered agents in Idaho in 2026 are Mainstay Filing, Northwest 00:00:06.294 --> 00:00:11.450 Registered Agent, ID Registered Agent.org, Bizee, and 00:00:11.543 --> 00:00:14.010 Idaho Registered Agent.co. 00:00:14.010 --> 00:00:16.490 Welcome to The Business Formation Podcast. 00:00:16.610 --> 00:00:19.690 Idaho. Is there anything unusual about agents out there? 00:00:19.690 --> 00:00:25.770 One nice thing. Changing your agent online costs nothing in state fees, and the 00:00:25.827 --> 00:00:31.930 annual report is free too. So the agent's own fee is nearly your whole yearly cost. 00:00:34.041 --> 00:00:35.945 What does the state actually demand? 00:00:35.945 --> 00:00:38.825 A registered agent with a physical street address in Idaho. 00:00:39.092 --> 00:00:42.585 No P.O. boxes, and no commercial mailboxes either. 00:00:42.585 --> 00:00:43.945 And who can fill the role? 00:00:43.945 --> 00:00:48.505 An individual who lives in Idaho, or a business entity authorized to do business 00:00:48.553 --> 00:00:53.065 here. The Secretary of State adds that the agent should be available during normal 00:00:53.109 --> 00:00:54.345 business hours. 00:00:54.345 --> 00:00:55.465 What about a DBA? 00:00:55.465 --> 00:00:58.505 An assumed business name can't serve as an agent. 00:00:58.718 --> 00:01:02.585 It has to be a real person or a real entity. 00:01:02.585 --> 00:01:03.945 Does the agent have to agree? 00:01:03.945 --> 00:01:10.185 Yes. Naming an agent is your company's statement that the agent consented to serve, 00:01:10.225 --> 00:01:13.625 and on the paper change form the new agent signs to accept. 00:01:13.625 --> 00:01:15.785 I'm Maya, by the way, here with Dan. 00:01:15.785 --> 00:01:18.825 Thanks, Maya. Now the five. 00:01:20.532 --> 00:01:21.332 Number one? 00:01:21.332 --> 00:01:28.052 Mainstay Filing, $149 a year, and the same $149 at renewal. 00:01:28.052 --> 00:01:28.772 What do I get? 00:01:28.772 --> 00:01:32.372 Its Idaho address goes on the public record instead of yours. 00:01:32.479 --> 00:01:37.012 Anything served on your company is scanned and uploaded the same business day, with 00:01:37.092 --> 00:01:42.212 no fee, and your first three government mailings each year are scanned free. 00:01:42.212 --> 00:01:43.972 And if I already have an agent? 00:01:43.972 --> 00:01:46.372 Mainstay files the change for you. 00:01:46.465 --> 00:01:50.771 Idaho charges no state fee for it online, so there's nothing to pass through. 00:01:51.352 --> 00:01:52.692 The catch? 00:01:52.692 --> 00:01:59.012 Price. If all you want is the lowest flat number, the two $99 agents below it win 00:01:59.060 --> 00:01:59.892 that contest. 00:02:00.692 --> 00:02:01.652 Second place? 00:02:01.652 --> 00:02:05.892 Northwest Registered Agent, $125 a year. 00:02:06.092 --> 00:02:11.412 Its page says the price hasn't gone up in 20 years, and up to 10 pieces of regular 00:02:11.460 --> 00:02:13.252 mail a year are scanned free. 00:02:13.252 --> 00:02:13.972 Catch? 00:02:13.972 --> 00:02:19.652 Signing up auto-enrolls you in its annual report filing service, $100 plus state 00:02:19.732 --> 00:02:21.892 fees per filing, until you cancel. 00:02:21.892 --> 00:02:23.732 But Idaho's report is free. 00:02:23.732 --> 00:02:29.732 Exactly. So that service would be $100 for a filing the state doesn't charge for. 00:02:29.858 --> 00:02:32.292 Cancel it unless you want the hand-holding. 00:02:33.092 --> 00:02:33.892 Third? 00:02:33.892 --> 00:02:39.172 ID Registered Agent.org, $99 a year, still $99 at renewal. 00:02:39.192 --> 00:02:43.172 You get the office address on your filings, same-day scanning of court papers and 00:02:43.228 --> 00:02:45.412 reminders before state deadlines. 