Choosing a registered agent in Delaware for your business can mean the difference between financial success or ruin.
The right Delaware Registered Agent will make sure that your company stays in good standing with the Secretary of State and keep your information private and off the public record.
The wrong Delaware Registered Agent can leave your business open to legal action, like lawsuits, or even be careless with your company’s information, leaving it vulnerable to attacks from hackers and scammers.
Here are my top picks for the best registered agent service in Delaware:
1. Northwest Registered Agent Review — 9.13/10 (Top-rated Service)
Northwest Registered Agent made their way to the top position on this list because they not only provide an excellent array of full-service options, they provide outstanding customer service.
Pros
Northwest Registered Agent ticks a lot of boxes.
You'll get the street address that you need, and they will accept service of process and mail on behalf of your Delaware limited liability company (LLC) during normal business hours in order to keep you in good standing with the Secretary of State and the Delaware Division of Corporations.
They’ll also scan every document they receive on your behalf and forward them to you—the only registered agent in the state of Delaware on this list to do so with EVERY piece of mail. On top of all that, they also alert you to upcoming compliance filing deadlines so you’ll remember to file your annual report, franchise tax, and other tax paperwork in time.
Besides that, they also offer one of the best LLC formation services in Delaware.
Their sign-up and setup processes are pretty easy to complete. You can conveniently sign up for corporate registered agent services and multiple states through their online portal. They have offices in all 50 states, which makes it easy to sign up for more registered agent services with them as your company grows.
But the reason that Northwest Registered Agent is at the top of my list is their US-based customer service team composed of former lawyers, accountants, small business owners, and entrepreneurs. They really go the extra mile to ensure that they answer any question you have and solve any problems that you encounter.
They respond quickly to phone or email inquiries. They really take time to listen to your issues instead of rushing off the phone showing little interest in resolving your query. They genuinely care about you and your problems, which is refreshing in the business world. Their customer support team are available every weekday during normal business hours.
They also provide LLC formation services to help you navigate the Delaware incorporation process, helping you file for your LLC operating agreement, as well as obtaining your Certificate of Formation and Certificate of Incorporation. They’ll remind you of any filing fee due or state filing fees you may need to pay in order to obtain your Inc. status.
Their fee is $125 per year, which is only $26 more per year than the cheapest Delaware registered agent on this list. And it's definitely worth $26 for the next-level customer service alone.
Cons
In Northwest Registered Agent’s case, its best feature is also its most problematic.
Their customer service is beyond comprehensive. It’s fantastic to have great customer service when you have a problem and need someone to listen to you in order to figure it out. But that takes a lot of time, sometimes more time than you might prefer.
They want to know every single detail about your problem, and they ask a lot of questions, and only then will they give you any sort of answer or suggestions.
But this is a high-quality problem to have with what is an overall excellent service.
Overall
Northwest Registered Agent is the best registered agent Delaware has to offer because they offer a wide variety of services, their fee is highly competitive, their system is easy to set up and use, and they offer the best customer service in the industry.
If you are looking for a registered agent that provides industry-leading customer service, competitive prices, and an excellent variety of registered agent service options, then check out Northwest Registered Agent.
2. Harbor Compliance Review — 7.92/10 (Best Budget Registered Agent)
Coming in at number two on my list is Harbor Compliance, which offers not only a plethora of great services but also the best price of any agent on this list.
Pros
Harbor Compliance is another full-service agent and LLC formation service.
As a Delaware registered agent, they provide a street address in the state of Delaware, accept mail and service of process on behalf of your Delaware LLC during normal business hours, scan your documents and put them on an online portal that you have access to, and give you notifications about upcoming compliance filing deadlines in order to keep your corporation or LLC in good standing with the Delaware Division of Corporations. These can include things like franchise tax and other tax reports that you must submit.
Their sign-up and setup processes are a breeze to get through and signing up for registered agent services in multiple states is simple. It’s relatively easy to get them to respond to customer service inquiries by phone or email, but their customer service isn’t as good as that of Northwest Registered Agent.
Of course, Harbor Compliance's unique selling point is their low fee. They only charge $99 per year. This makes them not only the cheapest full-service registered agent on my list, but also in the whole industry.
Cons
The one con about Harbor Compliance is that while they are good at everything, they excel at nothing.
Their service offerings are pretty basic. They offer no premium services or even any services that are really exceptional and their customer service, while adequate, is nowhere near as comprehensive as that of Northwest Registered Agent.
