Best Registered Agent Services (2024 Rankings)

Here are our top registered agent service picks in 2024:

• Most Comprehensive: ZenBusiness
• Best Legal Support: LegalZoom
• Most Cost Effective: Bizee (Powered by Incfile)
• Fast Turnaround: Swyft Filings
• Best Customer Support: Northwest Registered Agent

A registered agent is a person who receives legal, state and tax documents on behalf of a business. Every state requires LLCs and corporations to have a designated registered agent. This can be an individual, such as a business owner, an employee or an attorney, or it can be a company that will serve as a registered agent for an LLC. A registered agent must be available at a physical address during regular business hours Monday through Friday to receive official documentation and correspondence. 

Not only is it the agent’s responsibility to receive and keep track of important documents on the business’s behalf and notify them of documents received, but they’re also used as the point of contact to receive lawsuits and court summons on behalf of the business. The United States Constitution prohibits courts from exercising jurisdiction over defendants unless they’ve been appropriately notified. To meet this requirement, courts require plaintiffs to arrange for defendants to be served with a court summons, lawsuit notification or copy of the plaintiff’s complaints. 

This means that all LLCs and corporations must have a registered agent to receive state and tax documents and legal notification of lawsuits or court summons to ensure that the business knows when it has been sued or has notice of a lawsuit.

Every LLC or corporation must have a registered agent and name one when filing business formation paperwork. Anyone can be a registered agent for a business as long as they’re at least 18 years old, have a street address in the state and are physically present at that address during business hours. Businesses can have a one at their physical business address. However, being your own may pose complications if you don’t work from the physical location listed or aren’t present during regular business hours.

You may prefer to hire a registered agent instead of being your own and benefit from it for numerous reasons. 

• You prefer to focus on building your business rather than handling more paperwork. Receiving documents and keeping up with compliance requirements and deadlines can take time and effort to keep up on top of the other regular responsibilities of running a business. Using a service lets you completely take that task off your plate and have someone manage those documents, compliance requirements and deadlines.
• You want to keep your personal information private. The address of a business’s registered agent becomes a public record. So if you want to keep that information confidential or your business is home-based and you don’t want your address publicly available, hiring a company will allow you to keep that barrier of privacy.
• You want to keep legal matters confidential and separate from your place of business. Part of being a registered agent means receiving legal documents and service of process, including notice of lawsuits. If your business is involved in a legal action and you or someone at the physical address of your business is the registered agent, you could be served with legal documents in front of customers and employees. 
• You work from home, in multiple locations or aren’t at the business location during normal working hours. Registered agents must be present at the registered address during normal business hours. If you work remotely, work nontraditional business hours, travel often, work in multiple locations or can’t be at the site of the registered address daily during business hours, then you won’t be available to receive official mail. A registered agent service will provide their own physical location as your registered address, with agents available during regular work hours to receive all documentation on your behalf and keep you notified.
• You have or are planning to have your business operate in multiple states. A registered agent can only act in the state that they live in. So, if your business operates in multiple states or you’re planning to expand your business into multiple states, you’ll need to have an agent for each state your business operates in. Using a service can provide a registered agent living in each state your business operates in.

A registered agent also allows you to have a registered office, which every corporation needs. A registered office is a physical location where a business receives service of process or legal documents needing immediate notice and attention. 

Service of process can include:

• Lawsuits
• Court summons
• Subpoenas
• Tax notices from the IRS or local tax authorities 
• Official state correspondence

A registered office is the physical address of the registered agent where they must be available during business hours to receive service of process as most of these documents require a signature or have to be hand-delivered.

Another part of a registered agent’s required duties is to forward them digitally or physically to the business entity at their most recent location. Many providers may offer limited mail forwarding. They will only scan and forward critical documents, such as legal, state and tax notices and correspondence.

With the exception of Swyft Filings, many providers price registered agent services annually. Most fees range from $100 to $250 per year. On top of the provider’s annual fee, there may be other associated expenses, such as the state’s fee for appointing the provider as your agent.