00:02:45.412 --> 00:02:46.212 Switching? 00:02:46.212 --> 00:02:51.092 No state fee. The catch is that annual report filing is a separate service. 00:02:51.092 --> 00:02:52.612 Compared with Mainstay? 00:02:52.612 --> 00:02:57.252 $50 a year less. Over three years that's $150. 00:02:58.034 --> 00:02:58.594 Four. 00:02:58.594 --> 00:03:03.554 Bizee, formerly Incfile. The agent is free the first year with any formation 00:03:03.614 --> 00:03:06.674 package, then $149 a year. 00:03:06.674 --> 00:03:08.114 Any fine print? 00:03:08.114 --> 00:03:13.554 The renewal is automatic, and its policy says auto-renew fees can't be reversed once 00:03:13.614 --> 00:03:14.434 charged. 00:03:14.434 --> 00:03:16.034 And without a formation order? 00:03:16.034 --> 00:03:21.634 There's no free year. You start at $149, so two years is 00:03:21.674 --> 00:03:23.474 $298. 00:03:24.541 --> 00:03:25.341 And the fifth? 00:03:25.341 --> 00:03:29.501 Idaho Registered Agent.co, a flat $99. 00:03:29.681 --> 00:03:34.381 The address on your filings, same-day scanning of legal mail and reminders before 00:03:34.434 --> 00:03:35.581 state deadlines. 00:03:35.581 --> 00:03:37.421 How is it different from number three? 00:03:37.421 --> 00:03:43.581 On the listings, it isn't. Same price, same catch, and report filing costs extra. 00:03:44.335 --> 00:03:45.935 Say I work from home in Boise. 00:03:45.995 --> 00:03:46.735 Can I use that? 00:03:46.735 --> 00:03:51.455 If it's a physical street address in Idaho and someone is there during business 00:03:51.522 --> 00:03:57.535 hours, yes. A P.O. box is fine for your company's mailing address, but not as the 00:03:57.586 --> 00:03:59.135 registered office. 00:03:59.135 --> 00:04:00.494 Why does it matter? 00:04:00.494 --> 00:04:05.375 A process server delivers papers to that address, and the clock to respond starts 00:04:05.415 --> 00:04:10.975 right away. If no one passes them along, the first sign of a lawsuit can be a 00:04:11.045 --> 00:04:12.095 default judgment. 00:04:12.709 --> 00:04:14.654 What does the agent have to do? 00:04:14.654 --> 00:04:21.455 Under section 30-21-412, any process, notice or demand against the 00:04:21.545 --> 00:04:24.935 company can be served on its registered agent. 00:04:25.023 --> 00:04:26.415 That's the job. 00:04:26.415 --> 00:04:29.055 Does the agent get my annual report reminders? 00:04:29.055 --> 00:04:34.175 No. Those go to the mailing address on your Certificate of Organization. 00:04:34.916 --> 00:04:36.676 Where does the agent go at formation? 00:04:36.676 --> 00:04:39.636 Item 3 of the Certificate of Organization. 00:04:39.836 --> 00:04:44.436 Filing it online is $100, or $120 on paper. 00:04:44.436 --> 00:04:46.516 And a change later? 00:04:46.516 --> 00:04:51.156 A Statement of Change of Registered Agent, Registered Office, or Both. 00:04:51.276 --> 00:04:55.636 The base fee is $0, filed online in SOSBiz. 00:04:55.636 --> 00:04:56.356 On paper? 00:04:56.356 --> 00:04:59.716 Then there's a $20 manual processing fee. 00:04:59.816 --> 00:05:03.397 The state says online is the fastest option and avoids that. 00:05:03.397 --> 00:05:05.477 Who signs the paper one? 00:05:05.477 --> 00:05:09.957 A member or manager of the LLC, and the new agent, consenting to serve. 00:05:09.957 --> 00:05:11.637 Do the members vote? 00:05:11.637 --> 00:05:17.317 No. They need not approve it. And there's a shortcut: an annual report that lists a 00:05:17.365 --> 00:05:20.037 different agent counts as a statement of change too. 00:05:21.149 --> 00:05:22.429 What if my agent quits? 