Index · 30 August 2026
A registered agent is a legal role. A virtual mailbox is a shipping product.
Formation ads sell a year-one number. The statute sells a person (or company) who will sit still for service of process. Those are not the same purchase. Filing Address prices the vendor bill over three years, with state fees stripped out, and reads the four secretaries of state who say a mailbox is not a registered office.
Findings
- 01
Mailbox ≠ registered agent. Traveling Mailbox’s help center (7 August 2026), Anytime Mailbox, the Wyoming Secretary of State, and Texas Business Organizations Code §5.201 all draw the line. A scan-and-forward street address does not accept service of process unless that enterprise is actually the registered agent. Read the distinction.
- 02
The 3-year RA-only bill is $375–$497 among the three vendors we priced: Northwest $375, Bizee $447, ZenBusiness standalone $497 ($99 + $199 + $199). Zen’s $99 is an intro that cannot be re-upped. Full tables.
- 03
Formation + RA is a different stack. Northwest is $289 over three years because RA is free in year 1 on a$39 formation. Zen Starter + RA add-on is $597; Pro + RA is $1,194; Premium (RA included) is $1,197. LegalZoom Basic + RA is $747. Bizee Basic + RA totals $298 — we list it, and we do not hero a $0 formation.
- 04
Change-of-agent filings are cheap; the vendor policy is not. Texas Form 401 is $15. Florida is $25. California statement of information is $20, $0 when it is only a change of agent. Wyoming is $5. Northwest files the change and pays the state fee. Change note.
Registered agent only — 3-year vendor fees
One LLC, one state. No secretary-of-state formation fee is in this table. Partner names link out as affiliates.
| Vendor / product | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | 3-year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NorthwestRegistered agentFlat $125/year. $100/year per state if five or more. | $125List | $125List | $125List | $375 |
| BizeeStandalone registered agentStandalone $149/year. | $149List | $149List | $149List | $447 |
| ZenBusinessStandalone registered agentIntro $99 year 1, then $199/year. The $99 rate cannot be re-upped. | $99Promo | $199Renewal | $199Renewal | $497 |
Formation plus registered agent — headline rows
Bizee Basic ($0 + state, RA free year 1 then $149/year, 3-year vendor total $298) is omitted from this headline table on purpose. It is in the full cost note, flagged as not a comparison to lead with.
| Vendor / product | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | 3-year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NorthwestFormation + RAFormation $39; RA free in year 1, then $125/year. | $39Free year 1 | $125Renewal | $125Renewal | $289 |
| BizeeStandard + RAStandard $199 one-time; RA free year 1 with formation, then $149/year. | $199Free year 1 | $149Renewal | $149Renewal | $497 |
| BizeePremium + RAPremium $299 one-time; RA free year 1 with formation, then $149/year. | $299Free year 1 | $149Renewal | $149Renewal | $597 |
| ZenBusinessStarter + RA add-onStarter is $0 + state and does not renew. RA add-on is $199/year from day one. | $199List | $199List | $199List | $597 |
| ZenBusinessPro + RA add-onPro $199/year plus RA add-on $199/year. | $398List | $398Renewal | $398Renewal | $1,194 |
| ZenBusinessPremium (RA included)Premium $399/year includes RA and renews at $399. | $399List | $399Renewal | $399Renewal | $1,197 |
| LegalZoomBasic + RA (foil)Basic $0 does not include RA. RA is $249/year separate. | $249List | $249Renewal | $249Renewal | $747 |
What a mailbox costs, and what it is not
| Product | Published price | Can it be the RA? |
|---|---|---|
| Traveling Mailbox | $15 / $25 / $55 per month | No — help center 7 August 2026 |
| Anytime Mailbox | From $9.99/mo, location-specific | No — PO boxes and most virtual addresses do not qualify |
| Northwest mail forwarding / virtual office | From $20/mo; virtual office $29/mo | Separate product from the $125/year RA |
| Bizee virtual address | $29/mo | Cannot be the registered agent |
Four states, not fifty
We read the pages that actually say “mailbox” or publish a change fee. We did not clone a 50-state directory.
Texas
RA plus office; business hours; cannot be solely a mailbox unless that enterprise is the RA (BOC §5.201). Form 401 $15.
Florida
§605.0113. Change of registered agent $25 on the Sunbiz LLC fee schedule.
California
Corp. Code §17701.13. Statement of information $20; change-only SOI $0. We do not invent a business-hours rule California did not publish.
Wyoming
Virtual addresses, mail forwarding, PO boxes, UPS, and FedEx are not a registered office. Change $5.
How to read this desk
Every dollar on Filing Address comes from an official vendor page, a secretary of state, or a statute, retrieved 30 August 2026. Third-party “10 best LLC services” roundups were ignored. State fees are disclosed where we have them and kept out of the 3-year vendor totals. Methodology · About · Disclosure.
Sources
Official vendor, secretary of state, or statute pages. Third-party “best of” lists were not used. Retrieval dates are on each row.
- Northwest Registered Agent — registered agent Retrieved 2026-08-30.
- Northwest — LLC formation Retrieved 2026-08-30.
- ZenBusiness — formation plan pricing Retrieved 2026-08-30.
- ZenBusiness — registered agent Retrieved 2026-08-30.
- Bizee Retrieved 2026-08-30.
- Bizee — registered agent Retrieved 2026-08-30.
- Bizee — virtual address Retrieved 2026-08-30.
- Texas SOS — registered agents (BOC §5.201) Retrieved 2026-08-30.
- Florida Sunbiz — LLC fees (change $25); §605.0113 Retrieved 2026-08-30.
- Wyoming SOS FAQ — registered office / agent (virtual addresses are not a registered office) Retrieved 2026-08-30.
- Traveling Mailbox help center (08.07.2026): virtual mailbox cannot serve as RA address Retrieved 2026-08-07.
- Anytime Mailbox — PO boxes and most virtual addresses do not qualify Retrieved 2026-08-30.