Paying year by year, the cheapest registered agent over three years is Northwest Registered Agent: $375 for the first year plus two renewals at $125, on prices read 2026-09-28. Paying three years up front is cheaper still at Harbor Compliance: $297 for three years, then $159 a year. The lowest first-year price is $99 at Harbor Compliance and ZenBusiness, renewing at $159 and $199, so the year-one price is not the price. Cheaper still is being your own agent, which 44 of the 50 states allow on the rules we have read, at the cost of your home address on the public record and being available in office hours.
Registered agent prices are quoted for the first year. The number that matters is the renewal, because you pay it every year the company exists. The table sorts by renewal and shows three years in total, first year plus two renewals.
Switching costs the state's change fee, once. It is $15 in the median state and zero in 8 states; the change-of-agent guide lists every state.
Provider prices, sorted by what you pay every year
| Provider | First year | Renews at | Three years | Note | Checked | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Registered Agent affiliate link | $125 | $125 | $375 | Same price every year, per its page; $100 a year per state for five or more states Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 | 2026-09-28 | northwestregisteredagent.com |
| Bizee affiliate link | $149 | $149 | $447 | 149 per year standalone or on renewal; first year free only with a Bizee formation Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 | 2026-09-28 | bizee.com |
| Harbor Compliance affiliate link | $99 | $159 | $417 prepaid $297 | Renews at 159 per year after the first; 3 years paid up front cost 297 Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 | 2026-09-28 | harborcompliance.com |
| ZenBusiness | $99 | $199 | $497 | Renews at 199 per year Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 | 2026-09-28 | zenbusiness.com |
| Registered Agents Inc | $200 | $200 | $600 | 200 a year, annual report filing included, per its page Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 | 2026-09-28 | registeredagentsinc.com |
| LegalZoom | $249 | $249 | $747 | Auto-renews; renewal rate subject to change, per its page Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 | 2026-09-28 | legalzoom.com |
The free option: be your own agent
Most states let an adult resident, or the company's own officer, act as registered agent. The trade: your street address goes on the public record, and you must be there during business hours to accept legal papers. The state-by-state rules show where it is allowed and on what conditions.
First-year offers to read twice
Harbor Compliance: renews at 159 per year after the first; 3 years paid up front cost 297 ZenBusiness: renews at 199 per year
Price changes we have seen
Each provider's price page is re-read and dated. When a figure moves, the row goes here with the old price, the new price and the date we saw it.
| Seen | Provider | What | From | To | Our note and the page's words |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-28 | Harbor Compliance | Renewal price | $149 | $159 | The renewal rose by $10 between our 2026-09-08 read ($149) and our 2026-09-28 read ($159). The first year stayed $99; three years paid up front read $297 the same day. The page's words: "$99 first year for new customers. Renews at $159 annually." harborcompliance.com, previous read 2026-09-08 |
What providers say about their own prices, quoted as claims we have not checked: Northwest Registered Agent, seen 2026-09-08: "We haven't raised our price in 20 years. It's $125/year—no hidden fees or per document charges." northwestregisteredagent.com. The provider's own claim, quoted as it stands on its page. We have not checked twenty years of prices; we record what the page says and the date. Re-read 2026-09-28: $125 unchanged.
Questions people ask
How much does a registered agent cost?
Between $125 and $249 a year at renewal on the 6 providers we track, prices read 2026-09-28. First-year offers start at $99.
Why is the first-year price not the real price?
Because the renewal is what you pay every year after. Harbor Compliance, ZenBusiness charge more at renewal than in year one; the table shows both and the three-year total.
What does it cost to switch registered agent?
The state's change-of-agent fee, paid once: $15 in the median state and nothing in 8 states, plus the new provider's price. The change-of-agent guide lists every state's fee.
Can I avoid the fee by being my own agent?
Yes in 44 of the 50 states we have verified, if you have a street address in the state and are there in business hours. Your address then goes on the public record.
Do registered agent prices differ by state?
Not on the price pages we read: each provider quotes one price and lists no state exception. We did not open a per-state page for every provider. Northwest Registered Agent charges $100 a year per state from 5 states.
Who checks these prices, and how often?
We do. Each price is read on the provider's own page and carries the date we read it; a figure that moves goes into the change log on this page. Last read 2026-09-28.
State guides
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Advertising disclosure. Some provider names on this page are links to that provider's site through an affiliate network. If you buy through one of those links we may earn a commission. The price you pay does not change. Links to providers we have no agreement with go straight to their site; every provider is ranked by the same rules. Disclosed under the US FTC Endorsement Guides and the Norwegian Marketing Control Act. A Northwest Registered Agent affiliate.