A registered agent is the name a process server can find. In most states the office that keeps the public company list is the Secretary of State. Florida uses the Division of Corporations. New York uses the Department of State. The agent takes the papers and gets them to the company. What a registered agent does is the job. This page is the bill.
How much does a registered agent cost?
A hired agent runs about $125 to $249 a year.
Doing it yourself is $0 to a company. You still pay with the street and the hours. That choice is in Can I be my own registered agent? and on the DIY, lawyer, or commercial page.
These figures come from each company’s official registered-agent page, read October 9, 2026. We did not round them and we did not take them from a blog.
| Who | What the page lists first | The price that lasts |
|---|---|---|
| Northwest Registered Agent | $125 a year | $125 a year. Five or more states is $100 a year per state on that same page. |
| Bizee | A free first year, shown with free formation | Standalone service at $149 a year |
| LegalZoom | $249 a year | $249 a year on the page. We do not print a second dollar. |
| ZenBusiness | $99 plus state fees for the first year | Renews at $199 a year |
| You, if you qualify | $0 to a company | $0 to a company, plus your time at the door |
Northwest’s page says “$125 Per Year” and “It’s $125/year—no hidden fees or per document charges.” Bizee’s page headlines a free first year and lists standalone service at $149 a year. LegalZoom’s page says “Get registered agent services for $249/year.” ZenBusiness’s own FAQ says the service “costs $99 plus state fees for the first year and renews at $199/year.”
The California scorecard read LegalZoom on August 30, 2026 and recorded a footnote we did not see in the October 9 page text: the service auto-renews at the purchase rate, the renewal rate is subject to change, and that purchase price is for first-time customers. The page does not publish a year-2 number such as $299.
The same four prices are national. The Texas scorecard says no company publishes a different Texas price. The Nevada scorecard prints the same cards.
How much does it cost to have a registered agent in year 2
Year 1 is where the deals sit. Bizee lists a free first year. ZenBusiness lists $99. A free or cheap first year is common. The renewal is the price of having a registered agent after that year ends.
Northwest publishes the same $125. Bizee’s lasting card on that page is the $149 standalone service. If the screen in front of you says free, read checkout before you treat the free stretch as the price you will pay next year. ZenBusiness says the renewal is $199 a year. LegalZoom’s page lists $249 a year, and the August 30 footnote said that renewal can change.
A lawyer’s price is whatever the engagement letter says. The page does not publish an hourly rate. The compare page makes the same point: ask, and get the timing in writing.
What that registered agent cost buys
In the fee
- A person at a street during the hours that state wrote, so a process server can hand over a lawsuit.
- A forward of that lawsuit and of official state mail.
- A way to see the papers. Northwest says it scans documents in its office. Bizee says court papers go out by tracked courier and into a client portal. LegalZoom says it uploads legal mail and emails you. ZenBusiness says it scans to a dashboard and can overnight an urgent legal notice.
Left out of the fee
- Catalogs and junk mail. LegalZoom says it shreds junk mail. Shredding ads is not the job.
- A shop, a storefront, or a virtual office. ZenBusiness’s FAQ says you cannot use the agent address as your business address. Northwest also sells a business address and extra mail scanning. Those are a different product.
- The state’s own fee to name or change an agent. That dollar is on the state form. It is not inside the $125.
LLC registered agent cost in a few states
An LLC, a limited liability company, does not get its own price on these company pages. The LLC registered agent cost is still the same yearly job. A state can add a filing fee, a clock, or a reason you do not have to hire anyone. The company price usually stays the one in the table.
- New York can be an optional bill Limited Liability Company Law § 301 says the Secretary of State is the agent. A private agent is extra. The New York scorecard is the longer version. Hiring a company there is a second bill. That scorecard also cites a $40 fee to hand court papers to the Department of State. That $40 is not the yearly company fee.
- Delaware adds a $50 filing, beside the company price 6 Del. C. § 18-104 says the agent keeps a Delaware street and may not do the job only through a virtual office or a mail-forwarding service. The Delaware scorecard cites a $50 state fee for an LLC filing that only changes the agent or the office. That $50 sits next to the yearly company price. It does not replace it.
- Florida’s hours are the do-it-yourself cost Florida Statutes § 48.091 says the office stays open from at least 10 a.m. to 12 noon and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays that are not legal holidays. The Florida scorecard is that clock. The company fee does not rise to buy those hours. If you sit them yourself, the hours are what the $0 costs you.
