Process Score

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Not legal advice. Confirm the live agent line on the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services Business Records Service before you file or treat a published street as current. That search is New Jersey’s public lookup.

State · New Jersey

New Jersey wants a street for your registered agent: a P.O. Box alone is not enough

A registered agent is the person or company who can be handed a lawsuit for the business. It is not a mailbox. A registered agent is also called a statutory agent, or an agent for service of process. Handing over those court papers is called service of process. The office that keeps New Jersey’s public list is the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services (DORES), New Jersey’s business-filing office in the Department of the Treasury. It is not a classic Secretary of State Corporations counter. Each year the company also files an annual report. That filing is a yearly update, not the registered-agent job. This page is the New Jersey rule and the dated prices. It does not reprint vendor cards from another state.

Updated September 8, 2026 · Methodology · Prices retrieved September 8, 2026 from official pages

A registered agent is not a virtual mailbox. We do not score mailbox suites, virtual offices, or Google Business Profile eligibility here. If you need scans of catalogs, that is a different product on a different site.

What New Jersey actually requires

A registered agent is the person or company who can be handed a lawsuit. Service of process means handing over those papers. The Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services keeps the list. N.J.S.A. 42:2C-14 says a limited liability company keeps an office and an agent for service of process in this State. The agent is a New Jersey resident, or another person with authority to transact business here. A corporation’s agent is a natural person 18 or older, or a corporation authorized to transact business here, and keeps a business office identical with the registered office. The LLC statute omits that line. This page did not retrieve a written-acceptance filing.

A street is a place a person can walk up to. A P.O. Box is a mailbox at the post office. N.J.S.A. 42:2C-18 puts the street and the mailing address on the certificate of formation. The Division’s instructions say to give a New Jersey street address. A P.O. Box may be used only if the street is listed as well. A P.O. Box alone is not the street. Change the agent on Form L-122 for $25, or update the line on the annual report. N.J.S.A. 42:2C-15 says the company files a statement of change. The for-profit annual report is $75. It is due on the last day of the formation month. Filing it is not the job of taking the lawsuit. Miss it and the business can be revoked.

N.J.S.A. 42:2C-17 says the agent takes process, notice, or demand. If no agent is kept, or the agent cannot with reasonable diligence be found at the street, the filing office is an agent for service. Form L-123’s face says a resignation with no successor is effective 30 days after filing, or when a new agent is named, whichever is earlier. The instructions on that same form do not use the 30-day line. The sources disagree. This page does not pick one.

Related guide: Can I be my own registered agent? A New Jersey resident, or a person authorized to transact business here, may take the job.

Related guide: What is a registered agent for an LLC? The job is taking a lawsuit at a New Jersey street. The annual report is a different filing.

Related guide: How much does a registered agent cost? The change of agent is $25. The $75 annual report is a different filing.

Related guide: How to change a registered agent on an LLC File a statement of change, or update the agent on the annual report.

Related guide: What is a commercial registered agent? New Jersey does not run a ten-company register. A person authorized to transact business here may serve.

Related guide: Service of process: what it means for an LLC Papers go to the agent at the street. If the agent cannot be found, the filing office is a fallback.

Related guide: What is a registered agent address? The office is a New Jersey street. A P.O. Box is allowed only when the street is listed too.

Related guide: Best registered agent service A hired company still needs a New Jersey street a person can walk up to.

Related guide: What is a certificate of good standing? The certificate is a different paper from the agent filing.

The statute does not print a clock. Someone has to be at a New Jersey street to accept hand-delivered papers. A software login is not that street.

Cited prices, retrieved September 8, 2026

We print what the company’s official registered-agent page said on the retrieval date. No company publishes a different New Jersey registered-agent price from the national card, except where we note a New Jersey-page renewal line. The page does not publish a separate renewal price.

