Northwest Registered Agent is our pick for most Texas LLCs, at $125 a year with no increase in year two. Every Texas LLC must name a registered agent with a physical street address in the state, and that address goes on public record. From year two on, the services here cost $125 to $596 a year, and the difference is rarely about the service you get.
Texas publishes your registered agent's name and address in the Secretary of State's business records, and anyone can search them. List yourself as your own agent and your home address sits in that public file. That one fact sends most Texas owners to a commercial service. Forming the LLC right now? Bizee and Inc Authority both include the first year of agent service free when they file your Certificate of Formation.
Texas Registered Agent Services at a Glance
Service
Annual Price
Rating
Northwest Registered Agent
Best Privacy
$125/yrSame price in year two$100 per state per year at five or more states
4.8
$125/yrSame price in year two$100 per state per year at five or more states
Under Texas Business Organizations Code § 5.201, every LLC must maintain a registered agent who is either a Texas resident individual or a business entity registered or authorized to do business in Texas, and the agent must consent in writing. The agent must have a physical street address in Texas. P.O. boxes do not qualify. A mailbox service or a telephone answering service does not qualify either. An entity cannot be its own agent.
Northwest Registered Agent is our top recommendation for privacy-minded founders. They shield your home address on public records and process legal mail the same day it arrives. The stable $125 renewal rate saves you money long-term. We highly recommend them if you want reliable compliance without the endless upsell pitches.
ZenBusiness delivers a premium registered agent experience tailored perfectly for first-time founders. We love the modern dashboard and the rare inclusion of weekend customer support. The main drawback is the $199 annual renewal fee, which is pricier than some budget competitors. We highly recommend ZenBusiness if you value an easy-to-use digital portal and fast document delivery over securing the absolute lowest long-term price.
Pros
Immediate document scanning and upload to your dashboard
Clean, modern, and highly intuitive digital dashboard
Customer support available on weekends
Shields your personal home address from public records
Excellent user reviews across Trustpilot and app stores
Cons
Annual renewal rate increases to $199 after the first year
Cancellation requires contacting support via phone or chat
Frequent upsells for additional compliance and financial tools
Best for: First-time founders wanting a stress-free, all-in-one compliance dashboard
Harbor Compliance undercuts every national rival in year one at $99, and their multi-year plans keep that rate locked. Documents are delivered same day through the Entity Manager portal with unlimited storage, and service of process triggers a phone call, not just an email. The catch is the $159 renewal and a platform that is clearly built for compliance teams first, so solo founders who want something lighter may prefer Northwest's flat $125 with no year-two surprise.
Pros
$99 first year is the lowest introductory price among national providers
Same-day document delivery with a phone call when service of process arrives
Unlimited document storage in their Entity Manager portal
Multi-year plans lock the $99 rate, two years for $198 or three for $297
Covers all 50 states plus DC and Puerto Rico
Cons
Renewal jumps to $159 a year after the introductory rate ends
The platform is built for compliance departments, which can feel heavy for a single-state solo founder
Best for: Multi-state operators and compliance-heavy businesses that want the lowest locked-in national rate
Rocket Lawyer advertises its registered agent at $125, and that number is real but incomplete. The condition is not hidden. Its own agent page says the price comes with a Plus or Pro membership, in the line under the heading. Standard at $149 does not qualify. The cheapest route is Plus at $249. So a founder who wants only an agent pays $374 in year one, and the same every year after. Already paying for Plus for the documents and attorney access? Then $125 on top is fair. If not, almost every other agent here costs less.
Pros
Backed by a large, well reviewed legal platform
Covers all 50 states
Bundles with attorney access and document tools you may already be paying for
The agent fee itself renews at the same $125
Cons
The $125 agent price requires a Rocket Lawyer Plus or Pro membership
Standard at $149 does not qualify, so the cheapest real path is Plus at $249, making the true floor $374 a year
The membership that carries the agent is sold as a 7 day free trial, after which the full $249 year is billed
Best for: Businesses that already pay for a Rocket Lawyer membership and want the agent bundled in
LegalZoom delivers on the core promise of a registered agent by scanning documents promptly and offering a clean, unified dashboard. However, at $249 per year, it is one of the most expensive options on the market. The aggressive upsells and notoriously difficult cancellation process make it hard to recommend for bootstrapping founders. We suggest this service only if you already use LegalZoom for other legal services and prioritize platform consolidation over cost.
