BizFilings Registered Agent Review
Is It Right For You?
Last Updated: By TRUiC Team
Are you looking for registered agent service but you’re unsure who has the most value for the money?
Considering how many companies offer registered agent service these days, it can be difficult to discern who’s the right fit for your company. Trust me, I’ve been there myself!
As a complement to your own research, my team and I spent countless hours studying the details of all the popular online registered agent services. Rather than talking you into using one service over another, my goal is to give you the info you need to make the best choice for your business.
In this BizFilings registered agent review, we’ll walk through some pros and cons, pricing and features, customer reviews and more. Let’s find out if they’re a good fit for you!
Pros & Cons of BizFilings
Pros of BizFilings
- If you need help with online business formation or foreign qualifications, they bundle 6 months of registered agent service for free with either of those packages. That’s a savings of nearly $75.
- Their BizComply online compliance tool automatically sends you reminders for upcoming compliance deadlines, schedules and tracks your company events, and much more. It’s a great feature at no extra charge.
- BizFilings is serious about your security, as they protect their site with Norton Web Security which scans for malware and encrypts all data transfers.
- As a bonus, their Business Owner’s Toolkit includes lots of useful information on other legal service topics like LLC formation, ongoing compliance issues, tax management and more. All of these resources are available for free, whether you’re a BizFilings customer or not.
Cons of BizFilings
- There are cheaper alternatives for registered agent services. At $149 the first year and around $189/year after that, BizFilings has a fair rate. However, some of their competitors (like Northwest Registered Agent) can beat that price.
- It’s difficult to find much customer feedback for BizFilings. It’s great that there are so few critical reviews, but it’d be nice to see more positive ones too.
BizFilings Registered Agent Alternative
We recommend Northwest, they provide great customer service and extra add-ons at a low price. Read Review
BizFilings Registered Agent Pricing & Features
BizFilings charges an annual rate of $149 for the first year of registered agent service. After the first year, you’ll automatically be charged $116 to $189 per year.
BizFilings registered agent service comes with their BizComply online tool, which has built-in alerts to help you remember important deadlines. If you’d like to receive six months of registered agent services for free, simply order an LLC formation or foreign qualification package to take advantage of their package deal. Speaking of...
Their pricing in general for registered agent is a bit confusing, so let’s break it down.
- First Year: $149 (6 months free with formation or foreign qualification order)
- Renewals:
- One Year: $189 ($167 for formation or foreign qualification customers)
- Two Years: $249
- Three Years: $348
If you order registered agent service from BizFilings, we generally recommend that you renew for at least 3 years to take advantage of the pricing model. It wouldn’t be a great idea to purchase a 1-year renewal and pay more for your 2nd year than you did in the first place.
Customer Reviews
The largest collection of online feedback they have is on a site called LegalSpring, which has 20 reviews for BizFilings from 2004-2012. For newer feedback, you can look to Yelp or BBB.org, where there’s a handful of reviews from the last couple years.
Overall, it’s hard to get a good feel for how satisfied BizFilings customers are, because most of their reviews are 5-10 years old, and there aren’t many of those either.
Customer Reviews Section Last Updated 8-7-17
Conclusion: The most-recent positive review we could find was from 2014, which is not great. On the other hand, we only found 4 critical reviews from that same time period, so for whatever reason, it appears that BizFilings customers simply do not write reviews. I’m not viewing this as either a pro or a con.
How BizFilings Compares
With how much time I’ve invested into researching registered agent services, I’ve determined that some offer better values than others. Still, our goal is to figure out which one has the best combo of pricing and features for your business.
BizFilings is a good provider of registered agent service thanks to their free compliance tools, and their 6 months of free registered agent with formation or foreign qualification bundle. It’s a good idea to know what the competition has to offer though, so let’s check out my personal favorite, Northwest Registered Agent.
Pricing: Northwest Registered Agent structures their pricing by the number of states you require service in. For 1-3 states you pay $125 per year. For 4-9 states the cost decreases to $115, and in each state after that the price drops to $100.
BizFilings charges $149 for your first year, although you can get 6 months for free if you bundle with formation or foreign qualification filings. After that, prices vary from $116-189 depending on how many years you commit to for your renewal. Long story short, if you just need registered agent services, Northwest is the cheaper option.
Features: Northwest Registered Agent scans all of your documents locally, but other than that their services are quite similar to BizFilings.
Customer Support: With Northwest Registered Agent, you get a company that built their entire reputation on next-level customer service, with professional support agents who can answer your tough questions. BizFilings is easy to contact and has good customer support as well, but they’re not known for it to the degree that Northwest Registered Agent is.
Experience: BizFilings has helped hundreds of thousands of businesses since 1998, while Northwest Registered Agent handles a lower volume of customers but has also been open since 1998.
One thing to remember is that Northwest Registered Agent specializes in providing this exact service, whereas with BizFilings registered agent is just one of a great many services they provide. If you would rather use a company that focuses on registered agent services, Northwest Registered Agent may be your preference.
HERE'S A QUICK VISUAL
Northwest
Pricing Starts at $125
In Business Since 1998
Perfect for: Anyone looking for a trusted/straightforward company with no hidden fees
BizFilings
Pricing Starts at $149
In Business Since 1996
Perfect for: Anyone looking for a company that provides ongoing compliance assistance
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Act As My Own Registered Agent?
Legally, yes you can in some states, but it’s not usually recommended. If you do choose to serve as your own registered agent, be prepared for a mountain of junk mail, the pressure to be available during all regular business hours, and allow your personal address to become public record.
What Happens if I Don’t Have a Registered Agent?
There’s a bunch of risks you expose yourself to by not having a registered agent. You could lose your good standing with the government, be prohibited from doing business, and even have to pay some significant financial penalties.
Can I Change Registered Agents?
You sure can, but we advise contacting your state of business formation to ask if there are any specific steps you need to take. For example, there may be special forms to fill out or you may need to pay a small fee.
Should You Use BizFilings?
BizFilings gets a 4.4/5 in my book. They have a nice array of compliance tools and you can get 6 months of registered agent for free with any formation or foreign qualification package. That being said, if this doesn’t sound like you perfect fit, check out our Best Registered Agent Services. Cheers!