Best Texas registered agent services in 2024
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BLUEPRINT
Updated 9:25 a.m. UTC Jan. 5, 2024
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Texas registered agent services help businesses in the state ensure that they meet all requirements for operating in Texas. Registered agent services help protect your business’s privacy by providing the Texas Office of the Secretary of State with the name and physical address of the company’s contact person for official correspondence and interactions.
They are available to the state during normal business hours, and they send timely notifications of upcoming filing deadlines while providing a central, secure repository for your organization’s important documents and records.
Featured registered agent service offers
ZenBusiness
Cost
$199 annually
Same-day document delivery
No
Phone support
Yes
LegalZoom
Cost
$199
Same-day document delivery
No
Phone support
Yes
Northwest Registered Agent
Cost
$125
Same-day document delivery
Yes
Phone support
Yes
Best Texas registered agent services
- Northwest Registered Agent: Best for fast service and responsiveness.
- Harbor Compliance: Best for long-term savings.
- Rocket Lawyer: Best for complete business legal services.
- SunDoc Filings: Best for customer satisfaction.
- BetterLegal: Most affordable.
- InCorp: Best for real-time monitoring of state databases.
- Bizee (formerly Incfile): Best for one year of free service for formation clients.
- Swyft Filings: Best for money-back guarantee.
- ZenBusiness: Easiest to use.
- Incorporate.com: Best for compliance guarantee.
Why trust our small business experts
Our team of experts evaluates hundreds of business products and analyzes thousands of data points to help you find the best product for your situation. We use a data-driven methodology to determine each rating. Advertisers do not influence our editorial content. You can read more about our methodology below.
- 15 companies reviewed.
- 12 hours of product testing.
- 540 data points analyzed.
SunDoc Filings
InCorp
Bizee (formerly Incfile)
Incorporate.com
Featured registered agent service offers
ZenBusiness
Cost
$199 annually
Same-day document delivery
No
Phone support
Yes
LegalZoom
Cost
$199
Same-day document delivery
No
Phone support
Yes
Northwest Registered Agent
Cost
$125
Same-day document delivery
Yes
Phone support
Yes
Best Texas registered agent services comparison
| BUSINESS FORMATION SERVICES | CUSTOMER SUPPORT | MOBILE APP | FULL REVIEW | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Northwest Registered Agent
| LLCs, corporations, nonprofits
| Telephone, live chat, email
| No
| |
Harbor Compliance
| LLCs, corporations, nonprofits
| Live chat, email
| No
| |
Rocket Lawyer
| LLCs, corporations, nonprofits
| Telephone, live chat, email
| iOS and Android
| |
SunDoc Filings
| LLCs, corporations, nonprofits, partnerships, LLPs
| Telephone, live chat, email
| No
| |
BetterLegal
| LLCs, corporations
| Telephone, live chat, email
| Android only
| |
InCorp
| LLCs, corporations. partnerships, LLPs
| Telephone, live chat, email
| iOS only
| |
Bizee
| LLCs, corporations, nonprofits
| Telephone, live chat, email
| No
| |
Swyft Filings
| LLCs, corporations, nonprofits
| Telephone, live chat, email
| No
| |
ZenBusiness
| LLCs, corporations
| Telephone, live chat, email
| No
| |
Incorporate.com
| LLCs, corporations, nonprofits, LLPs
| Telephone, live chat, email
| No
|
Methodology
We extensively research the key competitors within an industry to determine the best products and services for your business. Our experts identify the factors that matter most to business owners, including pricing, features and customer support, to ensure that our recommendations offer well-rounded products that will meet the needs of various small businesses.
We collect extensive data to narrow our best list to reputable, easy-to-use products with stand-out features at a reasonable price point. And we look at user reviews to ensure that business owners like you are satisfied with our top picks’ services. We use the same rubric to assess companies within a particular space so you can confidently follow our blueprint to the best registered agent services of 2023.
The best registered agent service providers have positive user reviews on customer review sites, such as Trustpilot, G2 and the Better Business Bureau. Registered agent service providers should provide customers with fast and reliable support. Using a combination of phone support, live chat and knowledge bases, customers should be able to quickly resolve issues 24/7.
