Is a registered agent required?
Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.
The law underneath: Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code § 5.201. peek at sos.texas.gov, confirmed October 2026
Who is allowed to be the agent?
A Texas resident, including an owner, officer or employee, or an organization registered or authorized in Texas with a business office at the registered office. The company cannot be its own agent, and the agent has to consent.
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?
Whatever legal paper is meant for the LLC in Texas goes to the agent, who passes it along.
Ask how quickly the agent tells you when something arrives, so no deadline slips by. What is service of process?
What does the LLC owe the state each year?
The Public Information Report + Franchise Tax Report comes back each year, free of charge. Its date, in the state's words, is May 15.
peek at comptroller.texas.gov, confirmed October 2026
What put number one on top?
Mainstay Filing wins the what is inside the price layer, which counts 29%.
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%).
Only the first pick holds up in all fifty states, and that counts the day the LLC registers elsewhere.
The five layers