How we pick a registered agent

These are our editorial criteria, applied the same way in every state. Mainstay Filing is our pick because it passes all four.

The renewal price. A registered agent you keep for years should cost the same in year three as year one. Mainstay Filing: $149 at renewal. It renews at $199 a year, with no rate that jumps at renewal and no new line items.
One provider, all states. A company that adds a second state should not have to find a second agent. Mainstay Filing covers every state at one price.
Speed of service of process. Service of process is scanned and uploaded the same business day at no fee.
Plain limits. The registered agent address is not a business mailing address and cannot stand in for one, for example for bank verification. The first three government mailings a year are scanned free; after that a per-piece fee applies.

Where a cheaper plan passes the first test, the state pages still show it. A lower price is a reason to choose it, not a flaw.