00:05:22.429 --> 00:05:26.029 The agent files a statement of resignation, and there's no fee. 00:05:26.189 --> 00:05:31.149 It takes effect on the 31st day after filing, or sooner once a new agent is named. 00:05:31.149 --> 00:05:33.069 Do I get warned? 00:05:33.069 --> 00:05:37.869 The agent has to promptly send the company a written notice of the date it filed. 00:05:38.013 --> 00:05:39.551 That gives you about a month. 00:05:40.710 --> 00:05:42.510 And if I miss it? 00:05:42.510 --> 00:05:47.070 Papers can then be served by registered or certified mail to the principal office, 00:05:47.123 --> 00:05:49.070 as shown on your latest annual report. 00:05:50.722 --> 00:05:53.522 Can Idaho shut an LLC down over this? 00:05:53.522 --> 00:05:57.922 It can start administrative dissolution if the company has no registered agent for 00:05:58.082 --> 00:06:02.882 60 consecutive days. The same goes if it doesn't tell the Secretary of State within 00:06:02.962 --> 00:06:05.762 60 days that its agent changed or resigned. 00:06:05.762 --> 00:06:07.362 Is there a warning? 00:06:07.362 --> 00:06:12.162 The state sends notice first, and the company gets 60 days to correct it. 00:06:12.162 --> 00:06:14.242 So it's recoverable. 00:06:14.242 --> 00:06:19.602 If you act. The easy fix is naming a new agent online for nothing. 00:06:20.912 --> 00:06:22.752 What else does Idaho want every year? 00:06:22.752 --> 00:06:25.632 The annual report, which has no fee. 00:06:25.765 --> 00:06:30.352 It's due by the end of your LLC's anniversary month, and you file it online in 00:06:30.532 --> 00:06:31.472 SOSBiz. 00:06:31.472 --> 00:06:33.632 So the real yearly spend? 00:06:33.632 --> 00:06:38.272 With Mainstay it's $149 and nothing else. 00:06:38.384 --> 00:06:41.632 With a $99 agent, $99. 00:06:41.632 --> 00:06:44.432 Does the report matter for the agent? 00:06:44.432 --> 00:06:48.832 It lists your agent, so it's a handy moment to check that your agent's details are 00:06:48.885 --> 00:06:49.632 still right. 00:06:50.359 --> 00:06:51.719 Can I be my own agent? 00:06:51.719 --> 00:06:54.679 Yes, if you have a physical Idaho address. 00:06:54.759 --> 00:06:55.959 It costs nothing. 00:06:55.959 --> 00:06:56.999 The tradeoff? 00:06:56.999 --> 00:07:00.999 Your address shows up in the state's public business search, and you need to be 00:07:01.026 --> 00:07:05.799 there during business hours. That's hard if you travel, work on job sites, or run 00:07:05.833 --> 00:07:07.119 things from the kitchen table. 00:07:07.119 --> 00:07:09.159 And a service fixes that? 00:07:09.159 --> 00:07:13.319 It puts a professional address on the record, and the same-day scan means you see 00:07:13.376 --> 00:07:14.279 papers fast. 00:07:15.559 --> 00:07:17.319 How should an Idaho owner pick? 00:07:17.319 --> 00:07:23.879 Three things. Does the price hold after year one, is the address a real Idaho street 00:07:23.929 --> 00:07:26.440 address, and who files the change. 00:07:26.440 --> 00:07:28.440 And your answer? 00:07:28.440 --> 00:07:35.240 Mainstay Filing. Our pick for Idaho, at $149 a year. 00:07:35.978 --> 00:07:37.498 All five, one more time? 00:07:37.498 --> 00:07:43.138 One, Mainstay Filing: $149, same at renewal. 00:07:43.308 --> 00:07:49.018 Two, Northwest: $125, with the report service to cancel. 00:07:49.245 --> 00:07:55.778 Three, ID Registered Agent.org: $99 flat. 00:07:55.930 --> 00:08:03.498 Four, Bizee: free the first year with a formation order, then $149. 00:08:03.594 --> 00:08:08.699 Five, Idaho Registered Agent.co: $99 flat. 00:08:08.699 --> 00:08:10.139 The links are in the show notes. 00:08:10.219 --> 00:08:13.179 Thanks for listening to The Business Formation Podcast.