Keep the registered agent only if its renewal price is one you would pick on purpose, so find that number in your account before the free year ends. For a business owner who wants formation, compliance filings, and the registered agent handled by one provider, ZenBusiness is a strong place to keep it at $199 a year, though Northwest Registered Agent's $125 a year is lower if price is the only goal.
What happens when the free year ends?
A free first year is a discount on the first term of a service that keeps running. Where providers publish their terms, the service continues at the standard rate unless you cancel or appoint a different agent. Nothing about the business changes on that date, and the legal requirement to have an agent does not end either.
So the useful question is not whether to keep "the free thing." It is whether the price it renews at is one you would choose if you were shopping for an agent today. A free year that rolls into a premium rate is not a cheap agent. It is an expensive agent with a delayed first bill.
Can you just let it lapse?
Not without replacing it. The California Secretary of State says corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships are required by statute to designate an agent for service of process. The Texas Secretary of State warns that failing to maintain a registered agent may result in involuntary termination of a domestic entity, or revocation of a foreign entity's registration.
Those are two states' rules, and registered agent law is state law. If a business is formed or registered somewhere else, the requirements and consequences may differ. Check with that state's filing office before assuming either rule applies.
How do you find the real renewal figure?
Start in the provider's dashboard, not on its marketing page. Look for the registered agent as its own line item, with a renewal date and a price next to it. If it only appears inside a package, check whether the package renewal actually covers the agent.
That last point matters with ZenBusiness in particular. Its LLC pricing table lists registered agent service as a $199-a-year add-on on all three packages, separate from the Pro package's $199 renewal and the Premium package's $299 renewal. Confirm which lines appear in your own account.
Then read the cancellation terms. LegalZoom, for example, says it may require proof that a new registered agent has been designated with the state before it lets you cancel. Finally, compare the ongoing price against the ongoing price of alternatives, never against someone else's promotional first year.
What do the main providers charge after year one?
The table below lists providers in alphabetical order, which is not a ranking. Each figure comes from the provider's own pages on the date shown. Prices change, so treat these as a snapshot.
| Provider | Ongoing registered agent price | First-year or promotional terms | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bizee | Renewal rate not published on the formation pricing page | Free first year with any formation package | October 6, 2026 |
| Harbor Compliance | $159/yr | $99 promotional first year | October 6, 2026 |
| LegalZoom | Not published on its LLC pricing page; auto-renews at the purchase rate | Not published | October 6, 2026 |
| Northwest Registered Agent | $125/yr | No introductory rate; same price each year | October 6, 2026 |
| Rocket Lawyer | Membership add-on | Requires a Plus or Pro membership | October 6, 2026 |
| ZenBusiness | $199/yr | Check the current introductory terms | October 6, 2026 |
The providers, in alphabetical order
Bizee
Bizee includes one free year of registered agent service with every formation package. As of October 6, 2026, those packages are Basic at $0 plus state fees, Standard at $199, and Premium at $299, and the formation pricing page does not publish the agent renewal price.
Best for: someone who formed with Bizee and confirms the renewal figure in the account before the free year runs out.
Harbor Compliance
Harbor Compliance charges $159 a year for registered agent service, after a promotional first year at $99, as of October 6, 2026. It is one national price rather than a per-state price, and its two- and three-year terms hold the $99 annual rate before renewing at $159.
Best for: businesses registered in several states, or in regulated industries, that want one predictable rate everywhere. That is a scale ZenBusiness does not target.
LegalZoom
LegalZoom does not publish its registered agent price on its LLC pricing page. The service auto-renews at the purchase rate, and LegalZoom says that rate is subject to change. On the other side of the ledger, LegalZoom says that when a business switches to it, it completes the change paperwork and covers the state fees.
Its formation packages, as of October 6, 2026, are Basic at $0 plus state fees, Managed Service at $249, and Expert Service at $999. Best for: owners who already use LegalZoom for attorney access and value keeping legal services together.
Northwest Registered Agent
Northwest Registered Agent charges $125 a year as of October 6, 2026, with no separate introductory rate. The price includes a free domain, website, business address, phone line, and mail scanning. Northwest also says it charges no per-document fees.