Vendor Year 1 Year 2 Letters Link
Northwest Registered Agent $125/year standalone; first year free only if you form the entity through Northwest $125/year (same price; $100/year per state if you have five or more states) B+ / B / B Official page
Bizee Free first year when you form through Bizee; standalone registered agent $149/year Official pages we retrieved say $149/year after the free first year (or $149 from day one if you buy standalone) C+ / B- / B Official page
LegalZoom $249/year on the official registered-agent overview (first-time customers) Official footnote: auto-renews at the purchase rate until you cancel; “The renewal rate is subject to change.” C / B- / B- LegalZoom
ZenBusiness $99 + NJ state fees for the first year (standalone); New Jersey page says starts at $99 + NJ state fees $199/year renewal on the official New Jersey pages; New Jersey pages say the rate is subject to change C / B- / B- ZenBusiness

A change of agent is a separate Division of Revenue filing. We cite the official L-122 PDF and the official fee table, retrieved September 8, 2026, not company blogs. Form L-122 is $25. The for-profit annual report is $75. ZenBusiness’s New Jersey page says a change made on the annual report still carries a $25 statutory fee, so you should budget $100. That sentence is on the company's page. We print the official $75 annual-report line and the official $25 L-122 line. The sources do not agree. This page does not add a third stack.

Who publishes a New Jersey street

A city is not a registered office. We print only the streets the companies publish for registered-agent use. The pages we read do not publish the rest. Confirm the live name and street on the Business Records Service before you file. Headquarters is not the registered office. The Division of Revenue’s Trenton contacts are not vendor suites.

If you are your own agent, the street on the public record is often your home. If you hire a commercial registered agent, the agent line is that organization’s name and its New Jersey street. Northwest names Branchburg and no street. Bizee, LegalZoom, and ZenBusiness publish no New Jersey street. We label every city vendor-claimed. We have not been to those offices. Use the Business Records Service.

In-state office and the Division of Revenue desk

New Jersey wants an in-state office and an agent for service of process. The formation certificate asks for street and mailing addresses. Form L-122 will not take a P.O. Box alone. A corporation’s registered agent must keep a business office identical with the registered office. An LLC’s statute does not copy that identical sentence. The annual report is due the last day of the anniversary month of formation. Change the agent on that report, or on the $25 L-122. Miss the report and Business.NJ.gov says the business can be revoked. New Jersey does not run a Nevada-style ten-company commercial-agent register, and it does not post a Florida-style 10–noon / 2–4 clock. Northwest claims Branchburg and no street. LegalZoom’s official overview names no New Jersey street. ZenBusiness’s New Jersey product page names no ZenBusiness street. The 125 West State Street line is the Department of State. The 33 West State Street line is the Division of Revenue. Bizee names no New Jersey street. Process Score has not been to those offices. We do not treat a company 9-to-5 line as N.J.S.A. 42:2C-14.

Service of process, not marketing mail

We grade scan-and-forward of service of process and official notices:

Home-address privacy

A commercial organizational agent is how most New Jersey owners keep a home off the agent line. The Division of Revenue still publishes whatever other addresses you put on a certificate or an annual report. Privacy of the agent line is not privacy of every field. Confirm the live line on the Business Records Service.

Scorecards

Northwest Registered Agent

Commercial registered agent
Year-1 / year-2 price
B+
National $125/year, same in year 2. New Jersey page says it has always cost that. No New Jersey-only price.
SOS street and presence
B
They name Branchburg, NJ. No street on the New Jersey product page. Confirm the Business Records Service. The page does not publish one.
Process and privacy
B
In-office same-day scan of documents they receive. Grade the court-paper path, not the mail-forwarding add-on.

Year 1: $125/year standalone; first year free only if you form the entity through Northwest

Year 2: $125/year (same price; $100/year per state if you have five or more states)

Retrieved: 2026-09-08

Official page

Bizee

Commercial registered agent
Year-1 / year-2 price
C+
Year 1 can be $0 with formation on the official card. Year 2 is $149. No New Jersey-only price.
SOS street and presence
B-
No New Jersey registered-agent street on the product pages. Houston HQ is not a New Jersey registered-agent street. Confirm the Business Records Service.
Process and privacy
B
Published court-paper path: notify, scan to portal, FedEx the papers. Not a mailbox.

