Getting the right registered agent (also known as a registered office or resident or statutory agent) for your Texas limited liability company (LLC) is critical.
The right Texas registered agent will keep your personal details safe, allow you to receive all necessary correspondence and mail from the Texas Secretary of State on behalf of your business entity, and help your company meet all of the legal requirements it needs to stay in good standing.
The wrong Texas registered agent will be costly in more ways than one. Not only can the wrong registered agent cost you more money than you should have to spend, they could set you up for lawsuits and leak your information to scammers and hackers.
I investigated 60+ Texas registered agent services, assessed the top 12, and have complied in-depth reviews of the top three. Here are my top picks for the best Texas registered agent:
1. Northwest Registered Agent Review — 9.10/10 (My Top Pick)
Northwest Registered Agent earned the top spot on this list of best Texas registered agent services because they not only provide everything that you need from a registered agent, they also provide industry-leading customer service.
Pros
Northwest Registered Agent provides everything you need from a Texas registered agent service and more.
You'll get the street address in the state of Texas that you need, scan every document that they receive on your behalf and then forward them to you (they are the only registered agent in Texas on this list to do so with EVERY piece of mail received), and give you an online account in order to access every document as well.
They also notify you about upcoming compliance form filing deadlines and accept service of process and mail on behalf of your Texas LLC during business hours to keep you in good standing with the Texas Secretary of State.
They even go above and beyond and offer the best LLC formation service in Texas.
Their sign-up process is simple to work through and since they're a nationwide registered agent service, they allow you to sign up for registered agent services in multiple states simultaneously.
But the main reason that they are at the top of my list is their customer service. Their US-based support team of former accountants, lawyers, and entrepreneurs take the time to understand your problems and are able to help you fix the issues, rather than trying to rush you off the phone.
They genuinely care about you and your issues, which is refreshing in the current trend of measuring support success by how quickly the phone call ends.
Their rate of $125 per year places them second cheapest on my list and provide far more value than that just with their support team alone.
Cons
With Northwest Registered Agent, their biggest benefit is also their greatest downfall.
Their customer service is comprehensive. That's great when you have a problem and really need someone to listen to you and figure it out, but this can cause some frustration if you're in a hurry. One does not simply call Northwest Registered Agent's customer service team for a quick solution.
They ask a lot of questions and they want to know every detail of your situation before they giving you advice, sometimes keeping you on the phone longer than you want to be.
This is generally a small problem, but in the one or two instances where you just need a quick answer so you can move on, it can get frustrating.
Overall
Northwest Registered Agent earned the top spot on my list because they offer a full array of services, they are the second cheapest Texas registered agent on the list, their system is easy to get set up with and to use, and they provide comprehensive customer service support.
If you are looking for a registered agent with great customer support and great prices who can support your Texas business entity as it grows, then check out Northwest Registered Agent here: Northwest Registered Agent.
2. Harbor Compliance Review — 7.92/10 (Best Budget Registered Agent)
Harbor Compliance earned my number two spot on this list because they provide a full range of services at the overall cheapest price.
Pros
Like Northwest Registered Agent, Harbor Compliance is another full-service registered agent and LLC formation service.
Their offerings include a street address in the state of Texas, mail forwarding, scanning your documents and putting them on an online portal for you to access with an online account, as well as accepting service of process on behalf of your Texas LLC during normal business hours, and sending compliance form filing alerts to keep you in good standing with the Texas Secretary of State. And they’ll help you with your Certificate of Formation for your LLC.
Signing up for their services is easy, and it's simple enough to sign up for registered agent services in multiple states with them. The one place the Harbor Compliance really beats every other registered agent service on this list is their price. At only $99 per year, their fee is $26 less than Northwest Registered Agent, as well as nearly $200 cheaper than some of the premium Texas registered agent services on the list.
Cons
The main complaint about Harbor Compliance is that while their services are good, none of their services are exceptional.
You get all of the services you would expect from a full-service Texas registered agent. But you won't get any premium services, like identity theft protection. Although their customer service team will answer your questions, they do not do so as thoroughly as Northwest Registered Agent does.
So, while they are a good option, they are not the best overall option.
Overall
Harbor Compliance is a good, full-service option that will provide you with everything you need from a registered agent, minus premium services—and they do it all for only $99 per year.
If adequate customer service is something you’re willing to trade in order to get cheaper prices, then check out Harbor Compliance here.
3. LegalZoom Review — 6.59/10 (Best Premium Service)
If you're looking for a good premium service agent, LegalZoom is the best of a reasonably ordinary selection.
Pros
As a premium service, you'll get all of the services that a full-service registered agent must provide, as well as premium services.