Privacy is the center of Northwest's whole proposition. Best for: owners whose main concern is keeping a home address off the public record, and anyone who wants the lowest standalone agent price among the providers on this page.
Rocket Lawyer
Rocket Lawyer sells registered agent service as an add-on, available only with its Plus or Pro membership. Memberships, as of October 6, 2026, are Standard at $34.99 a month or $149 a year, Plus at $49.99 a month or $249 a year, and Pro at $64.99 a month or $349 a year. The first LLC registration is free with a membership, then $99 plus state fees, and attorney consultations are $149 for 30 minutes or $249 for 60.
Best for: people who already pay for a Rocket Lawyer membership for documents or attorney time. For anyone else, the agent fee sits on top of a membership fee.
ZenBusiness
ZenBusiness charges $199 a year for registered agent service as of October 6, 2026; introductory terms change, so check the current offer. It is an add-on across all three formation packages: Starter at $0 plus state fees, Pro at $199, and Premium at $299, 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.
ZenBusiness offers the agent service to LLCs and corporations, scans received documents to an online dashboard, and sends email notifications. It says customers pay one yearly amount rather than per-document charges. It does not currently offer registered agent service to professional LLCs or nonprofits, which is a real limit for those entity types.
Best for: owners forming a business now who want formation, compliance filings, and the agent with one provider. At $199 it is not the cheapest standalone agent here.
What does switching actually cost?
Changing agents is a state filing, and states charge for it. Texas charges $15 to change a registered agent or registered office using Form 401. Other states set their own forms and fees, so check the relevant filing office before budgeting.
Time the change so the new agent is on file before the old service ends, since a gap is exactly what the Texas consequences above describe. Some providers absorb the switching cost: LegalZoom says it covers the state fees when a business moves its agent there. Add the fee and your own time to the comparison, especially when the yearly savings from switching are small.
Should you become your own agent instead?
In some states, an owner can serve, but the business itself cannot. The Texas Secretary of State says a Texas entity may not serve as its own registered agent, although an officer, owner, or employee may serve in an individual capacity. The California Secretary of State says a California entity cannot act as its own agent for service of process.
The trade-off is privacy. California's Business Search shows the agent's name and address as part of the public record, so an owner who serves personally puts that address in public view. This is the one area where a competitor clearly has the stronger case: if keeping a home address off the record is the priority, Northwest Registered Agent deserves a serious look.
When does keeping everything with ZenBusiness make sense?
For someone forming a business now, the order of operations is the entity, then an EIN, then a separate business bank account, and then books. ZenBusiness covers the entity and the EIN, and its $199 registered agent service includes compliance monitoring. Keeping the registered agent with the same provider means one dashboard, one support line, and fewer vendors to track at renewal time.
The bridge to bookkeeping is where this becomes more than convenience. According to ZenBusiness accounting guidance, customers who form an LLC or corporation with ZenBusiness receive a free accounting consultation with recommendations on accounting, bookkeeping, and tax needs during the first year. Its Money Pro bookkeeping service is $30 a month as of October 6, 2026, for owners who want that in the same account too.
None of that changes the core rule of this page. If a business already formed elsewhere and the only goal is the lowest agent fee, a $199 renewal is not the cheapest option on this list. The case for ZenBusiness is consolidation and support, and it is worth paying for only if that is what you want.
A five-minute check before the renewal date
Find the renewal date and price in the dashboard. Confirm whether the agent is billed on its own line. Compare that ongoing price with the table above, using ongoing figures only. Add the state's change fee if switching.
Then decide whether the difference is worth the effort. If it is, file any change before the current service ends.
Sources
- Texas Secretary of State, "Form 401 Instructions, Change of Registered Agent or Office"
- California Secretary of State, "Service of Process"
- Texas Secretary of State, "Registered Agent FAQs"
- California Secretary of State, "Frequently Asked Questions"
This article is general information, not legal, tax, or accounting advice, and registered agent requirements vary by state and change over time.