The requirements for a registered agent in California might seem simple on the surface, but in reality this role has some nuance involved. Rather than spending hours researching the rules and regulations yourself, we’ve created a guide to help you access this information easily.
Knowing exactly what is required from a registered agent is essential to your business remaining in compliance with your state’s laws. Whether you take on this role yourself or outsource it to another person or business entity, the California registered agent must keep on top of things in order for your company to stay compliant.
Below is a complete picture of the 4 best California registered agent services and what they offer. We will outline each option and make independent recommendations based on what you are looking for.
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4 Top California Registered Agent Services & Description
A registered agent service is a company that specializes in being a registered agent for a wide variety of businesses across the country, bringing tons of expertise and a healthy dose of reliability to the role.
What’s great is that the personal addresses of home-based entrepreneurs remain private when you hire a professional registered agent service. There are quite a few of these companies out there, and most of them make it quite easy to enlist their services.
Registered agent services usually include some additional features, which vary depending on which company you choose. In general though, you’ll often see these services offer a compliance calendar to help you track your important filing deadlines, and you’ll always receive access to their helpful customer support teams.
Here are the 4 best registered agent services in California:
1. Northwest Registered Agent
Northwest Registered Agent: Northwest charges $125 per year, and they’re the only major national registered agent service that locally scans every document they receive as your agent. They also have personalized customer support that assigns a dedicated account representative to each client.
Here are some of the other top things to love about Northwest:
- Discount for $100 per year per business if you use them for more than 10 states, or you use them as the registered agent for more than 10 businesses
- Promises never to sell your personal data; stands by their Privacy by Default guarantee
- Offers one year of free registered agent service if you use their LLC formation service, which has a $225 price tag ($125 per year will start on the second year)
One last note: if you do choose to use a business formation package from Northwest, you’ll pay their service fee plus the $70-100 California filing fee.
2. Zen Business
Zen Business: Zen Business has a lower $99 rate than Northwest offers, with an extra focus on making the process less stressful and an easier-to-use website. You’ll receive their outstanding customer support, as well as access to helpful software that allows you to track and file your company’s annual reports.
In a nutshell, here are some of the things we love best about Zen Business:
- Smaller company feel gives you more individualized attention than other companies
- Forming your business with Zen Business gives you registered agent service for $39 plus state fees for the first year (this annual package usually costs $119)
- Has one of the lowest à-la-carte registered agent prices of $99 per year
If you use Zen Business to form your business, you’ll pay $39 plus California’s filing fees of $70/$100 for the first year. After that, your annual cost will be $119 per year. It’s just $99 per year if you choose registered agent service only.
3. Incfile
Incfile: They are one of the most well-known LLC and registered agent services available, with rates that start at just $119 per year. Plus they offer an awesome free LLC formation service if you haven’t created a business yet and would like a free registered agent service in the process.
Here are some of our top loves for Incfile:
- The only service to offer free business formation services, including one free year of registered agent service
- Overwhelmingly positive customer feedback: a 4.8 satisfaction score across 13,500+ reviews
So in short, if you form your business with Incfile, you won’t owe anything except the $70/$100 California filing fee for the first year.
4. LegalZoom
LegalZoom: This is another very popular option that more-or-less does the same thing as the other services, but charges $299 per year. In our opinion, the affordable registered agent services above are far better deals and more than half the cost.
While LegalZoom isn’t the most affordable service, there are some perks:
- Largest business service network in the nation
- Offers comprehensive legal services, so they can be your one-stop shop for both business and personal legal needs
- Their basic business formation service is $79 plus state fees (a fair value)
What Is a California Registered Agent?
Every business entity in the state of California is required to have a registered agent. In fact, you will not be allowed to finish the formation process for your company until you designate your registered agent.
The California Secretary of State notes that there are two types of registered agents in this state: individuals and corporate registered agents. Individual registered agents are just what they sound like: a single person serving as a registered agent. Corporate registered agents, on the other hand, are corporations that conduct the service of a registered agent.
There are no registration requirements for individual agents, but a corporate registered agent must register prior to serving clients. There is a $30 registration fee.
Aside from the registration process, there is no appreciable difference between an individual registered agent and a corporate one. Both types function the same way.
The most important aspect of this role is receiving document deliveries from the state government, then alerting your business of the delivery, before forwarding the documents to you. The role of the registered agent is so important because it establishes a point of contact for your business with the state, so that they have a reliable place to get in touch with an official representative of your company at any time.
California used to offer a comprehensive list of every corporate registered agent in the state, but now things look a little different. You can use a business search to browse the state’s database of agents. Fair warning, though: even running a business search with “Agent” as the keyword gives you over 375 results, so this tool may not be all that helpful. It might be better to conduct your own independent search.
Who Can Be a California Registered Agent?
A California registered agent is a person or business entity that has a physical address in the state. You or one of your co-owners can serve as your own registered agent, you can designate a friend or family member for this role, you can hire a lawyer or accountant as your agent, or you can hire an online business services company to provide registered agent service.
No matter who you choose to be your registered agent, they need to be physically present at the address provided to the state during all standard business hours. This person or entity does not need to have any prior experience being a registered agent, but it’s wise to choose a registered agent who is familiar with the serious responsibilities that come with this role.
Some states require any registered agent to be 18 or older, but California does not maintain a minimum age requirement. That said, California’s Registered Agent FAQs offer some insight into the other requirements:
- “An agent for service of process is an individual who resides in California, or a corporation, designated to accept service of process (court papers) if the business entity is sued. If a corporation is designated as agent for service of process, that corporation must have previously filed a certificate pursuant to California Corporations Code section 1505.