This means that you will get the street address in the state of Texas, help with your Certificate of Formation, mail forwarding, scanned documents with online access to them, service of process accepted on behalf of your Texas LLC during normal business hours, and compliance alerts for your filing requirements to keep you in good standing with the Texas Secretary of State.
In addition to these services, you also get up to $1 million in identity theft protection.
Cons
A couple of drawbacks with LegalZoom could be considered some fairly MAJOR drawbacks.
The first problem with LegalZoom is that they charge $299 per year for their services. That's three times what Harbor Compliance charges, and the only real difference in service is that LegalZoom offers identity theft protection.
For that price difference you could easily get registered agent services from Northwest Registered Agent, then purchase identity theft protection elsewhere, and you would still likely spend less than the $175 cost difference.
The next drawback is that registered agent services are not what LegalZoom specializes in. In fact it's just a small portion of their business, so it doesn't get the focus that it needs. In addition to this, their computer system isn't as easy to navigate as it could be and their customer service is nowhere near as good as Northwest's.
Overall
LegalZoom is a premium service that is more expensive than Harbor Compliance and Northwest Registered Agent.
They are a reputable business and a big name that most people in the business industry know. However, the prices they charge for their premium registered agent services don't justify the mere addition of identity theft protection.
If you're concerned about identity theft protection, you want a “big name” registered agent, or if you're already in business with LegalZoom then it's worthwhile to check them out here.
4. ZenBusiness
ZenBusiness is a relatively new registered agent in Texas. They charge a fee of $199 per year, which makes them more expensive than Harbor Compliance and Northwest Registered Agent at first glance. They’ll provide a registered office, provide annual report compliance alerts, provide an EIN for tax filing purposes, provide an online document filing portal, and a business address for your Texas business to use during regular business hours and accept service of process on your behalf.
However, their customer service is not on par with that of Northwest Registered Agent either.
They do, however, offer the best LLC service in Texas so if you want a full breakdown of their services, read my ZenBusiness review.
5. IncFile
IncFile is another registered agent service for business entities that offers a bare-bones service for $119 per year. You’ll get help with your Certificate of Formation and a street address in Texas, but you won't get compliance form filing notifications from them at all.
They do offer a one-year-free registered agent service whenever you sign up for their LLC formation services. However, over time, they are not a cost-effective choice for your LLC.
6. Rocket Lawyer
Rocket Lawyer is basically a cheap imitation of LegalZoom for business entities, and they’re not that much cheaper.
Registered agent services are not what they specialize in and are only a small section of their services so the registered agent services they do provide for an LLC are minimal.
They’ll provide a registered office for your Texas business entity in order to keep the Texas Secretary of State happy, but their customer service is not as good as you would expect from a registered agent service. They charge $149 per year.
You can read a detailed breakdown of their online legal services in my Rocket Lawyer review.
7. SunDoc Filings
SunDoc Filings is a registered agent and LLC formation service. They charge $159 per year for their registered agent service. They will provide you with a business address in the state of Texas and assist with filing your Certificate of Formation, but their registered agent service offerings for business entities can be described as minimal at best.
8. InCorp
InCorp, similar to Harbor Compliance, charges $99 per year for registered agent services for your Texas LLC which is the cheapest rate.
The one major drawback is that their computer system is so difficult to navigate that it makes it a nightmare to manage. On top of that, their customer service is merely adequate, which is not good enough for such a challenging system. That's why they're down so low on this list.
9. Swyft Filings
Swyft Filings is a full-service registered agent service and provides all the services that you would expect for a LLC or business entity, such as assistance with your Certificate of Formation and a business address in the state of Texas to receive legal mail and service of process from the Texas Secretary of State's office. Unlike some of the other full-service Texas registered agents on this list they actually offer compliance form filing notifications.
But they charge $149 per year for the services, making them one of the more costly agents I reviewed and and lowering their position on this list.
You can read a full breakdown of their products and services in my Swyft Filings review.
10. CSC Global
CSC Global is another premium registered agent service, but they actually offer very little in terms of “premium service.”
They’ll provide a business address in Texas and help you with your Certificate of Formation. They will cover any state fees that you incur such as choosing to change your registered agent and switch the address for your limited liability company, online business or business entity, but they charge $299 per year for this service.
At that rate, you could appoint Northwest Registered Agent or Harbor Compliance as your registered agent, pay the state fees for change of registered agent yourself, and still not pay the full $299.
11. Registered Agents Inc.
Registered Agents Inc. provides the same sort of full-service registered agent services as Northwest Registered Agent, such as filing your Certificate of Formation. However, they charge $200 per year and they don't provide the level of customer service support that Northwest Registered Agent does.
12. Jumpstart Filings
Jumpstart Filings offers both registered agent and LLC formation services. But at $150 per year for their services, they are a costly option.
