Every California LLC must designate and continuously maintain an agent for service of process. The California Secretary of State says that agent is either a California resident or a corporation with a current Corporations Code § 1505 application on file. The individual’s name and physical street become a public record. A registered agent who accepts court papers is not the same thing as a company that scans catalogs.
This directory does not publish a “top 10 registered agents 2026” list. Each commercial agent gets three letters that are allowed to disagree:
- Year-1 / year-2 price — the sticker you pay after the formation teaser ends, cited to a dated official page.
- SOS street and presence — whose street hits the Secretary of State, whether there is an in-state physical office with business hours, and whether a corporate agent has § 1505 consent on file.
- Process and privacy — scan and forward of service of process and official notices, plus whether the owner’s home stays off the agent line. We do not grade marketing mail.
A cheap first year can be a C+ on price and a B on process on the same day. That is not a contradiction. It is the point.
Pick the product before you pick the brand
Do it yourself
You or another California resident. Your street is on the public record. You must be there during ordinary business hours. Free, until a process server finds the house.
Your lawyer
Counsel can serve as the individual agent if they reside in California and will sit the hours. You are buying a person, not a national scan portal. Ask what they charge to remain listed.
Commercial registered agent
A § 1505 corporation whose street — not yours — is the agent line. Year-1 teasers are common. Year 2 is the price. That is the product this site scores.
A registered agent is not a virtual mailbox. The agent accepts lawsuits, tax notices, and Secretary of State correspondence at a physical street during business hours. A CMRA, a virtual office, or a “scan my Amazon boxes” login is a different product. We do not grade those products here. If a vendor also sells a business-address or mail-scanning extra, we treat that extra as out of scope.
California scorecards
Start with the California registered agent scorecard if California is the formation state. Letters are explained on the methodology page. They are not Trustpilot restatements and they are not aggregate star ratings.
Northwest Registered Agent
Commercial registered agent- Year-1 / year-2 price
- B+
- SOS street and presence
- B
- Process and privacy
- B
Year 1: $125/year standalone; first year free only if you form the entity through Northwest
Year 2: $125/year (same sticker; $100/year per state if you have five or more states)
Retrieved: 2026-08-30
Bizee
Commercial registered agent- Year-1 / year-2 price
- C+
- SOS street and presence
- B-
- Process and privacy
- B
Year 1: Free first year when you form through Bizee; standalone registered agent $149/year
Year 2: Official pages we retrieved say $149/year after the free first year (or $149 from day one if you buy standalone)
Retrieved: 2026-08-30
LegalZoom
Commercial registered agent- Year-1 / year-2 price
- C
- SOS street and presence
- B-
- Process and privacy
- B-
Year 1: $249/year on the official registered-agent overview (first-time customers)
Year 2: Official footnote: auto-renews at the purchase rate until you cancel; “The renewal rate is subject to change.”
Retrieved: 2026-08-30
ZenBusiness
Commercial registered agent- Year-1 / year-2 price
- C
- SOS street and presence
- B-
- Process and privacy
- B-
Year 1: $99 + applicable state fees for the first year (standalone); sometimes 50% off first year with formation
Year 2: $199/year renewal on the official product and help pages
Retrieved: 2026-08-30
How to use this site
- Read the California registered agent scorecard if California is the formation state. Check bizfile Online for the live agent line before you trust a blog street.
- If you are choosing among sitting the hours yourself, asking counsel, or hiring a commercial agent, start at DIY vs lawyer vs commercial.
- Prices move. We cite the official page and the retrieval date. We do not invent a renewal number a vendor did not publish.
Sources for this page
- California Secretary of State, Business Entities FAQs — Agent for Service of Process (retrieved August 30, 2026)
- California Secretary of State, Service of Process (retrieved August 30, 2026)
- Cal. Corp. Code § 17701.13
- Vendor official pages linked on each scorecard, retrieved August 30, 2026.