LegalZoom Registered Agent Review 2023
Is It the Best Registered Agent Service?
Last Updated: By TRUiC Team
Does your business require registered agent services but you don’t know who offers the best value for your dollar?
There are so many online registered agent providers, and it can be difficult to determine who’s the right fit for your business.
To supplement your own research, we invested hours researching the ins and outs of every popular registered agent service. In this LegalZoom registered agent review, we'll go over some pros and cons, pricing, features, customer feedback, and more. Read on to find out if it's the best registered agent service for you!
Recommended Alterative: Northwest Registered Agent
LegalZoom Pros & Cons
Pros of LegalZoom
- With LegalZoom, you get more than just document forwarding. As your registered agent, they also provide a Compliance Calendar to notify you of important filing deadlines, scan and copy all docs, and inform you immediately by phone if you receive a court summons.
- They serve an incredible volume of customers, with nearly 4 million customers served since 1999. LegalZoom is one of the most popular online legal services around.
- Their satisfaction guarantee gives you the option of a full refund of all fees paid to LegalZoom within 60 days of purchase, no questions asked.
Cons of LegalZoom
- If saving money is your top priority, LegalZoom might not be your best option. There are more affordable alternatives with more features like Northwest Registered Agent, which is $125/year. With Northwest's LLC formation package, you can get a full year of included registered agent services.
- Customer feedback is a mixed bag, which isn’t surprising for a company so large. The higher the volume of customers, the higher the odds some of them won’t be satisfied.
LegalZoom Registered Agent Alternative
We recommend Northwest Registered Agent because they provide knowledgeable customer service and an affordable price. Read Review
LegalZoom Registered Agent Pricing & Features
LegalZoom’s registered agent service has a straightforward $299 annual fee with no optional features or additional fees. While many competitors can beat their prices, LegalZoom does provide some additional features beyond simple document forwarding.
In addition to allowing you to set your own business hours, a registered agent provides you with a layer of privacy as an owner and helps avoid fines. LegalZoom offers a bit more.
They provide a courtesy call prior to sending any court documents, and the Compliance Calendar makes sure you never miss a deadline. Not all of their competitors provide these features at no extra charge, and some providers don’t offer them at all.
LegalZoom is more expensive than many competitors but you are getting more of a premium registered agent service compared to some other providers.
Customer Reviews
Feedback for LegalZoom isn’t the greatest, with a mixed bag of reviews from their many customers. The issues mentioned in their more critical reviews are pretty typical of a company this size: inconsistent customer service, billing issues, etc. As for their happy customers, they praise LegalZoom’s efficiency and thank specific support reps for their assistance.
Customer Reviews Section Last Updated 5-5-22
- SiteJabber: 3.6/5 out of 1,042 reviews
- Yelp: 1.0/5 out of 157 reviews
- BBB: 4.52/5 out of ~5,020 reviews
- Consumer Affairs: 4.6/5 out of 591 reviews
Conclusion: LegalZoom has hundreds of customer reviews to read through, and they’re basically split down the middle between satisfied and critical customers.
How LegalZoom Compares
LegalZoom is certainly one of the most popular registered agent service and business formation service on the market, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the right choice for you.
We highly recommend comparing their pricing, features and other essential qualities to some other providers before settling on one.
To round out this LegalZoom review, let’s see how they compare to our personal favorite: Northwest Registered Agent.
Pricing:
LegalZoom charges significantly more than Northwest for the same service. LegalZoom’s registered agent costs is $299/year, while Northwest's costs $125. Why? Brand power – nothing more.
Features:
If you place their offerings side by side, you’ll notice that both companies offer a very similar service, Northwest just does it for a lot less. Northwest also provides premium features like data privacy protection, local document scans, and more.
Customer Support
In our experience, both LegalZoom and Northwest have good customer support. Their reps are friendly, knowledgeable, and dedicated to troubleshooting customer issues. However, Northwest really excels in this area. Their experienced business experts, called Corporate Guides®, offer expert support throughout your business journey.
$125/year
The same service, for less
Perfect for: Anyone wanting to work with a seriously trustworthy company for a great price.
$299/year
Offers many legal services
Perfect for: Anyone wanting to keep everything on LegalZoom
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Act As My Own Registered Agent?
In some states, you can designate your own registered agent from within your company. In others, you’ll need to either work with a private accredited individual, or top registered agent services like LegalZoom.
What Happens if I Don’t Have a Registered Agent?
Operating a business without a registered agent isn’t advised. You could be prohibited from doing business, fall out of good standing with your state of formation, lose limited liability status or even face stiff fines. In short, it’s not worth the risk.
Can I Change Registered Agents?
Yes you can, but check with your state on what their process is. You might need to fill out state-specific documents or pay a change fee.
Should You Use LegalZoom?
LegalZoom gets a 3.5/5 for their registered agent services. We appreciate their advanced features like Compliance Calendar, and their volume of customers is impressive. To see how LegalZoom stacks up with other top registered agents, by checking out our Best Registered Agent Services review.