Another pricing consideration is whether the provider offers registered agent services bundled with its formation packages. For example, Bizee offers one free year of registered agent services when you set up your business through one of its formation plans. Not only is this more cost-effective, it also streamlines the entire process of getting your business off the ground.

Here’s a price breakdown and comparison of our top registered agent service providers:

The qualifications for who can serve as an LLC registered agent vary from state to state. Regardless of the state, they must be at least 18 years of age and have a physical address in the state of the business that’s not a P.O. box. For most states, they must always be available during normal business hours. Some states also require that the individual named as the registered agent must be a state resident. 

To ensure your registered agent meets all requirements, the best course of action is to consult with each state your business operates in for exact qualifications and regulations. Ensure you cross-reference with all providers you’re considering to ensure they meet your state requirements.

When appointing a registered agent, you can hire a service provider or do it yourself. 

Every state allows business owners to be their own registered agents, and there are positives to this option. The primary positive is that you’ll save on costs by serving as your own registered agent. However, the cons might outweigh the benefits of the DIY option. 

One of the most significant inconveniences of being your own registered agent is how it may impede your schedule and location flexibility since it requires you to be available at the registered address during normal business hours. Not only does this mean that you won’t be able to work remotely, but you also won’t be able to take sick days, go on vacations, or even step out in the middle of the day for an appointment.

Another downside is the potential privacy issue. If your business is home-based, you’ll have to register your home address as your registered office. This isn’t ideal for those who don’t want their personal information and address to be on public record. If your registered office is your business place, being your own agent can still pose privacy concerns. You’ll have to receive legal and tax documents at your business, including being served lawsuits, potentially in front of your employees and customers. 

When you work with a registered agent service, you can eliminate all the disadvantages of being your own registered agent. Hiring a provider gives you the expertise of a business that specializes in providing this service. Outsourcing can help you feel confident that all your critical documentation needs and deadlines are being organized and taken care of so you can focus on running your business. And even though this option will add an expense, most providers charge a reasonable annual fee. In the long run, it’s also more cost-effective than having a CPA or attorney be your registered agent. 

Benefits of Registered Agent Services

• You have an agent who’s always available to receive service and official mail.
• Your privacy, including your personal address, information and legal matters, is protected. 
• Most services offer a mail forwarding service either digitally or physically.
• An LLC provider will keep track of and remind you of important compliance deadlines.
• A registered agent will handle and organize all legal and state documents correctly.

A local registered agent provider could be a local attorney, your CPA, an employee, or even a local registered agent company that only operates in one state. A national registered agent provider would be one like the providers we’ve mentioned in this article, who can operate and provide registered agents in all 50 states.

Both options have pros and cons; which best suits you will depend on what you value and your business needs. A local provider may be a beneficial option if you only operate your business in a single state with no plans of expanding into other states or if you prefer your registered agent to be with someone you already have a business relationship with and want close contact with. And while sometimes a local provider may be more cost-effective, this isn’t always the case. 

A local registered agent provider company may charge a lower rate than a national registered agent provider. For example, Delaware Registered Agent’s service costs $29 a year; however, local state providers aren’t widespread. Most business owners who go the local provider route appoint an attorney or CPA to be their registered agent, which can be more expensive than the national providers, costing anywhere from $300 a year and up.

A national registered agent provider is an investment but provides you with the expertise of a company that specializes in providing this service. They also have the advantage of covering a larger area than just one state. So, if your business operates in multiple states or you plan to expand into more than one state, you’ll want to go with a national provider qualified to provide their service in every state your business operates in.

As you consider registered agent services, you want to research providers based on various factors, including service area, reputation, customer service, ease of use and offerings, to choose the one that meets your business needs.

Service Area

Choose a provider that is qualified to be your registered agent in every state you operate in. ZenBusiness, LegalZoom, Northwest Registered Agent, Swyft Filings and Bizee provide registered agent services across all 50 states, so you can use them regardless of your location. However, Northwest Registered Agent differentiates itself by offering a national registered agent service, which gives companies that operate in five or more states a discounted rate.

