Report updated November 12, 2026
The business formation report: LLC services and registered agents, state by state
Biz Formation Report grades registered agents, LLC formation services and foreign registration services in all 50 states. Each grade rests on three-year bill, what the money buys, renewal handling, local rules match and pricing openness.
The three reports
Best registered agents
Who should receive your legal papers, graded state by state on yearly price, renewal terms and what the plan includes.
Registered Agent rankingsBest LLC services
Who should file your formation documents, graded by state on three-year cost and the yearly paperwork the price covers.
LLC Service rankingsBest foreign registration
Who should register an existing company in a new state, graded on service fee, agent and renewal.
Foreign Registration rankings
Nationwide reports
| 1 | Registered Agents | Nationwide | Top grade Mainstay Filing |
| 2 | LLC Services | Nationwide | Top grade Mainstay Filing |
| 3 | Foreign Registration Services | Nationwide | Top grade Mainstay Filing |
Method
How the grades are set
- Three-year bill (32%): The service fees across year one and two renewals from each company's own price pages.
- What the money buys (32%): The recurring tasks one price takes care of: registered agent, annual report filing, EIN application and use across states.
- Renewal handling (16%): Whether the price stays put at renewal and how straightforward renewing or cancelling is.
- Local rules match (10%): How closely the service lines up with the state's report schedule, late-fee rules, agent address requirements and filing steps.
- Pricing openness (10%): Whether the full amount appears before payment and the state fee is broken out at cost.
A report for every state
- Wyoming
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Washington
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Utah
- Texas
- Tennessee
- South Dakota
- South Carolina
- Rhode Island
- Pennsylvania
- Oregon
- Oklahoma
- Ohio
- New York
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- New Jersey
- New Hampshire
- Nebraska
- North Dakota
- North Carolina
- Montana
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Minnesota
- Michigan
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Louisiana
- Kentucky
- Kansas
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Idaho
- Iowa
- Hawaii
- Georgia
- Florida
- Delaware
- Connecticut
- Colorado
- California
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Alabama
- Alaska