Overall
Harbor Compliance is a solid choice for a full-service registered agent in the state of Delaware. They offer a basic list of registered agent services and have the lowest price on the list.
If you need a registered agent to provide basic services for a low price, check out Harbor Compliance here.
3. LegalZoom Review — 6.59/10 (Best Premium Registered Agent)
If you are looking for a premium service registered agent in Delaware, LegalZoom is the best on my list. A lot of the other premium service Delaware registered agent services have some pretty unattractive features, as you'll see when reading about them.
Pros
LegalZoom offers a lot of the same services that you would expect from a full-service registered agent in Delaware, such as scanning documents and allowing you access to them with an online portal, accepting service of process and mail on behalf of your LLC, forwarding mail, and sending compliance filing alerts for franchise tax and other tax reports.
The premium part of their offering is that they also provide you with up to $1 million worth of identity theft protection.
Cons
There are a couple of drawbacks with LegalZoom.
First, they charge a fee of $299 per year for their registered agent services. That's $174 more than Northwest Registered Agent, and three times more than Harbor Compliance. It's really not worth paying that much to include identity theft protection when you can get it elsewhere cheaper.
Second, registered agent services are not LegalZoom's specialty. In fact, it's only a small portion of what they do. Because of this, they don't focus on their registered agent services.
Their customer service is not really helpful—registered agent services are not their specialty. It’s easy enough to get them to respond to phone or email contacts, but the customer service contact isn’t on the same level as that of Northwest Registered Agent. It’s particularly annoying because the system isn't as intuitive, either.
Overall
LegalZoom is a well-known company. However, they really shouldn't be your first choice in Delaware registered agent services for several reasons, including that you can purchase full-service registered agent service, as well as identity theft protection, for your LLC from other agencies for less.
If you're already in business with LegalZoom, however, it could be worth it to you to also hire their registered agent services.
If you would like to check out LegalZoom, do so here: LegalZoom.
4. ZenBusiness
ZenBusiness is an LLC formation service that offers everything you want from a Delaware registered agent, but, for some reason, they charge an exorbitant price for their services.
Their popular Pro Package is $199 per state, per year and includes everything included by Northwest Registered Agent, with two notable exceptions—quality customer support, and lack of a free year of registered agent service after signing up.
This is probably because their primary focus is on LLC formation services, rather than registered agent services, so they haven’t fully optimized their offering. But regardless of the reason, they’re still more expensive than Northwest Registered Agent.
If you want to know more about their services, read my ZenBusiness review.
5. IncFile
IncFile is another Delaware registered agent service whose prices don’t match their minimal services.
They’ll give you a street address to accept your mail and service of process, of course. But they charge a fee of $119 per year and you won’t even get compliance deadline filing alerts for your business entity. And their customer service, by phone or email, isn’t nearly as good as Northwest Registered Agent's either.
They do offer a year of free registered agent service if you sign up for their LLC formation service. So, they’ll definitely help you build your business.
While this sounds like a great deal, after the year is up, you’ll pay more than necessary for a Delaware registered agent service in the long run.
If you still want to check out IncFile to get a year’s worth of free Delaware registered agent service and get your LLC up and running during that first year, you can do so here: IncFile.
6. Rocket Lawyer
Rocket Lawyer is a cheaper knockoff of LegalZoom.
Like LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer’s Delaware registered agent service isn’t what they specialize in. Their registered agent service is just a small part of what the company does, so it doesn’t get the attention it needs to adequately serve your Delaware LLC.
Of course, they’ll accept mail and service of process on behalf of your business entity, but the rest of their services aren’t anything to write home about.
For what they offer, they charge $149 per year and their customer service and service offerings are nowhere near as good.
If you want to know more about their products and their online legal services, read my Rocket Lawyer review.
7. SunDoc Filings
SunDoc Filings is another Delaware registered agent service that provides the basic essentials for your Delaware business.
They’ll provide you with a street address in the state of Delaware, as well as accepting mail, legal documents, tax notices, and service of process on behalf of your Delaware business or LLC. They charge $159 per year for the pleasure.
8. InCorp
InCorp is a Delaware registered agent that made rating its services somewhat difficult and would confuse the average consumer.
Like some other Delaware registered agent services on this list, InCorp charges a low fee of $99 per year. Like any basic registered agent service, they’ll provide you with a registered office and street address in the state of Delaware and accept mail and service of process on behalf of your Delaware LLC.