- Wyoming’s street rule keeps the same company price W.S. 17-28-101 wants a physical Wyoming street and a person present there. The Secretary of State FAQ, as quoted on the Wyoming scorecard, says a post office box, a virtual address, and a UPS or FedEx store do not qualify. The national company price does not go up because the street has to be real.
- Texas wants an employee at the door Business Organizations Code § 5.201 says the office is a street where papers can be handed to a person. It may not be only a mailbox service or a telephone answering service. If the agent is an organization, an employee must be there during normal business hours. The Texas scorecard cites that section. The company prices stay the ones in the table.
- Illinois adds a filing fee and a clock The Illinois scorecard cites a $25 state fee to change the agent, and 60 days to name a new one after a resignation. Miss those 60 days and the company is not in good standing. The $25 is the state’s form. It is not Bizee’s or Northwest’s yearly price.
- California publishes the individual street Corporations Code § 17701.13 says an LLC keeps an office and an agent in the state. The Secretary of State FAQ says an individual agent’s name and physical street are public. The California scorecard is where these commercial prices were first written down, on August 30, 2026. We read the company pages again on October 9, 2026. The dollars matched.
- Nevada’s register is the agent company’s duty The Nevada scorecard says an agent who serves ten or more companies must register as a commercial registered agent. That register is the company’s duty. It is not a different yearly price on your bill. The same scorecard cites a $60 state fee for a statement of change.
How to compare the price
Put the shaded column side by side before you compare logos. A free first year and a flat $125 are not two prices for the same year. The methodology page grades year 1 against year 2 for that reason. A cheap opening year can still earn a weaker price letter than a price that stays put.
Open the scorecard for the state named on the articles. Check the live company search before you file. Then read checkout. A number on a marketing page can still change in the cart. We print the official page. We do not print a blog’s number.
Sources
- northwestregisteredagent.com/registered-agent (retrieved October 9, 2026). “$125 Per Year.” “It’s $125/year—no hidden fees or per document charges. For five or more states, it’s just $100/year per state.” The page also says documents are scanned in the office.
- bizee.com/business-management/registered-agent (retrieved October 9, 2026). The page headlines a free first year, shows that free year with free LLC formation, and lists standalone service at $149 a year. Court papers are described as a tracked courier mailing and a portal upload.
- LegalZoom, registered agent overview (retrieved October 9, 2026). “Get registered agent services for $249/year.” The product block lists $249. The page describes upload and email for legal mail, and shredding of junk mail. A renewal footnote recorded on the California scorecard (retrieved August 30, 2026) said the service auto-renews at the purchase rate, the renewal rate is subject to change, and the purchase price is for first-time customers. We do not print a different year-2 dollar.
- ZenBusiness, registered agent service (retrieved October 9, 2026). FAQ: “Our registered agent service costs $99 plus state fees for the first year and renews at $199/year.” The same FAQ says the agent address cannot be used as the business address, and that urgent legal notices can be scanned, emailed, and sent overnight.
- N.Y. Ltd. Liab. Co. Law § 301, as set out on the New York scorecard. The Secretary of State is the agent. A hired agent is optional. That scorecard cites a $40 fee to serve the Department of State.
- 6 Del. C. § 18-104, as set out on the Delaware scorecard. A Delaware street. The agent may not act only through a virtual office or a mail-forwarding service. That scorecard cites a $50 LLC fee to change only the agent or the office.
- Fla. Stat. § 48.091, as set out on the Florida scorecard. Hours of 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays that are not legal holidays.
- W.S. 17-28-101 and the Wyoming Secretary of State registered-agent FAQ, as quoted on the Wyoming scorecard. A physical street and a person present. A post office box, a virtual address, and a UPS or FedEx store do not qualify.
- Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code § 5.201, as set out on the Texas scorecard. A street where papers can be handed over in person. Not only a mailbox service or a telephone answering service. An organizational agent keeps an employee available during normal business hours.
- Cal. Corp. Code § 17701.13 and the California Secretary of State Business Entities FAQ, as set out on the California scorecard. An in-state office and agent. An individual agent’s name and physical street are public.
- Illinois scorecard. A $25 state fee to change the agent, and 60 days to name a new agent after a resignation.
- Nevada scorecard. Commercial registered-agent registration at ten companies. A $60 statement of change. The yearly company prices match the national pages.
- Process Score methodology. Year-1 price is graded against year-2 price. A first-year deal is not treated as the lasting price.