- A business entity cannot act as its own agent for service of process and no corporation may file a certificate pursuant to California Corporations Code section 1505 unless the corporation is currently authorized to engage in business in California and is in good standing on the records of the Secretary of State.”
What Does a Registered Agent Do?
A registered agent performs several modest tasks that accumulate into a larger role of significant importance. They are essentially the liaison between your business and the state you are conducting business in.
Legal Matters
First and foremost, a registered agent must act as the designated recipient of any tax or legal documents sent by the state of California. In the case of legal matters, the registered agent must be physically present to receive hand-delivered service of process (SOP) paperwork regarding legal action being taken against your company. After the handoff, the registered agent then needs to effectively report this delivery to your business, and forward the documents to you.
The registered agent and the business they represent should have a previously agreed-upon order of operations for the intake and delivery of these documents. For example, they should determine whether the documents will be delivered from the registered agent to the business via fax, mail, or email.
Ongoing California Business Compliance
The registered agent also typically helps ensure that your business remains current and compliant on all state-required ongoing maintenance filings. Each state has its own set of laws regarding which maintenance filings are required, which usually refers to annual reports and/or franchise tax payments. These rules are subject to change at any time, so the registered agent must stay up to date in order to ensure your business remains in good standing with the state, and avoids fines or a business dissolution.
In California, all business entities must file a business report regularly, but it’s called a Statement of Information. For LLCs, this report is due every other year, and there is a $150 filing fee. Corporations file every year, but the fee is $25. Please note that you must also file an initial Statement of Information within 90 days of forming your business.
There are also plenty of different tax requirements, too. The most notable one in California is the annual franchise tax, which requires a $800 minimum payment. Your registered agent should be aware of the schedule and help you file your annual report in order to stay in good standing with the state.
What about small, California-only registered agent services?
As you’ve probably noticed, the registered agent services we’ve listed here serve businesses across the country. But if you Google “California Registered Agent,” you’ll probably see results for local services, too. These can be local entrepreneurs with a knack for clerical tasks, offices dedicated to serving businesses in their counties, or statewide companies.
On one hand, using a local service can have its advantages. Some will be cheaper than nationwide firms (but not always!). And each state has its own nuances for business compliance requirements—California included. A registered agent service that services California alone will have detailed knowledge about those requirements. Granted, most national services do a good job understanding local requirements. But they probably won’t give you the same “homegrown California” feeling as a local agent service.
That said, national businesses like Northwest Registered Agent and Zen Business give you streamlined solutions. Let’s say you’re using a local California-only registered agent service, but it’s time to add locations in Nevada. You could search for an additional agent that services Nevada businesses. But that’s going to require a lot of additional paperwork, including new receipts, new automatic payments, more emails…you get the idea. But if you’re using a national service, you can cut down the “new” paperwork and focus on what really matters: growing your business.
Ultimately, the choice is up to you, and there’s no “wrong” answer. The most important thing is that you appoint one so you can run a compliant California business.
What If I Want to Change My California Registered Agent?
While the role of the registered agent is vitally important for any American business entity, this role can always be changed, and there are different rules for how to change your agent depending on which state your business operates in.
In California, if you need to change your registered agent, you can do so by filing a new Statement of Information. Even if you’ve already filed your statement for the year, you should file the new statement right away to keep the state up-to-date about where the process can be served.
For step-by-step instructions to change a registered agent in California, please check out our guide.
Need to start a business in California?
We’ve gone into a lot of detail about registered agents in this guide, but here’s the deal: appointing a registered agent is just one step in the much bigger process of starting a business. If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by all that goes into it, don’t panic. We’re here to help.
You can catch the full guide to start a California LLC, but here’s the fly-by version:
- Choose a business name: Every business in California needs a name that’s both catchy and gives potential clients a good idea what the business does. The name also needs to be unique—both for legal reasons and so your business stands out from the competition.
- Appoint your registered agent: Whether you elect to use a private registered agent, serve as your own, or you hire a service like the one we’ve listed here, you can’t skip this step. Without a registered agent, you won’t become a legitimate, registered entity.
- File your formation documents: If you’re forming an LLC, you’ll need to file the Articles of Organization; corporations file the Articles of Incorporation. Once you fill it out and file it, this document is what officially forms your business in the state. There is a $70 fee for LLCs and a $100 fee for corporations.
Beyond that, there are plenty of ongoing maintenance requirements. We won’t go into a ton of detail here, though. Your registered agent will help you keep tabs on most of those, but you can read more here.
California Business Fast-Facts
- Business Formation Speed: up to 15 business days for standard filings; expedited processing takes up to 5 business days
- Cost to Form a Business: $70 for LLCs and $100 for corporations (plus the service’s fee if you use one)
- How to Register: File the Articles of Organization (LLC) or Articles of Incorporation online or by mail ($5 fee for each certified copy)
- Biennial Reports: called the Statement of Information in California; due every two years and costs $20 to file
- State General Business License: Not required, but industry licenses may apply
One of the biggest advantages of using one of the registered agent services we’ve listed is that they will help you handle most of these fast-facts! So with that in mind, let’s dig into the top registered agent services.
Conclusion
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The role of a California registered agent is critical to your company’s compliance and legal standing. This position requires dealing with seemingly simple tasks, yet if they’re handled incorrectly, they could cost you a considerable amount of money in fines, and could even potentially see the state dissolve your business.
While you can always change your registered agent down the line, we think it’s essential to pick the right registered agent for your business starting at the formation phase. You should also keep an eye on your compliance standing to ensure nothing goes awry along the way.