Pros
Prompt document scanning with immediate email alerts
Highly trusted, publicly traded brand name
Includes a compliance calendar for state deadlines
Extensive customer support hours including weekends
Unlimited cloud storage for business documents
Cons
Extremely high annual fee of $249
Cancellation process requires proof of new agent to stop billing
Constant upsells for bookkeeping and advisory services
Best for: Founders prioritizing brand name and platform consolidation over price
Bizee delivers a fast, modern registered agent dashboard at a competitive $149 per year. Same-day scanning ensures you never miss a critical legal notice. However, we found their customer support lacking and the cancellation process unnecessarily difficult. We only recommend Bizee if you are bundling it with their free LLC formation package.
Pros
Unbeatable $0 LLC formation package includes a free year of registered agent
Clean and intuitive online document dashboard
Same-day document scanning for rapid notification
Physical addresses available in all 50 states
Immediate text and email alerts for legal notices
Cons
Difficult cancellation process requires a phone call or chat session
F rating with the Better Business Bureau due to unresolved complaints
Aggressive upsells for compliance and virtual address services
Best for: Entrepreneurs seeking the absolute lowest cost to form an LLC ($0 + state fees)
We do not recommend Swyft Filings for registered agent services. The company advertises a $149 fee, but this is charged quarterly, resulting in a staggering $596 annual cost. While their dashboard is clean and document scanning is fast, the service is ultimately outsourced to a third-party partner. Better alternatives offer superior in-house service for a fraction of the cost.
Pros
Fast same-day document scanning
Clean and intuitive online dashboard
Helpful customer support for initial setup
Standard privacy protection for your home address
Automated compliance reminders included
Cons
Exorbitant $596 true annual cost
Misleading $149 quarterly billing structure
Difficult cancellation requiring phone calls
Outsourced to a third-party partner
Best for: Business owners prioritizing filing speed over ongoing value
Inc Authority bundles the registered agent into its free LLC formation, so year one costs nothing if you form with them. Buy the agent on its own and it is $249 for one year, the same as LegalZoom and twice what Northwest charges. The price is real but well hidden. Their registered agent page is a dead link and the only place the service is actually sold is a marketplace item most founders will never find. Choose this one if you want the cheapest possible start and you intend to move before that first renewal lands.
Pros
Free registered agent service for the first full year when Inc Authority forms your LLC
Fast digital document scanning and immediate notifications
Online portal included at no extra cost
Covers all 50 states
Decades of industry experience since 1989
Cons
At $249 a year once the bundled first year ends, it is among the priciest agents here, twice Northwest's $125, and it renews automatically
The price is published only on a marketplace item page, their own registered agent page returns a 404
Aggressive upsells during checkout and via phone calls
Cancellation requires a phone call during business hours
Best for: Budget-conscious founders who want a $0 setup and will switch agents later.
What Makes a Good Registered Agent for Texas Businesses
Texas publishes every registered agent's name and street address in the Secretary of State's public records. Anyone can look yours up. That makes a commercial service matter more here than in states that hold those records back.
Texas LLCs face a May 15 franchise tax deadline every year. Revenue at or below $2.65 million, the no tax due threshold for the 2026 and 2027 report years, means you owe no franchise tax and skip that report. You still file a Public Information Report. Miss the date and the penalty is $50 for each late report. Keep missing it and Texas can forfeit your right to do business here.
Texas sets office hours for company agents, not for individuals. Section 5.201(d) of the Business Organizations Code requires a registered agent that is an organization to keep an employee at the registered office during normal business hours. Individuals are not covered. What the law asks of everyone is narrower and harder to fake, the address has to be a street address where a process server can hand papers to the agent in person, and it may not be only a mailbox service or a telephone answering service.
Section 5.201 of the Texas Business Organizations Code, read at the Texas Legislature statute site on August 20, 2026.
