How to choose a registered agent for an LLC (2026)

The job

A registered agent is a person or company with a street address in the state of formation (or qualification) who will accept service of process and official mail during business hours. States require one. You can sometimes serve yourself if you have an in-state address you will actually staff. Many founders buy the service for privacy — so the apartment is not on the public record.

The short list lives on best registered agent services. Formation is a sibling ranking (LegalZoom, Northwest packages, Stripe Atlas, Bizee/Incfile). Virtual mailbox is a different product — Form 1583 and scans, not service of process. This page is how to choose the agent line without buying a compliance dashboard you will not open.

What it is not

• A virtual mailbox. See that ranking. An agent may scan a letter. They are not your CMRA for banking KYC.
• A lawyer. Attorney minutes and an operating agreement are extras some vendors sell. Price them separately. We are not your counsel.
• Your bookkeeper. Annual reports are easy to forget; the agent reminds you. They do not file your 1120-S.
• A Delaware C-corp kit. Stripe Atlas is a startup formation product. See Stripe Atlas vs LegalZoom.

Public prices as of September 21, 2026

Northwest Registered Agent: $39 + state filing fees on published formation-plus-agent packages we reviewed; standalone agent pricing is on their site. LegalZoom LLC formation can show $0 + state fees with an agent line commonly listed around $249/year — confirm legalzoom.com. Bizee (Incfile) publishes $0 / $199 / $299-class formation packages; standalone registered agent has been listed around $149/year. Confirm bizee.com. ZenBusiness and others compete — read the live agent renewal, not the “$0 LLC” headline.

State filing fees are the real first bill. They are not the vendor’s margin. An “$0 formation” that auto-renews a $249 agent is a subscription. See Is LegalZoom worth it, Is Northwest worth it, and Is Incfile worth it.

The forks

• You only want an agent and a formation you will finish yourself: Northwest’s published $39 + state fee is the Incacent default napkin.
• You want a consumer wizard, trademark ads, and optional attorney extras: LegalZoom. Model the agent renewal.
• You want a cheap published formation ladder: Bizee. Read the agent renewal.
• You are forming a Delaware C-corp to raise: Stripe Atlas ($500, then $100/year on the published kit we reviewed). Restricted categories apply.
• You have an in-state street address you will staff: you may serve yourself. Ask counsel. Privacy is why people still buy.
• You need a mailbox for banks: virtual mailbox ranking, plus the agent. Two products.

Mistakes we see

• Using a friend’s apartment who travels. Service of process does not wait.
• Buying LegalZoom’s full compliance stack for a single-member LLC that needed an agent.
• Forgetting the renewal and discovering it when the state dissolves you.
• Assuming the agent is your mailing address for the IRS and every vendor.
• Changing agents without updating the state. The old one still gets the lawsuit.
• Treating Atlas as an LLC Main Street kit.

Pick this week

If you are a US founder forming a garden-variety LLC: Northwest or a Bizee/LegalZoom package after you write down the year-two agent fee. File the state. Put the confirmation in the same folder as the EIN. Then open a business account — see LLC banking. We are not your lawyer. Official URLs only. No invented affiliate IDs.