The problem becomes apparent when you access their system. Their computer system isn’t user-friendly, it’s hard to navigate and it’s not laid out very well. On top of that, their customer service by phone or email isn’t adequate enough to assist you in navigating the system for your Delaware LLC or Inc.
9. Swyft Filings
Swyft Filings is a Delaware registered agent that offers some pretty basic services. They’ll provide you with a registered office and address in Delaware to accept service of process on behalf of your Delaware LLC.
Unlike some of the other Delaware registered agent services on this list, Swyft Filings does include compliance deadline filing alerts, but they charge $149 per year.
If you want to know more about their services, read my Swyft Filings review.
10. CSC Global
CSC Global is a “premium” Delaware registered agent. They’ll provide you with the same services as a full-service agent, such as a registered office and address in Delaware, they’ll receive mail and service of process on behalf of your LLC, as well as notifying you of upcoming compliance filing deadlines.
You may wonder why the word “premium” is in scare quotes. That’s because the only real “premium” thing about this company is their scary rate.
They do offer to pay any state fees that you incur from switching to their service. But they charge $299 per year. You could easily pay Northwest’s $125 and cover the state fees yourself and still not spend up to $299.
11. Registered Agents Inc.
Registered Agents Inc. will provide you with the obligatory registered office and address in the state of Delaware. In fact, a lot of their services mirror Northwest Registered Agent.
The major drawback of Registered Agents Inc. is that they charge $200 per year, whereas Northwest only charges $125. Registered Agents Inc.’s customer service isn’t on the same level as Northwest’s, either.
12. Jumpstart Filings
Jumpstart Filings is another registered agent in Delaware to provide both registered agent and LLC formation services to help you get that all-important “Inc.” suffix.
They offer very minimal services, but they charge $150 per year. Their customer service by phone or email isn’t as good as Northwest’s and, unlike other registered agents on this list, they don’t offer a year of free registered agent services when you sign up for their LLC formation services.
So, all in all, this isn’t one of the more cost effective choices on my list.
Registered Agent Review Summary
Northwest Registered Agent earned a #1 spot on my list of best registered agents because of everything they have to offer.
They’ll provide you with all of the services you’d expect from a registered agent, like a registered office in Delaware, compliance alerts, protection for your personal details, and an address in the state.
But the real asset is their customer support. Their US-based team of former accountants, lawyers, and entrepreneurs will take the time to understand your issues and challenges and provide actionable advice that moves you closer to your business goals.
They charge a $125 per year, which, for $26 more per year than the cheapest option on my list, is excellent value.
If you need a registered agent for your Delaware company, head to Northwest Registered Agent now.
Best Registered Agent Review Methodology
Here are the methods and experiences I used to determine the best registered agent in Delaware.
Why You Should Trust Me
You should trust me because I have spent more time researching and interacting with the registered agent industry than anyone else would care to.
I started out doing research in order to find a registered agent for my two businesses. But when I eventually closed both of my businesses and was looking for a new business venture, my friends and colleagues asked for advice about registered agents.
I decided this would be my new business venture because I had the time to research these Delaware registered agent businesses, and the knowledge. I used my knowledge and experience to start my website.
Rest assured, you can trust that when I give a Delaware registered agent a glowing review, they deserve it!
How I Selected the Best Registered Agent
I started out with a list of over 60 registered agents in Delaware, and narrowed it down to 12, and picked my top three from there.
Here’s how I made that happen:
Stage 1: Reviews
Online reviews are a great place to start when you’re investigating a Delaware registered agent service. People generally have to create an online account in order to post their reviews, so that means they usually feel really strongly about their review in order to post it. I looked through reviews on the Better Business Bureau, Facebook, TrustPilot, and many other places.
Truthfully, I really couldn’t have read through every last review. There were thousands, and it probably would have taken years. Instead, I read through the reviews that were more than a couple of paragraphs long, giving me the details I needed. If these people had to change registered agent services and get a new Delaware registered agent service, they described what led them to make that decision.
This allowed me to weed out the companies that were outright scams, as well as those who used deceptive pricing practices. (More on that later.)
Stage 2: Website Analysis
The next stage of my investigation was checking out each individual company website.
Some of the things I looked for and considered were their service and product offerings, their location (they had to be in the state of Delaware), their company history, any awards they’d won, and how many different contact methods they listed for their customer service (not just a phone number).
