This page previously listed Bizee at $119 a year and used it as the floor of the national tier. Bizee’s own agent page lists $149, so the floor is Northwest at $125. We are flagging it plainly because the correction favours a provider we earn a commission from: the figure was read off Bizee’s own page on 21 and 22 September 2026, and Northwest’s $125 was re-checked on the same days and had not moved. We publish our corrections because we audit other people’s fee tables.
"How much does a registered agent cost?" gets answered three different ways depending on who's selling. The honest version: there are three price tiers — $0, roughly $35–$60, and roughly $99–$300 — and each one trades money for something else. Here's the full picture, with only verified 2026 prices.
The three price tiers — and what you give up at each
Tier 1: $0 — be your own agent. Every state allows it if you have a physical in-state address and are available during business hours. The cost isn't money; it's privacy (your address goes on the public record, where data brokers scrape it) and flexibility (you're tethered to that address on business days, and a missed delivery can mean a missed lawsuit). See can I be my own registered agent? for when this genuinely makes sense.
Tier 2: $35–$60/year — single-state local specialists. In some states, small local firms will serve as your agent for $35–$60 a year. You give up the national footprint (useless if you expand to another state), the polished dashboard, and often same-day document scanning. Fine for a single-state business that just needs the box checked — but vet that they'll reliably forward legal mail, because that's the entire job.
Tier 3: $99–$300/year — national services. This is what most people mean by "registered agent service": one provider covering all 50 states, scanned documents, compliance reminders. Within this tier the spread is wide — from Northwest at $125/yr to LegalZoom at $249/yr — and the extra money doesn't always buy extra service. The table below shows exactly who charges what. For the full head-to-head, see our cheapest registered agent guide.
What the major services charge (as of September 2026)
| Service | First year | Renewal / year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest | Free (with $39 formation) | $125 | Address privacy included by default |
| Bizee | Free (with $0 formation) | $149 | Renews above Northwest; read off Bizee's own agent page 22 Sep 2026 |
| ZenBusiness | $99 | $199 | Renewal doubles after year one |
| LegalZoom | $249 | $249 | Highest among major services |
| Local single-state specialist | $35–$60 | $35–$60 | Available in some states; single state only |
Prices verified as of September 2026 — providers change them without notice, so confirm on each pricing page before you buy. Read the deeper comparison in our Northwest review. Bizee was widely reported at about $119 for years, including on this page; its own agent page now lists $149, which is exactly why an undated price is worth nothing.
Why the renewal price matters more than year one
The single biggest pricing trap in this market is the teaser first year. "Free registered agent" almost always means free for twelve months when you form your LLC through the provider — then the renewal bills automatically every year after. You pay the renewal five, ten, twenty times; you pay the intro price once. ZenBusiness is the clearest example: $99 the first year, then $199/yr — over three years that's $497, versus $298 at Bizee ($0 + $149 + $149) or $250 at Northwest ($0 + $125 + $125) on their free-first-year offers. When you compare costs, cover the first-year column with your thumb and read the renewal column. That's the number you'll live with.
Hidden add-ons that inflate the real cost
- Mail forwarding fees. The base fee usually covers legal and state documents only. Forwarding your regular business mail is a separate paid add-on at most providers — check what's included before assuming your agent doubles as a mailbox.
- Compliance-alert upsells. Basic annual-report reminders are often free, but some providers sell "compliance packages" on top. A calendar reminder does the same job for $0.
- Address-privacy add-ons. Some services list your address on public filings unless you pay extra to use theirs. Northwest includes this by default; with others, price the add-on into your comparison.
- State-fee passthrough. One thing that is not a differentiator: every provider passes your state's filing fees through at cost. The state fee is identical everywhere, so ignore any marketing that implies otherwise. Look up your state's actual fees in our LLC cost calculator.
The cost of switching agents
If you're overpaying, the exit fee is smaller than most people expect. Switching means filing a short change-of-agent form with your state, and the fees are modest: Wyoming $5, Arizona $5, Colorado $10, Texas $15, New Mexico $20, Florida $25, New York $30, Delaware $50, Nevada $60. Dropping from a $249/yr agent to a $125/yr one recoups even the priciest of those in the first year — and every year after is pure saving. The full process, deadlines, and per-state details are in our guide to changing your registered agent. Fees vary by state and change; state pages are collected at registered agent by state.
One wrinkle worth knowing before you budget: several of those fees differ by entity type, and the difference shows up in search results as if it were a price. New Mexico charges $20 to change an LLC's agent but $25 for a corporation's (NMSA § 53-19-63(I) and § 53-2-1(6)), and because agent websites quote both figures in one breath, “$25 New Mexico registered agent” gets searched as though someone sells the service at that price. Nobody does — the cheapest real price in the state is $35 a year, which we break down in the New Mexico agent guide.
When $0 is genuinely the right answer
Paying nothing is the correct call more often than the industry admits. If you have a commercial address (not your home) in your state, work regular business hours there, run a low-lawsuit-risk business, and don't plan to expand to other states, being your own agent costs $0 and loses you very little. The math flips when any of those isn't true — a home address on the public record, travel that takes you away during business hours, or multi-state registration all push the ~$120/year service fee into "cheap insurance" territory. Walk through the decision properly in can I be my own registered agent?
Prices and state fees change and vary by state — confirm current figures on the provider's own pricing page and your Secretary of State site before you buy. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.