Registered Agent · One yearly price, any state, for a company that's already formed.
A registered agent for your company, in any state.
Already formed and want a different agent? Mainstay serves as your registered agent for $149 a year and files the change of agent for you when you switch, with the state's change fee at cost.
✓ One flat yearly price ✓ Same price at renewal ✓ LLCs, corporations, LPs, LLPs and nonprofits
Receipt / Every Year
Registered Agent Service
- ✓Your registered agent, all year
- ✓Physical in-state address on the public record
- ✓Service of process scanned and uploaded the same business day, no fee
- ✓Compliance reminders
- ✓First three government mailings a year scanned free
- ✓LLCs, corporations, LPs, LLPs and nonprofits alike
Renews at $149.00/yr.
Moving an existing company over? We prepare and file the change of agent, and the state's change fee passes through at cost. Annual report filing is part of the formation package, not this service.
What a registered agent does
A registered agent is the person or company your state expects to receive legal papers and official notices on your company's behalf, at a physical address in that state. When someone sues your business, the summons is served on the agent. When the state needs to reach the company, its notices go to the same place.
That makes the agent the first stop on a legal clock. A lawsuit that is served on an address nobody watches can turn into a default judgment before you ever hear about it. What the agent is for is having someone there to accept the papers, so that you hear about them while there is still time to act.
The role is not a mail address for your general business. It receives what the state and the courts send, and the rest of your mail belongs somewhere else.
What $149 a year covers
The price covers the agent. We serve as your registered agent all year, with a real in-state address on the public record, and you hear from us before deadlines. State fees are the only thing on top, passed through at cost and shown before you pay. The price renews at $149.
It does not cover filing your annual report. That comes with the $199 formation package, which is why a new company usually starts there instead.
How mail is handled
Service of process is always scanned and uploaded the same business day, no fee. The first three government mailings per year are scanned free; beyond that, a per-piece scan or shipping fee applies. No tier includes free physical forwarding.
Switching your registered agent to Mainstay
Changing agents is a filing with the state, and each state has its own form and fee. Texas uses Form 401 at $15. Florida uses Form INHS18 at $25. Delaware charges $50 for a certificate of amendment that changes only the registered agent, and New York's Certificate of Change is $30. We prepare and file whichever one your state uses, and the state's fee passes through at cost. Apart from that fee, switching is free.
Until the state records the new agent, the old one is still the agent of record, so keep that arrangement in place until the change goes through. Papers served in the gap would otherwise land somewhere nobody is watching.
Two offers. Registered agent service is $149 a year, for a company that is already formed and only needs an agent. The formation package is $199 a year for a new company, and it adds the formation filing, your EIN application and, in states that have a recurring report, that report to the agent, which makes it the better value when you're starting from scratch.See the pricing page →
Every state has its own rules
States disagree about who can serve, what the address has to look like and even what to call the role. Most say registered agent. Arizona and Ohio say statutory agent, California and West Virginia say agent for service of process, and Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Rhode Island say resident agent. Pennsylvania lists a registered office, and in New York the Secretary of State is the agent for service of process unless you also name a registered agent of your own.
That is why each state below has its own page, with that state's term, who it allows, its address and consent rules, the change form and fee, and what happens if an agent resigns or the role goes unfilled.
Choose your state
Each page covers that state's rules and what the $149/yr includes there.
- Alabama→
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Frequently asked questions
What does $149 a year cover?
Your registered agent for the full year, a physical in-state address on the public record, same-day scanning of service of process, and compliance reminders. State fees are the one thing on top, at cost, and the price renews at $149. It does not include filing your annual report. That is part of the formation package.
I already have a company. Can I move my registered agent to Mainstay?
Yes. Switching costs nothing beyond the state's own change fee, which passes through at cost, and we prepare and file the change of agent with your state. Each state has its own form and fee. Texas, for example, uses Form 401 at $15, Florida uses Form INHS18 at $25, Delaware charges $50 for a certificate of amendment that changes only the registered agent, and New York's Certificate of Change is $30. Keep your old agent in place until the new one is on the state's record.
Do you serve corporations, LPs, LLPs and nonprofits, or only LLCs?
All five. Registered agent service covers LLCs, corporations, LPs, LLPs and nonprofits for the same $149 a year.
Can I use the registered agent address as my business address?
No. It's where the state and the courts send legal and government correspondence for your company, so it can't be your Google Business Profile address, your Amazon seller address, or the address on bank statements or invoices. Read the full explanation if you want the detail.
What happens to mail that arrives for my company?
Service of process is always scanned and uploaded the same business day, no fee. The first three government mailings per year are scanned free; beyond that, a per-piece scan or shipping fee applies. No tier includes free physical forwarding.
What if I haven't formed my company yet?
Start with the formation package instead. At $199 a year it prepares and files your formation, applies for your EIN, serves as your registered agent, and files the state's recurring report in the states that have one, with the state's own fees at cost. For a new company that's the better value, since the agent and the formation come with it, along with the recurring report where your state requires one. Choose your state to see the numbers.
Do you file my annual report if I only buy registered agent service?
No. Registered agent service is the agent role, with compliance reminders. Annual report filing is part of the $199 formation package. The agent service does not file it.
Need a registered agent?
$149 a year, flat, with the same price at renewal. Switching from another agent? We file the change, and the state's change fee passes through at cost.
Get a Registered Agent ($149/yr)