If your registered agent resigns, you have about a month. Under section 5.204, the agent writes to your LLC at the last address it has. The resignation takes effect 31 days after the Secretary of State receives the agent's notice. Without an agent, section 5.251 makes the Secretary of State your LLC's agent for lawsuits. The state then forwards the papers by certified mail to the most recent address in its file. If that address is out of date, you may not hear about a lawsuit until a default judgment lands.
How to Choose a Registered Agent in Texas
Forming a new Texas LLC is where the bundles pay off. Bizee and Inc Authority both include the first year of agent service free when they form your LLC. ZenBusiness charges $99 for its first year instead. Check the renewal before you buy. Bizee renews at $149 a year, Inc Authority at $249 and ZenBusiness at $199.
Switching agents on an existing LLC is one form and $15. You file Form 401 with the Secretary of State, and the new agent has to consent before you name them. Northwest prepares that form and pays the $15 filing for you. Its $125 a year does not rise in year two, so there is no renewal surprise to plan around.
Online filing is changing in late September 2026. The Secretary of State is replacing SOSDirect with a new system called SOSPortal, which it says goes live at 8 a.m. on September 29, 2026. Online filings and searches are paused from noon on September 25 until then. Filings it receives during the pause wait for the new system.
Harbor Compliance and ZenBusiness both open at $99, the lowest standalone price here once you set aside the bundles that give year one away. Harbor is the one that lets you keep it. Its two and three year plans hold the $99 rate instead of jumping to $159. Its pricing page still offered that lock on September 26, 2026. The two and three year totals in the capture below date from September 18, when the renewal rose from $149 to $159.
Harbor Compliance's own pricing page, captured September 18, 2026. The strike through on the $159 new customer line and the two multi year panels are the vendor's own.
Still picking a formation service? Our guide to the best LLC formation services in Texas compares the packages that bundle agent service with your Certificate of Formation filing.
Hidden RA Costs to Watch For in Texas
First year prices here run from $0 to $596. Renewals are where Texas founders get caught. We re-read the pricing page of every provider in the chart below on September 26, 2026, and every price in it still holds. The last change was Harbor Compliance's renewal, which rose from $149 to $159 on September 18. Bizee's Texas renewal is $149 a year, after a $119 Texas discount that ended in August. Here is what three years costs once renewals count.
Three year totals for the seven purchase paths we could price at the provider's own site, first read on August 30, 2026, Harbor Compliance updated on September 18, all re-checked on September 26, 2026.
The order changes once renewals count. Swyft Filings bills $149 every quarter, so three years comes to $1,788. That is nearly five times what Northwest costs for the same legal job. Harbor Compliance is cheapest if you prepay three years at $297. The free first year no longer wins that race. Bizee now lands a dollar behind it at $298. Northwest is the cheapest flat rate that asks for nothing up front.
Two are missing. Rocket Lawyer and Inc Authority sit in the table above but not in this chart. Rocket Lawyer's real cost depends on which membership you already hold. Inc Authority bundles the first year into its formation package, and sells a year of agent service on its own at $249.
Change of agent filing fee - Texas charges $15 to file Form 401. Some services pass that through to you on top of their annual fee. Northwest does not.
Renewal price jumps - Bizee and Inc Authority give you a free first year with formation. ZenBusiness only halves it, to $99. Then the bill arrives. Bizee renews at $149 a year, Inc Authority at $249 and ZenBusiness at $199. Northwest charges $125 from day one and does not raise it.
Quarterly billing - Swyft Filings advertises $149, and that is per quarter, per state, per entity. Read the billing period before the price.
Mail past the free allowance - Northwest scans five pieces of regular business mail a year at no charge. After that it is $15 a document. Postage on anything mailed to you is extra.
Compliance reminders - LegalZoom includes annual report deadline reminders in its $249 a year service. Northwest sends franchise tax reminders at $125. There is no upper tier to buy.
Texas Business Compliance Overview
Texas has no state income tax. Every LLC still files a Public Information Report by May 15. Revenue at or below the $2.65 million no tax due threshold means you owe no franchise tax and skip that report, but the Public Information Report is still due. That threshold holds for the 2026 and 2027 report years. Missing the date costs $50 a report straight away, and if you do owe tax, another 5 percent on top when you pay within 30 days of the due date, or 10 percent after that. A good agent service emails you weeks before it, which is most of what you are paying for.