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: 2026-09-08

Official page

LegalZoom

Commercial registered agent
Year-1 / year-2 price
C
Official $249/year. Year 2 is “purchase rate,” subject to change. The page does not publish $299.
SOS street and presence
B-
Official registered-agent overview does not publish a New Jersey street. Confirm the Business Records Service.
Process and privacy
B-
Published court-paper scan, email, and postcard. Junk mail is filtered. That is not the product we grade.

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: 2026-09-08

LegalZoom

ZenBusiness

Commercial registered agent
Year-1 / year-2 price
C
Year 1 $99 + NJ state fees is a first-year deal. Year 2 is $199, subject to change on the New Jersey pages. Read the renewal line.
SOS street and presence
B-
New Jersey product page publishes no ZenBusiness street or city. The 125 West State Street line is the Department of State. Confirm the Business Records Service. The page does not publish a suite.
Process and privacy
B-
Scan, dashboard, email; overnight for urgent legal notices. Not a mailbox. Their national product currently excludes PLLCs and nonprofits. That is ZenBusiness’s exclusion, not a New Jersey statute.

Year 1: $99 + NJ state fees for the first year (standalone); New Jersey page says starts at $99 + NJ state fees

Year 2: $199/year renewal on the official New Jersey pages; New Jersey pages say the rate is subject to change

Retrieved: 2026-09-08

ZenBusiness

What this page does not do

Choosing among being the agent yourself, asking a lawyer, or hiring a commercial agent: DIY vs lawyer vs commercial. California’s scorecard is a different statute: California scorecard. Texas keeps the written consent with the company: Texas scorecard. Florida files the acceptance and posts a 10–noon / 2–4 clock: Florida scorecard. Delaware bans a virtual-only agent and sets the commercial bar above 50: Delaware scorecard. New York starts with the Secretary of State already on the agent line: New York scorecard. Nevada makes a commercial agent register at ten companies: Nevada scorecard. Wyoming bans UPS stores and virtual addresses as the registered office: Wyoming scorecard. Arizona makes the statutory-agent appointment wait on a signed acceptance: Arizona scorecard. Illinois gives you 60 days after your agent resigns, then you are not in good standing: Illinois scorecard. Ohio cancels the articles if you miss the 30-day statutory-agent notice: Ohio scorecard. Georgia wants the registered office at the same street as the agent: Georgia scorecard. Pennsylvania files a registered office, not a registered agent: Pennsylvania scorecard.

