Is an agent for service of process required?
Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.
The law underneath: Cal. Corp. Code § 17701.13. peek at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, confirmed October 2026
Who qualifies?
A California resident, or a corporation registered with the Secretary of State as a corporate agent under Corporations Code § 1505. A business cannot act as its own agent for service of process.
If you qualify, you can serve yourself at no cost.
What is inside an agent's price?
A year of agent service runs $99 to $149 with our picks, and three years run $297 to $447.
State fees stay the same whichever agent you pick.
Why does the state want an agent?
The agent is the party that signs for lawsuits and state mail addressed to the LLC, at a California street address.
What matters is that nothing important sits unnoticed while you are away. What is service of process?
Is anything else due every year?
Underneath it all, one filing repeats: the Statement of Information, every second year, at $20 each time. The state phrases its deadline like this: last day of the LLC's registration-anniversary month, biennially. A yearly minimum tax sits next to it.
peek at sos.ca.gov, confirmed October 2026
Why is the stack in this order?
California Registered Agent.ai is strongest on total across three years, a layer worth 34% of the score.
Five layers set the order: total across three years (34%), what is inside the price (29%), price laid out in the open (14%), how the renewal behaves (12%) and how far it reaches (11%).
Three years at California Registered Agent.ai cost $297, which is $150 below Mainstay Filing.
The five layers