What to Do After Setting Up Your Registered Agent
File your Certificate of Formation with the Texas Secretary of State ($300). Your agent's name and address go on this document. Set the service up first. The fee sits on the state's published fee schedule.
Apply for an EIN from the IRS, which is free. You need it to open a business bank account. Apply online at irs.gov. The number arrives at once.
Open a business bank account. Texas banks ask for your Certificate of Formation, your EIN, and your operating agreement. Keep the money separate. That separation is what protects your limited liability.
Mark May 15 for your Public Information Report, plus a franchise tax report if revenue tops $2.65 million. Your agent should remind you. Check with the Comptroller anyway.
Turn on document alerts in your agent's dashboard. Northwest and ZenBusiness both notify you when mail arrives. Both flag state deadlines too.
Get a Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit if you sell taxable goods or services. You apply to the Texas Comptroller. State sales tax is 6.25%. Local jurisdictions can add up to 2% more.
Frequently Asked Questions About Texas Registered Agents
Does Texas require a registered agent?
Yes. The rule has no small business exception. Texas Business Organizations Code section 5.201 says every LLC formed or registered here must keep a registered agent with a physical street address in the state, and that address cannot be only a mailbox service or a telephone answering service. Section 5.201(d) adds a business hours duty, but it applies to agents that are companies. A company acting as your agent must keep an employee at that office during normal business hours.
Can I be my own registered agent in Texas?
You can. You need a physical Texas street address, not a P.O. box, and a process server has to be able to hand you papers there in person. The statute sets fixed office hours for company agents, not for individuals. The real catch is public records. Your home address shows up in the state database for anyone who searches your LLC, and it stays attached to the business after you move out.
How much does a registered agent cost in Texas?
From year two on, the services here cost $125 to $596 a year. The first year can cost less. Bizee and Inc Authority include it free when they form your LLC, and Harbor Compliance and ZenBusiness open at $99. Northwest charges $125 flat in both years, and Swyft Filings bills quarterly, which annualises to $596. Over three years the same services cost $297 to $1,788. Texas only agents advertise $35 to $96 a year, and we do not rank them because we cannot vouch for them.
Is a Texas registered agent legitimate?
Check the record, not the price. The Secretary of State publishes your agent on your LLC's public file, so you can look up who is listed and confirm it is who you paid. Section 5.2011 treats naming an agent as an affirmation the agent consented, so one who never agreed makes your filing false. A Texas only agent at $35 a year can be legitimate. What makes one risky is a mailbox address, which section 5.201(c)(3) refuses, or nobody there to take papers.
How do I change my registered agent in Texas?
File Form 401, Change of Registered Agent and Registered Office, with the Texas Secretary of State. The fee is $15. Online filing moves from SOSDirect to the state's new SOSPortal, which the Secretary of State says goes live on September 29, 2026. Your new agent has to consent before you name them, and your LLC cannot go a day without one. Northwest prepares the form and pays the $15 fee for you.
Is a registered agent worth it in Texas?
It depends on whether your address is already public. Most founders work from home. A service keeps that address out of the state database, and the cheapest flat rate here is $125 a year. If you have a storefront with someone there all day, being your own agent is free and works fine. The cost of getting it wrong is a default judgment you never heard about.
What happens if my Texas LLC does not have a registered agent?
Two things, one fast and one slow. Right away, section 5.251 of the Business Organizations Code makes the Secretary of State your LLC's agent for lawsuits. The state forwards the papers by certified mail to the last address it has on file, so an old address means you may never see them. A court can then enter a default judgment. Over time, the Secretary of State can terminate the LLC under section 11.251 if it still has no agent 90 days after the state's notice.
Eliot leads StartupOwl's state data research. He maintains the site's fifty state records of LLC filing fees, annual costs, processing times, and small business grant programs, checking each figure against the state office that publishes it and logging the date it was verified. Based in New Jersey, he has spent his working life in and around small businesses, and he writes for the founder who wants the real number rather than the advertised one. Every figure under his byline traces to a named source, and when a state proves a number wrong, the correction is published, not buried.
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