Quick answer: A professional registered agent service should cost roughly $125 to $200 a year on an ongoing basis. Among the six national providers covered here, the three that publish an ongoing registered agent price charge $125 to $199 a year, as of October 6, 2026. A first-year price under $100, or a free first year, is almost always a promotion tied to forming a business, so the renewal price is the number to budget for. Paying more than about $200 a year makes sense only when the fee also buys something beyond the legal minimum, such as compliance filings or a bundled formation package.

What do registered agent services actually charge?

The list below gives each provider's published registered agent price in alphabetical order, not ranked. Ongoing prices come first and promotional first-year prices are labeled separately. Figures were checked on October 6, 2026.

Bizee: Free first year with any formation package. The LLC pricing page does not state the renewal price after the free year.

Harbor Compliance: $159 a year ongoing. $99 promotional first year. One national price, and 2- and 3-year terms hold $99 a year, then renew at $159.

LegalZoom: The registered agent price is not published on its LLC pricing page.

Northwest Registered Agent: $125 a year ongoing. No promotional price advertised. Includes a domain, website, business address, phone line and mail scanning.

Rocket Lawyer: No registered agent price is listed on its pricing page. Memberships include Plus ($249 a year) and Pro ($349 a year).

ZenBusiness: $199 a year ongoing. Any introductory terms should be checked at checkout. Not offered to PLLCs or nonprofits.

Read across, the market clusters tightly. The low end of the range buys the legal function: a staffed address in the state, receipt of service of process and official mail, and some way of getting documents to the owner. Prices toward $200 tend to add compliance tracking, bundled formation or extra business services.

Why is the first-year price the wrong number to compare?

Promotional pricing is common in this category, and it makes the first year look cheaper than the service really is. A $99 first year that renews at $199 costs $497 over three years, not $297. Only the renewal price says what the service costs to keep.

The same logic applies to "free first year" offers bundled with formation. They are a genuine saving in year one, and they can be the right call for a business watching every dollar at launch. Before buying, though, it is worth finding the renewal price on the provider's own site, because that is the number that repeats every year the business exists.

What does the state actually require?

Registered agent law is state law, and the details differ. This page covers two large states where the rules are clearly published. For any other state, the rule varies, and that state's business filing office is the place to confirm it.

According to the Texas Secretary of State's Registered Agent FAQs, a Texas entity may not serve as its own registered agent. An officer, owner or employee may serve in an individual capacity, but the entity itself may not. The same guidance says that failing to maintain a registered agent can lead to involuntary termination of a domestic entity, or revocation of a foreign entity's registration.

The California Secretary of State says in its Business Entities FAQs that a California entity cannot act as its own agent for service of process. Its Service of Process guidance states the requirement plainly: "Corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships are required by statute to designate an agent for service of process." The same page explains that the state's Business Search shows the most current filings on record, including the agent's name and address.

Why do owners pay for something an individual could do?

In Texas, an owner or officer can serve as the agent personally, so paying a service is a choice there, not a legal necessity. The case for paying usually comes down to two things: privacy and reliability.

Privacy is a matter of public record, not opinion. Because California's Business Search displays the agent's address, an owner who serves as their own agent, and who works from home, puts that home address into a searchable state database. A commercial agent's address goes on the record instead.

Reliability matters because the consequences of a lapse can be serious. Texas ties a missing agent to possible involuntary termination or revocation, as noted above. A service that is staffed during business hours removes the risk of a missed delivery because an owner was traveling or the office was closed.

What extra costs sit outside the agent's fee?

The service price is only part of the cost. Three other items are worth budgeting for.

State filing fees. These are set by the state, vary, and are never part of a provider's price. Texas, for example, charges $15 to change the registered agent or registered office, using Form 401, according to the Texas Secretary of State's Form 401 instructions. Some providers cover that kind of switching cost for new customers, which is worth asking about.

Membership or bundle requirements. A low headline price can depend on buying something else first. Reading the asterisk next to the price is the quickest way to catch this.

