Best Registered Agent by State

Best Registered Agent by State › Virginia

Registered agent in Virginia: requirements, real cost and our pick

Our pick for Virginia is Mainstay Filing: $149 a year, the same at renewal. Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.

What Virginia requires

Agent neededRequired (Va. Code § 13.1-1015)
Who can serveA Virginia resident who is a member, manager or officer of the LLC (or of an entity that manages it) or a member of the Virginia State Bar, or a corporation, LLC or registered LLP authorized in Virginia.
AddressThe address has to be a registered office in Virginia that is the agent's business office. A P.O. box is accepted only in a town of under 2,000 people with no street address.
Change of agentNo state fee, filed with State Corporation Commission (SCC)
Do it yourself?The company cannot be its own agent here, so someone else, or a commercial agent, has to be named.

Checked October 20, 2026.

Our pick and the field

Registered agent prices for Virginia read October 2026, from each provider’s own page.
ProviderYear 1RenewalWhat the page lists
Mainstay Filing$149$149Registered agent all year; service of process scanned and uploaded the same business day
FreeRegisteredAgent.com$0$129Compliance alerts, per its Illinois page
Harbor Compliance$99$159Documents delivered to a client portal; annual report reminders
ZenBusiness$99$199Document receipt, scanning and upload to a dashboard; email notifications
Northwest Registered Agent$125$125Its address on public filings; scans of state and legal mail; up to 5 pieces of other business mail scanned free a year; domain, website, email and phone line
InCorp Services$129$129Same-day electronic service of process; compliance calendar; entity monitoring
Bizee$149$149Compliance notifications; its address on the public record
LegalZoom$249$249Alerts when mail arrives; documents scanned and uploaded; annual report reminders

What an agent does and doesn’t do here

It takes service of process and official state mail. It is not a business mailing address, and cannot stand in for one, for example for bank verification. See the full list.

Why prices differ so much in Virginia

Published year-one prices here run $0 to $249, a $249 spread. FreeRegisteredAgent.com is lowest in year one and Northwest Registered Agent lowest at renewal. Three things drive the spread: a first-year price that renews higher, a free year that needs a formation order, and what is bundled, from scanning to annual-report reminders. Compare the renewal column, not the first one.

What is the best registered agent in Virginia?

Mainstay Filing: $149 a year, the same at renewal. 7 other providers have a published Virginia price, from $0 to $249 in year one.

Can I be my own registered agent in Virginia?

The company cannot be its own agent here, so someone else, or a commercial agent, has to be named. A Virginia resident who is a member, manager or officer of the LLC (or of an entity that manages it) or a member of the Virginia State Bar, or a corporation, LLC or registered LLP authorized in Virginia.

How do I change my registered agent in Virginia?

File the state’s change form with State Corporation Commission (SCC); the fee is nothing (Va. Code § 13.1-1015).