Unlike some other LLC formation services on this list, Jumpstart Filings does not offer free registered agent services when you sign up.
Registered Agent Review Summary
Northwest Registered Agent earned my top spot due to their full service registered agent service offerings and their outstanding customer service. They only charge $125 per year, which beats the price of some other Texas registered agent services on this list by an astounding $174 per year!
They have an easy setup process and the computer system is easy enough to navigate. They’re also a great option in terms of keeping your information safe and they offer compliance deadline alert notifications to ensure that your Texas LLC is in good standing with the Texas Secretary of State.
If you need a Texas registered agent, then head to Northwest Registered Agent.
Best Registered Agent Review Methodology
Here is the system that I use to choose the best registered agent in Texas.
Why You Should Trust Me
The reason you should trust me is that I have more experience with Texas registered agents than any person reasonably should.
First of all, I've had to search for registered agents for three companies. I started with a health website, then found one for my cafe, and finally, I chose one for this company—BoostSuite. But the bulk of my experience comes from helping others find the right Texas registered agent for their business.
After selling my cafe, I started looking for a new business. I asked my friends who were running their own businesses what they most needed help with and they all mentioned the low quality of business advice available. This led me to start BoostSuite.
And what better place to start offering advice than the services you need at the start of your business in Texas: LLC formation services and registered agents. Since launching BoostSuite, I've helped more than 1,000 people find the right service for their company and so I know the space inside and out.
How I Selected the Best Registered Agent
I started out with over 60 Texas registered agent services and then whittled them down to the top three with this process. This is what I did:
Stage 1: Reviews
The first stage was to read through mountains of online reviews. I found these reviews on Facebook, TrustPilot, the Better Business Bureau, and other places on the internet where people had left reviews. There were actually so many reviews that the average person would become overwhelmed trying to read through and process them all. But the good news is that I did it for you!
In all honesty, there was no possible way to read through them ALL. So I read through the reviews that were more than just a paragraph or two and those that offered me insight into the companies and their services. From this I was able to eliminate the companies that were obvious scams or had deceptive pricing practices. (More on that later.)
Stage 2: Website Analysis
After I eliminated several services in the first stage, the next stage was to investigate the websites of the services that were left.
In my investigation, I looked at things like what services or products they offered, how many different ways they listed to contact customer support on their website, their location, their company history, and any awards listed on their website.
This painted a picture of their sales pitch and what they advertise.
Stage 3: Speaking with Real Customers
It became clear pretty quickly that you don't get the full picture just from online reviews and browsing through your company's webpage. Talking to actual customers clues you in to what services a company actually provides, and not just what's advertised on their site.
I reached out to customers who had used my site to find registered agents, as well as those who came to my site and already had signed up with Texas registered agents. I asked them what services they wanted to receive and what they thought of the services they had received.
Their honest responses let me know how well each registered agent in Texas served their businesses.
Stage 4: Speaking with Their Sales Team
The last stage of my investigation was to call each Texas registered agent sales team. I gathered up all of the negative feedback, customer complaints, and scathing reviews that I had collected and asked the sales team directly about them.
This stage was incredibly insightful. Although some companies did tell me that they had used the feedback to fix the issues with the services and grow, there were others who told me the customers were just “crazy” or that I shouldn't listen to them.
This stage really separated the wheat from the chaff, and I am 100% confident about the choices on my list because of it.
Rating Factors
The 12 best registered agents for your Texas LLC on my list were rated using these factors.
Factor 1: Offerings
The first, and arguably the most important, factor on my rating scale was service offerings. If a Texas registered agent does not provide the services you need, any other factor is nearly irrelevant. If they don't do what you need them to do, why hire them?
Some of the factors that I looked at were whether the agent allowed you to access your documents online or simply forwarded them to you, if they gave you compliance notifications or just a calendar, whether they just gave you a general guarantee about security or if they actually offered identity theft protection services, and whether they also offer a cheap LLC service or possibly even the best LLC service.
The companies with the best range of services shot to the top of the list, while those with very little to offer plummeted to the bottom.
Factor 2: Value
Our second factor was value for money. It's easy for the average person to get confused by this when doing their own research, simply because the price between two different Texas registered agents offering the same services tends to vary so widely.
One thing I found in my investigation was that there are three different price options for registered agents: budget, full-service, and premium.
Budget services tend to range between $39 and $59 per year, full-service agents range between $99 and $129 per year, and premium services start at $299 per year.
The services with the best offerings for the lowest price rose to the top of the list, while those who offered very little in terms of service for expensive prices went to the bottom.
There were budget services I left off my list. Many of them had deceptive pricing. For example, while they offered a fee of $39 per year, the services that they offered couldn't even be considered bare-bones. In order to get the minimum services that you would expect from a Texas registered agent, you would have had to pay additional fees that equaled those of some premium agents, without even getting premium services for the additional fees.