Reputation

Compare ratings and reviews for the providers you’re considering. All of the registered agents on our list have a good reputation, although some providers stand out more than others. ZenBusiness, LegalZoom, Bizee and Swyft Filings all have a 4.5-star rating or higher on Trustpilot. Northwest Registered Agent only has a 3.2-star rating, but it’s been in business longer than the other providers.

Customer Service

Like with any service, having access to customer service is a must. All of our top registered agents offer some combination of phone, email and chat customer support during business hours. LegalZoom also offers customer support on Saturdays and Sundays, and ZenBusiness provides it on Sundays. 

ZenBusiness stands out for its customer service. In reviews on TrustPilot, customers have raved about the provider’s knowledgeable, professional and helpful support team. Swyft Filings also offers quality customer service, as each customer gets assigned a business specialist for personalized support.

Northwest Registered Agent doesn’t have as strong customer service as the other providers, at least not according to reviews on Trustpilot. Some customers have experienced slow responses or no responses at all.

Ease of Use

All registered agent service providers use dashboards to scan, upload and store documents they receive on behalf of their clients. However, the ease of accessing and navigating these dashboards can vary between providers.

According to our own experience, the platforms for ZenBusiness, LegalZoom, Bizee and Northwest Registered Agent are all easy to navigate. While the Swyft Filings platform isn’t difficult to navigate, it isn’t as user-friendly as those of the other providers.

To test user experience for yourself, you can ask the provider for a demo or preview of the dashboard so that you know what to expect.

Service Offerings

Last but certainly not least, you want to consider the various services the providers offer. While all will receive mail on your behalf and forward it to you, some may help with additional tasks.

ZenBusiness, LegalZoom, Swyft Filings, Northwest Registered Agent and Bizee scan and upload legal mail to your dashboard and notify you when it’s ready to access. However, Bizee takes things a step further by forwarding it to you as well. Northwest Registered Agent is also unique in that it scans a certain number of pieces of normal mail in addition to legal mail from state and federal governments.

If you’ve been your own registered agent and are ready to switch to a provider or want to change from one service to another, you need to know the requirements to make the switch properly and comply with state laws. The process of switching registered agents varies from state to state, including the fee each state charges for changing. Some states don’t charge a fee for switching, while others may charge a small fee. 

Before filing for your registered agent change, you’ll want to check with your state’s Secretary of State office or business registration website to find out what forms you’ll need to fill out, and you’ll also be able to obtain information about any fees. Once you’ve completed all the necessary forms, you’ll need to file them online, by mail or by bringing them to your state’s business office. 

If you’re switching to a registered agent service, ask if they assist with switching your registered agent over to them. Some providers will take care of the paperwork and cover any fees for you. 

Once the proper forms have been filed, the processing time for changing your registered agent varies between states. On average, it can take about seven to ten business days if filed by mail and three to five business days if filed online. Some states may allow you to expedite the process for an additional fee.

The best registered agent service will suit your business and needs, whether you’re a start-up on a budget or a large corporation operating in multiple states. To find the provider for you, establish your needs from a registered agent and find the provider that best matches them. 

The top five providers we’ve compiled in this article are all reliable options as registered agents for your business. Each of these companies has different advantages and service options to match your specific needs and ensure you receive the best service so you can focus on what matters most in running your business.

To provide consumers with objective and accurate information, our credentialed legal experts created a comprehensive rating system for Limited Liability Company (LLC) services. We researched five online LLC, registered agent and trademark registration services, including ZenBusiness, LegalZoom, Swyft Filings, Northwest Registered Agent and Bizee (formerly Incfile).

We conducted a survey in 2024 of 200 professionals who were currently using LLC services or had used LLC services within the past year. We analyzed the results of this survey to determine the following rating criteria:

• Features (20%)
• Value for Money (25%)
• Customer Service (20%)
• Usability (25%)
• Reputation and Credibility (10%)

Visit the full LLC methodology page for more details on our rating system.