Registered agent services should be available in all states, affordably priced when compared to competitors and backed by reasonable refund policies and money-back guarantees. All registered agent service providers should expand on a basic feature set that includes company formation services, secure client portals and same-day document delivery.
What are registered agent services, and how do they work?
Registered agent services act as your business’s representative for official correspondence with government agencies, other organizations and the public. The companies receive your documents and notices at their address located in the state your business is registered.
The materials they process include government notices, service of process and other legal documents. The services handle your business’s notices of legal actions or garnishment proceedings, certificates of good standing that confirm your state registration and compliance documents.
LLCs, corporations and partnerships are required by State law to designate a registered agent to serve as the business’s point of contact for official state notifications, including fulfillment of compliance requirements. General requirements for registered agents include:
- Agents must be at least 18 years old.
- They must maintain a physical address in the state in which the business is located.
- They must be available during normal business hours.
A business can serve as its own registered agent, but many companies choose to hire a third party to serve as their registered agent to save time and ensure that they satisfy all state compliance regulations. Designating a registered agent involves these steps:
- Adding the agent’s name and address to the business’s official state record.
- Paying the agent’s annual fee, which is typically between $100 and $300 for a single state.
- Using the registered agent service’s network to access your business’s official records, correspondences and other documents.
What are the benefits of registered agent services?
Ensuring your company is in good standing with the state it operates in prevents potential fines and other punishments for non-compliance. However, compliance monitoring is only one of the many benefits offered by registered agent services in addition to:
- Privacy protection. Using the registered agent’s street address as your business’s official address shields your real address from the public.
- Document management. The services provide a central repository for all official documents that can be accessed at any time from any location.
- Reminders and notifications. Your business is contacted in a timely manner when filing deadlines and other important actions are due.
- Address changes. If your business relocates, its official address remains the same.
- Office closures. Registered agents are required to be available during normal business hours. A registered agent service allows firms to close during business hours for any length of time without jeopardizing their compliance with this regulation.
- Confidentiality. Should your business receive service of process or other potentially embarrassing official notification, there’s no risk of the public learning of this through the mail.
Who needs registered agent services?
Texas state law mandates that parties forming an LLC, corporation or other business entity in the state provide the name and physical address of a person who will serve as the registered agent for receiving official correspondence from the state.
This ensures that the business is accountable for meeting all regulations and that important documents will be received by the company in a timely fashion.
How to choose the best registered agent services
Many companies choose to name an owner or employee who will serve as their own registered agent as a way to avoid having to pay for a registered agent service. This creates privacy risks and requires that the person or their representative be available during normal business hours. This can also create a burden for companies that operate in several states.
Key features to look for
The capabilities of registered agent services go beyond providing a mailing address for your company and forwarding official documents. These are some additional considerations when deciding on a registered agent service for your business:
- Availability. There is always a person physically present at the registered agent’s address and available to receive hand-delivered legal documents and other official correspondence.
- Expertise. The registered agent must be familiar with the business regulations and compliance requirements of the state. This includes monitoring the legislature to be ready for new laws and amendments to existing ones.
- Trained support staff. The points of contact with customers need to know the procedures for preparing and filing official documents, and for responding to notifications. This ensures the timely delivery of accurate and complete paperwork.
- Customer service. Correspondence must be delivered to the appropriate parties at your business. The service’s employees should follow up consistently to confirm that the documents are received and in order.
- Responsiveness. Delays in replying to requests for assistance can slow filings and potentially incur fines for late submissions.
UX and ease of use
A registered agent service’s interface affects two important aspects of its use:
- The initial sign-up and registration process requires an interface that makes it easy to understand exactly what services you’ll be receiving and what you’ll be charged for them. The interface must also facilitate entering complete and accurate information about your business’s registration with the state. ZenBusiness, for example, features a chat-like sign-up wizard that takes only a few minutes to complete.
- Monitoring your business’s state registration and other official correspondence and documents is done through a secure portal or dashboard interface that keeps you up to date on the status of your registration, upcoming compliance requirements and other information related to your business.