Factor 3: Ease of Sign-up
Our third factor was how easy it was to sign up with the services. It can be a real headache to find a Texas registered agent that provides the services you want at a price you can afford, only to have the setup process take you weeks and require loads of paperwork to complete.
In order to make sure that your business in Texas isn't held up by a lengthy setup process, I tested how easy it was to get set up with each company.
If the company had a simple, streamlined, automated process they got a higher rank on my list. If the company required the blood of your firstborn child, fingerprint analysis, and piles of files to be sent to a PO Box on the other side of the planet, or something equally absurd, they went straight to the bottom of the list.
Factor 4: Ease of Use
Getting set up with the system should be the easy part, but often isn’t. That's because some Texas registered agents have systems that are a nightmare to navigate.
That's why my fourth factor was the ease of use of their computer systems. Those Texas registered agents with easy-to-use interfaces that were also user-friendly and easy to learn went to the top of the list, while those with outdated, slow, confusing systems went to the bottom of the list.
Factor 5: Customer Service
Unfortunately, no matter how easy it is to use a computer system, you WILL eventually need to call customer service and ask a question. Often, a customer service response can mean the difference between having your problem solved quickly and being stuck with the same issue, left completely frustrated with the entire service.
Those Texas registered agents with customer service teams who responded quickly, were friendly and knowledgeable, and answered questions in an efficient way are higher up on my list. Those agents whose customer service took forever to respond, were rude, or didn't adequately answer my questions or solve my problems fell on the list.
The Best Texas Registered Agent Results Summary
Once I had assessed the 12 agents on my list using the rating factors mentioned above, I determined that Northwest Registered Agent was the best overall registered agent service in Texas.
Best Overall Registered Agent — Northwest Registered Agent (9.10/10)
Northwest Registered Agent is the best registered agent in Texas because of their full-service options and their easy-to-use computer system, as well as having the best customer service support in both the state and the industry.
When you sign up for their registered agent services for a mere $125 per year, you get a business address, help with your Certificate of Formation, and ALL of your documents scanned and put on an online portal for you to access—not just service of process. In addition to all of this, they'll also provide you with compliance deadline notifications and keep your information off the public record. They make sure that your business is in good standing with the Texas Secretary of State.
What's more, they have offices in all 50 states. So as your corporation grows, they can still supply you with registered agent services, grow with you, and help you navigate the tricky waters of franchise tax, along with any filing fee you may incur.
And with more than 3,000 positive Northwest Registered Agent reviews, you can be confident that my experience is not a fluke.
For the best Texas registered agent service, check out Northwest Registered Agent here.
Best Budget Registered Agent — Harbor Compliance (7.92/10)
If you're looking for a Texas registered agent service that provides you with all of the full-service offerings you require, but at a budget price, then Harbor Compliance is the agent for you.
Their service offerings are similar to those of Northwest Registered Agent. However, Harbor Compliance only charges $99 per year.
The customer service team is nowhere near as comprehensive as Northwest's, but they will adequately answer your questions.
They are still a great option, and the hundreds of positive Harbor Compliance reviews online prove just that.
If you value a lower price over customer service, Harbor Compliance is the right registered agent in Texas for your LLC. You can learn more about their services here.
Best Premium Registered Agent — Legal Zoom (6.59/10)
If you're looking for a premium Texas registered agent service, then LegalZoom is the way to go. They offer a lot of the same full-service options as Northwest Registered Agent and Harbor Compliance, but they also offer up to $1 million in identity theft protection.
They charge $299 per year, which is $170 more than Northwest Registered Agent, and you won't get customer service even half as good as Northwest's. However, if you are concerned about identity theft, if you want a “big name” registered agent company, or you already use LegalZoom for other services then it may be worth the cost.
Check out LegalZoom here.
In Conclusion
As a Texas resident, appointing the right Texas registered agent for your business is of vital importance.
The right agent will help your business meet all of its compliance deadlines, provide your limited liability company with a business address in Texas, fill out an agent form, help you with Form 401, and assist you with any franchise tax, as well as any filing fee you may incur in order to keep you in good standing with the Texas Secretary of State—all while keeping your information safe from public record.
I reviewed over 60 Texas registered agent companies in the state. My investigation showed that Northwest Registered Agent was the best registered agent in Texas.
They provide you with all of the services that a registered agent must provide, including a street address in Texas, mail forwarding, accepting your service of process, and making sure to notify you about upcoming compliance deadlines.
They will keep your information safe, and they have the best customer service in the entire industry. On top of all that, they have offices in all 50 states, so they can provide you with registered agent services as your Texas LLC grows.
So if you need a registered agent, head to Northwest Registered Agent.