Sources for this page

  1. N.J.S.A. 42:2C-14 (Justia 2025 text; retrieved September 8, 2026), continuously designate and maintain in this State an office, which need not be a place of its activity, and an agent for service of process; agent is a New Jersey resident individual or other person with authority to transact business in this State
  2. N.J.S.A. 42:2C-18 (Justia 2025 text; retrieved September 8, 2026), certificate of formation states the street and mailing addresses of the initial registered office and the name of the initial agent at that office for service of process
  3. N.J.S.A. 42:2C-15 (Justia 2025 text; retrieved September 8, 2026), change the registered office, the agent, or the agent’s address by a statement of change; an agent may move the office to another New Jersey address with prior notice; the filing is deemed an amendment of the certificate of formation or certificate of authority
  4. N.J.S.A. 42:2C-17 (Justia 2025 text; retrieved September 8, 2026), appointed agent is the agent for process, notice, or demand; if no agent is kept or cannot with reasonable diligence be found at the agent’s street address, the filing office is an agent on whom process may be served
  5. N.J.S.A. 42:2C-26 (Justia 2025 text; retrieved September 8, 2026), annual report includes the company name and address, the registered-agent name and address, and the managing members or managers; reinstatement after the inactive list or a foreign revocation is upon payment of the reinstatement fee, the current annual-report fee, and delinquent annual-report fees
  6. N.J.S.A. 14A:4-1 (Justia 2025 text; retrieved September 8, 2026), corporation continuously maintains a registered office and a registered agent whose business office is identical with that office; the office need not be the place of business; the agent may be a natural person 18 or older or a corporation authorized here
  7. New Jersey Division of Revenue, Instructions for Business Entity Public Record Filing (official PDF; retrieved September 8, 2026), Registered Office: “Provide a New Jersey street address. A PO Box may be used only if the street address is listed as well.” The packet still lists Title 42:2B for LLCs. The fee table printed in that packet is dated April 20, 2011; we do not treat those dollars as today’s fees
  8. New Jersey Division of Revenue, Form L-122 Certificate of Change (official PDF; retrieved September 8, 2026), “If a P.O. box is used for registered address, the street address must be included”; $25.00 to Treasurer, State of New Jersey; New Jersey street required; P.O. Box only if the street is listed as well; mail to PO Box 308, Trenton, NJ 08646; form header still cites Title 42:2B
  9. New Jersey Division of Revenue, Form L-121 Certification of Resignation of Agent / Appointment of New Agent (official PDF; retrieved September 8, 2026), $25.00 plus $10.00 for each LLC listed; New Jersey street required; P.O. Box only if the street is listed as well; resignation effective on filing or when a new agent is named, whichever is earlier; header still cites Title 42:2B
  10. New Jersey Division of Revenue, Form L-123 Certification of Resignation of Registered Agent Without Successor (official PDF; retrieved September 8, 2026), $25; form face says effective 30 days after filing or when a new agent is named, whichever is earlier; the instruction page on the same PDF says effective upon filing or when a new agent is named; header still cites Title 42:2B; we do not treat either line as N.J.S.A. 42:2C-16
  11. New Jersey Division of Revenue, Registry Fee Schedules (last updated July 1, 2026; retrieved September 8, 2026), LLC annual report $75; for-profit corporation and limited-partnership annual report $75; nonprofit annual report $30; LLC certificate of formation $100; LLC all amendments $100
  12. New Jersey Division of Revenue, Reinstatement Fees (last updated April 24, 2025; retrieved September 8, 2026), LLC reinstatement filing $75; current annual report $75; delinquent annual reports variable; $25 change of registered agent or office if applicable; for-profit corporation reinstatement $95 ($75 plus $20 tax-clearance filing)
  13. Business.NJ.gov, Taxes and Annual Report (retrieved September 8, 2026), every business must file an annual report; keep the registered agent and address up to date; $75 filing fee; due the last day of the month of formation; failure to file can result in revocation
  14. Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, Annual Reports and Change Services (retrieved September 8, 2026), file annual reports, change a registered agent or office, reinstate, or close a business
  15. Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, Business Records Service (retrieved September 8, 2026), live business-entity search for corporations and limited liability companies on file with the State
  16. Northwest Registered Agent, official registered-agent page and New Jersey product page (retrieved September 8, 2026), $125/year; New Jersey page says it has always cost that; first year free only with formation; $100/year per state at five or more states; FAQ names a Branchburg, NJ registered office and no street; same-day local scans claimed
  17. Bizee, official registered-agent page and contact (retrieved September 8, 2026), free year 1 with formation on the official card; standalone $149/year; year 2 $149/year; no New Jersey registered-agent street; /llc/new-jersey-registered-agent returned 404; Houston contact HQ is not a New Jersey registered-agent street
  18. LegalZoom, official registered-agent overview (retrieved September 8, 2026), $249/year; auto-renews at the purchase rate, subject to change; no New Jersey street on the official overview; /articles/registered-agent-in-new-jersey updated April 30, 2026, names no LegalZoom street
  19. ZenBusiness, official registered-agent page and New Jersey registered agent (retrieved September 8, 2026; New Jersey product page last updated August 31, 2026), starts at $99 + NJ state fees year 1; $199 renewal, subject to change; New Jersey product page publishes no ZenBusiness street or city; product page shows Department of State 125 W State St and P.O. Box 300, which are not a ZenBusiness registered office; the company page claims a $25 statutory fee still applies when the agent changes on the $75 annual report; national product currently excludes PLLCs and nonprofits

Also setting up payroll in New Jersey? Payroll Score covers the first paycheck there.