Automatic renewal. Most agent services renew automatically each year. That protects against a lapse, but it also means the renewal price arrives whether or not anyone has compared it to the alternatives. For a business registered in more than one state, requirements in each state should be checked separately, since the rules vary.

The providers

The order below is alphabetical, not a ranking. Editorial judgment is in the "best for" line under each one.

Bizee

Bizee includes one free year of registered agent service with every formation package. As of October 6, 2026, those packages were Basic at $0 plus state fees, Standard at $199 and Premium at $299, each a one-time payment. The LLC pricing page does not state what package customers pay to renew after the free year.

Best for: someone forming on a tight budget who wants the first year of agent service covered at no extra charge.

Harbor Compliance

Harbor Compliance charges $159 a year on an ongoing basis, with a promotional first year at $99, as of October 6, 2026. It uses one national price rather than pricing by state, and its 2- and 3-year terms hold the $99 rate for the full term before renewing at $159. Harbor Compliance is built for multi-state and regulated filings at a scale most single-state small businesses do not need.

Best for: businesses registered in several states, or in regulated industries with heavier filing requirements.

LegalZoom

LegalZoom does not publish its registered agent price on its LLC pricing page. LegalZoom says it completes the paperwork and covers state fees when a business switches its agent to LegalZoom. Its LLC formation tiers were Basic at $0 plus state fees, Managed Service at $249 and Expert Service at $999 as of October 6, 2026.

Best for: owners who already use LegalZoom for other legal work and value keeping it in one account.

Northwest Registered Agent

Northwest Registered Agent charges $125 a year as of October 6, 2026, and the price includes a domain, website, business address, phone line and mail scanning. That is the lowest published ongoing price here. Northwest's whole proposition is privacy, and it is the provider most often associated with keeping an owner's address off the public record. For an existing business that only needs the agent, at the lowest renewal price, it deserves a serious look.

Best for: the lowest ongoing price for the agent alone, and owners whose top priority is address privacy.

Rocket Lawyer

Rocket Lawyer does not list a registered agent price on its pricing page, which is built around memberships. As of October 6, 2026, Plus cost $49.99 a month or $249 a year and Pro cost $64.99 a month or $349 a year, with a 7-day free trial. The membership adds legal documents and attorney access, and attorney consultations were listed at $149 for 30 minutes or $249 for 60.

Best for: owners who want an ongoing legal membership anyway and would use the attorney access.

ZenBusiness

ZenBusiness charges $199 a year for registered agent service. Any introductory terms should be checked at checkout. The service covers LLCs and corporations, but not PLLCs or nonprofits. ZenBusiness says it monitors state notices sent to the agent address, uploads documents to the customer's dashboard, and sends legal notices that need urgent attention by overnight mail, all for one yearly amount.

Its formation packages were Starter at $0 plus state fees, Pro at $199 and Premium at $299 as of October 6, 2026, with Pro and Premium renewing at their annual prices. The EIN and operating agreement are included from Pro up and cost $99 each on Starter.

Best for: someone forming a business now who wants the entity, EIN, operating agreement and registered agent from one provider, with one renewal to track instead of two vendors.

If a business is being formed now, where does the agent fit?

For a new business, the registered agent is one line in a longer setup list. The usual order is the entity, then the EIN, then a separate business bank account, then books. The IRS makes the banking step explicit: Publication 583 lists opening a business checking account as one of the first things a new business should do, because it keeps business and personal money apart from the start.

This is where comparing agent prices in isolation can mislead. A standalone agent, a separate formation service and separate filing help can add up to more vendors and more renewals than one provider handling the set. ZenBusiness covers formation, the EIN, the operating agreement and the agent, and its site also lists small business banking among its services. For the books that come next, ZenBusiness offers accounting services, and its Money Pro bookkeeping tool was $30 a month as of October 6, 2026.

For an owner whose business already exists and who only needs to replace an agent, the math is simpler: compare renewal prices, check for membership requirements, and budget for the state's change fee. For an owner starting from scratch, getting all four setup steps done in the right order is worth more than shaving a few dollars off the agent.

Sources

This is general information, not legal, tax or accounting advice, and requirements vary by state and change over time.