Stage 3: Speaking with Real Customers
Unfortunately, there was only so much I could learn from the first two stages. Many people won’t bother creating an online account in order to post a review, and no company is going to tell you about all their drawbacks on their own company website.
I reached out to clients in the state who had visited my website and had purchased new Delaware registered agent services based on my suggestions, as well as those who already had a Delaware registered agent before coming to my site. Reviews from real customers let me know how well the business services they offered actually served their LLC (or not.) It definitely painted a clearer picture than the way they represented themselves on the business website.
Stage 4: Speaking with Their Sales Teams
The last stage was one of the most telling ones. I rounded up all of the negative feedback, customer complaints, and online reviews, then called each business and asked their sales team about them.
This told me how each business handled feedback. Some of them actually took those complaints and used them to change their system so there wasn’t a problem anymore. But a couple basically told me that there wasn’t actually a problem and that I shouldn’t pay attention to those “crazy” customers.
A Delaware registered agent business that listens to feedback is not only a business that wants to grow, but one that cares about its clients' LLCs.
- Delaware Registered Agent
- Maryland Registered Agent
- Virginia Registered Agent
- West Virginia Registered Agent
- Kentucky Registered Agent
- North Carolina Registered Agent
- South Carolina Registered Agent
- Georgia Registered Agent
- Florida Registered Agent
- Alabama Registered Agent
- Mississippi Registered Agent
- Tennessee Registered Agent
- Louisiana Registered Agent
- Arkansas Registered Agent
- Texas Registered Agent
- Oklahoma Registered Agent
Rating Factors
After I completed the four-stage investigation process, I was left with twelve Delaware registered agent services. Here is how I rated the best registered agent service for your Delaware LLC:
Factor 1: Offerings
This was one of the most important factors, so I evaluated it first. It doesn’t matter how much you like an agent’s price, it’s not going to do you any good if your new Delaware registered agent service doesn't provide the services your LLC needs.
So, I weighed things like whether an agent simply provided you with mail forwarding, or if they offered access to your legal documents (such as service of process) online, whether they provided a generic promise to keep your information safe or actually provided identity theft protection, and whether they just gave you a calendar, as opposed to notifications about legal compliance deadlines.
I also looked at whether they provide a cheap LLC service or possibly even the best LLC service.
The agents with the best service offerings in the state shot to the top of the list, and those with minimal or mediocre services dropped to the bottom.
Factor 2: Value
Value for money is an important factor as well. While I was evaluating this factor I discovered that there are essentially three different price ranges for registered agents in Delaware: budget, full-service, and premium.
Budget services run around $39–$59 per year, full-service offerings $99–$129 per year, and premium services start at $299 per year. What’s more, there’s no real accounting for how they come up with their prices. Three different agencies in Delaware could offer the same services but charge three different prices.
It should be noted that you won’t notice any budget services on my list. This is because, although they may charge fees of $39–$59 per year, they give you inadequate services for that price. If you want anything more than an office in Delaware, you’ll have to pay extra. These extra fees for things like alerts for legal compliance deadlines can cost you even more than some premium service agents charge.
I'm not a fan of this unethical, sneaky pricing and I know it’s not a good match for any LLC in the state.
Factor 3: Ease of Sign-up
Suppose you’d found a Delaware registered agent service with all of the services that your LLC could possibly need, at a price you can afford, only to find out that sign-up is a nightmare. Sometimes it can take weeks to get through the sign-up and setup process, which can be annoying and lead to some legal ramifications if you need a registered agent company or office address for your Delaware corporation.
So, those companies whose sign-up process was mostly effortless, painless, and streamlined went to the top half of my list, and those who required mountains of paperwork and time plummeted to the bottom of my list. It’s hard enough to run a Delaware corporation without the extra hassle!
Factor 4: Ease of Use
The next factor I considered was how easy their online system is to use. No Delaware business owner should have to spend hours training and retraining personnel on how to use an online system, only to discover that it’s too confusing, even with training.
The companies with easy, user-friendly online systems were champions on my list, while those whose computer systems were difficult to navigate, difficult to learn, slow, or complicated were put further down the list so that business owners don't have to experience the same pain in using them that I did.
Factor 5: Customer Service
The last factor I considered when rating each of these Delaware registered agents was customer service. No matter how well trained your staff is, or how well you think you understand the online system, someone in your organization is going to have a question at some point. And if it’s hard to get someone on the phone to answer your question, it can be the difference between getting back quickly to your interrupted work tasks, or being held up for hours.
