A registered agent, also called a statutory agent, is the person who can be handed a lawsuit for the company. Handing over those papers is called service of process. California’s Secretary of State allows an individual resident or a corporate agent that has the state’s consent filing. That is the whole menu. Everything else is packaging.
| Do it yourself | Your lawyer | Commercial registered agent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who is the agent | You, a member, or another California resident. | A lawyer, if they live in California and agree to be listed. | A corporation with a current California consent filing. You need their approval first. |
| Whose street hits the SOS | Usually your home or office. The FAQ says that street is a public record. | The lawyer’s office street, if that is what you file. | The company’s street, not the owner’s home, if you actually name the company. |
| Hours | You must be available during ordinary business hours for hand delivery. Travel is your problem. | The firm’s front desk, if they will accept papers. Ask. Do not assume. | The job they sell: someone at a physical street during posted business hours. |
| Year-1 price | $0, plus the cost of being home. | Whatever the engagement letter says. The page does not publish a blended hourly. | Cited on the California scorecard: Northwest $125 (or free year 1 with their formation); Bizee free year 1 with formation / $149 standalone; LegalZoom $249; ZenBusiness $99 + state fees. |
| Year-2 price | $0, same hours problem. | Still the engagement. Some firms drop the listing if invoices stop. | Northwest $125; Bizee official $149; LegalZoom “purchase rate,” subject to change; ZenBusiness $199. Retrieved August 30, 2026. |
| Service of process | A process server finds you. There is no scan portal unless you build one. | The firm forwards papers under its own procedure. Ask for the timing in writing. | Scan, email, courier, company-published paths, graded as court papers, not as mailbox mail. |
| Home-address privacy | Weak, if your residence is the agent street. | Better if the office street is used. The rest of the SOS filing can still name you. | The point of a commercial agent: keep the home off the agent line. |
| Not a mailbox | Your kitchen table is still not a mailbox store. | A law office is not a pack-and-ship store. | Court papers and official notices only. Do not use the agent street as a shop or a Google pin. |
When DIY is honest
DIY is honest if you live in California, will be at a street address during ordinary business hours, and accept that the street is public. It is a bad fit if you travel, work from a coffee shop, or do not want a process server at the house. The Secretary of State will not waive hours because you prefer email.
Related guide: Can I be my own registered agent? That page is the first-timer version of this do-it-yourself column.
Related guide: What is a registered agent for an LLC? That page is the job itself, before you choose who sits in the chair.
Related guide: How to change a registered agent on an LLC.
Related guide: Service of process: what it means for an LLC That page is the delivery of the lawsuit, before you pick who sits at the street.
Related guide: The registered agent requirements: what you must meet Each column on this page still has to meet the state’s checklist.
When a lawyer is the product
A lawyer as agent is a person-and-office product. You are not buying a 50-state scan dashboard. You are buying someone who already has a California street and, if you are lucky, a receptionist. Ask whether they charge a separate annual listing fee and what happens if you change firms. The page does not publish that fee.
When a commercial agent is the product
A commercial registered agent is the company with the state’s consent filing. First-year deals are common. Year 2 is the price. Confirm consent before you file the name. Confirm the live agent on bizfile Online. Read the California scorecard for cited prices. Links there are official pages.
None of these three options is a virtual mailbox or a virtual office. If a commercial agent also sells mail scanning of marketing pieces, that add-on is out of scope for Process Score.
Sources for this page
- California Secretary of State, Agent for Service of Process FAQ (retrieved August 30, 2026)
- Cal. Corp. Code § 17701.13
- Official vendor price pages cited on the California scorecard, retrieved August 30, 2026.