Customer service
When a problem arises with your business’s registration or renewal, you need to be able to reach a knowledgeable support representative in a timely manner to avoid late fees or delinquency penalties due to a lack of compliance. All the registered agent services we reviewed offer live chat and email support, and all but Harbor Compliance provide telephone support during business hours, Monday to Friday.
Northwest Registered Agent stands out for offering speedy responses to customer queries, as well as same-day scans of your business’s documents at its local office in Austin. The company notifies your business immediately when important documents or correspondences arrive and even issues reminders if an important piece of mail remains unread.
How much do registered agent services cost?
The Texas registered agent services we examined cost from $90 a year to $250 a year. Some business formation services include one year of registered agent service with their LLC and corporation formation packages. For example, Bizee’s three LLC formation plans — Silver, Gold and Platinum — come with a free year of registered agent service; the price per year thereafter is $119.
Several registered agent services give you a discount for purchasing multiple years of service. Harbor Compliance offers discounts of 5% to 10% for agreements covering two to 10 years, and InCorp’s service contracts for two, three and five years are discounted from 10% to more than 30%.
| PRICE | MULTIYEAR DISCOUNTS | FREE YEAR WITH BUSINESS FORMATION | FULL REVIEW | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Northwest Registered Agent
| $125.00
| No
| No
| |
Harbor Compliance
| $99.00
| Yes
| No
| |
Rocket Lawyer
| $249.99
| No
| No
| |
SunDoc Filings
| $159.00
| No
| No
| |
BetterLegal
| $90.00
| No
| No
| |
InCorp
| $129.00
| Yes
| No
| |
Bizee
| $119.00
| No
| Yes
| |
Swyft Filings
| $199.00
| No
| No
| |
ZenBusiness
| $199.00
| No
| No
| |
Incorporate.com
| $235.00
| No
| No
|
Featured registered agent service offers
ZenBusiness
Cost
$199 annually
Same-day document delivery
No
Phone support
Yes
LegalZoom
Cost
$199
Same-day document delivery
No
Phone support
Yes
Northwest Registered Agent
Cost
$125
Same-day document delivery
Yes
Phone support
Yes
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
The Texas Business Organizations Code requires that any Texas corporation, LLC, limited partnership or other domestic and foreign filing entity have a registered agent and office in the state. The registered agent is designated to receive service of process, notices and demands sent to the organization that are allowed or required by law. Registered agents must consent to serve in this capacity by submitting a form electronically or by mail to the Office of the Secretary of State.
A company’s registered office is the physical address in Texas at which it receives official documents, notices and other correspondence during business hours. The office address may not be a post office box affiliated with a commercial mail or message service unless the service itself has been designated as the firm’s registered agent.
Businesses can serve as their own registered agent if they meet certain criteria:
- You must be a resident of Texas or authorized to do business in the state, which requires having a physical presence there (business address or registered office).
- You must have a physical address in Texas and have someone available to receive legal documents and notices during normal business hours.
- You must be at least 18 years old.
Among the challenges of serving as your own registered agent are the privacy risk of having your business’s address made public, always having someone present at the organization’s physical address during business hours and having to update the business’s address with the state each time it relocates.
To change your registered agent in Texas, complete and submit Form 401: Statement of Change of Registered Office/Agent with the Office of the Secretary of State. In addition to general information about your business, the form asks for details about the outgoing and incoming registered agent.
The fee for filing the change is $15 for corporations, LLCs and partnerships and $5 for nonprofits and cooperative associations. The change takes effect once the form is submitted and processed.
Registered agents in Texas serve as a business’s point of contact for receiving legal documents and notices from the state, and other official correspondences. They receive official mail and forward it to the business through digital scans and physical delivery.
The services differ from virtual mailbox services by receiving only official documents rather than general mail, which includes personal messages, checks, invoices, bills and correspondence from customers and business partners. Registered agents also maintain copies of your business’s important documents as backups in case the originals are lost or damaged.
Blueprint is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. The information provided is for educational purposes only and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Blueprint has an advertiser disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Blueprint editorial staff alone. Blueprint adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.
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