Those who responded quickly to phone or email queries offered good explanations that were easy to understand, fixed my problems, and were friendly won higher positions on my list. Those who took forever to answer phone or email inquiries didn’t thoroughly answer my questions or weren’t friendly earned lower positions.
The Best Delaware Registered Agent Results Summary
I started with a list of over 60 registered agents in Delaware. I used a thorough, four-stage investigation process to trim that number down to 12 Delaware registered agents, and then used a five-factor rating system to rate them.
Using this system, I determined that Northwest Registered Agent was the best registered agent service that Delaware has to offer.
Best Overall Registered Agent — Northwest Registered Agent (9.13/10)
I have several reasons for declaring Northwest Registered Agent the best registered agent service company in Delaware. They offer a great range of services, a competitive price, and they’ve got the best customer service team in the state.
They provide you with a street address in Delaware, give you access to all of your documents online (not just service of process), protect your information and keep it off public record, and provide you with compliance deadline alerts for things such as your annual report and franchise tax filing so that your LLC is in good standing with the Secretary of State and the Delaware Division of Corporations.
Even better, Northwest has offices in all 50 states, not just Delaware. So, as your new corporation grows, they can still give you all the services you need, as well as provide services and support that bigger corporations use.
But the real reason they're #1 on my list is their industry-leading customer support.
Their US-based Corporate Guides are former accountants, lawyers, small business owners, and entrepreneurs. They're patient, knowledgable, and best of all, have personally faced a lot of the same challenges you're up against and can provide actionable advice that takes you closer to your goals. Their customer support team is available for contact every weekday during normal business hours.
And with more than 3,000 positive Northwest Registered Agent reviews, you can be sure that my experience wasn't a one-off.
If you want to ensure you meet your legal requirements as well as getting small business support as well as getting the best registered agent service for your Delaware corporation whether you’re new to registered agent services or looking to change services, check out Northwest Registered Agent here.
Best Budget Registered Agent — Harbor Compliance (7.92/10)
If you’re looking for a registered agent service company in Delaware that provides all the services your corporation could possibly need, at a great price, and is willing to sacrifice customer support, Harbor Compliance is the best option for you.
They offer all the same services that Northwest Registered agent provides, and they do it for only $99 per year.
Their customer service isn’t on the same level as Northwest’s, but they do answer your questions and provide you with general information, as well as walking you through any problems you or your office might have.
If you’re not as interested in extraordinary customer service as you are in budget prices from your Delaware registered agent, Harbor Compliance is probably the best bet for your corporation.
And if you still aren't sure, just browse the hundreds of positive Harbor Compliance reviews online.
You can check them out here: Harbor Compliance.
Best Premium Registered Agent — Legal Zoom (6.59/10)
If you’re looking for a premium-tier registered agent in Delaware, LegalZoom is a solid option. They provide you with the same general services that Northwest provides, like an office address and accepting corporate mail and service of process for your business. But they’ll also give you up to $1,000,000 in corporate identity theft protection.
They charge $299 per year, which is pretty typical of premium-level Delaware registered agent service prices. However, they’re $174 more than Northwest, and three times more expensive than Harbor Compliance. But they’re still a good choice for business owners that are concerned about identity theft protection, already using some of LegalZoom’s other services in your office, or interested in hiring a “big name” company in Delaware.
If you’d like more information about LegalZoom, you can find it here: LegalZoom.
In Conclusion
Appointing the right registered agent in Delaware for your business can keep your information safe and in good standing with state offices and regulations.
I did a lot of the work for you and investigated over 60 registered agent services, then ruled out all but 12. I used a four-stage investigation process and then used five different factors to rank the 12 agents on my list in order.
My analysis led me to conclude that Northwest Registered Agent is the best registered agent service in Delaware.
Their offerings include everything you would expect from a registered agent service and the best customer service in the industry. It’s easy to get them on the phone or to reply to email inquiries, they’re friendly, and they offer comprehensive customer service.
If you need a great registered agent that will do more than accept mail and service of process on behalf of your corporate office, and provide excellent customer service in multiple formats (like phone and email), they’re a great choice for businessess that are new to Delaware registered agent services, and those who are looking to change services.
If you need an efficient, reliable, and competitively priced Delaware registered agent service that can guide you through the many challenges of establishing and running your own business, head to Northwest Registered Agent now.