[0:00] The short answer Dan: The 5 best registered agents in Arizona in 2026 are Mainstay Filing, Northwest Registered Agent, AZ Registered Agent.org, Bizee, and Arizona Registered Agent.co. Maya: Welcome to The Business Formation Podcast. Arizona doesn't even use the phrase registered agent for an LLC, does it? Dan: It doesn't. The statute says statutory agent. Changing yours is Form L020 at five dollars, and Arizona LLCs file no annual report at all. [0:34] The statutory agent Maya: So what's a statutory agent, in plain terms? Dan: The person or business your LLC names to be served with lawsuits, notices and demands. The Corporation Commission's own instructions explain the word: it's called statutory because a statute requires you to appoint someone. Maya: Who can take the job? Dan: An Arizona resident who's at least 18, or a corporation or LLC that's formed in Arizona or authorized to do business here. The Commission says an LLC can't be its own agent, but a member or manager can serve as an individual. Maya: And the address? Dan: A street address in Arizona, not a P.O. box. There's a second, mailing address too, and that one is allowed to be a box. Everything you file is public record. Maya: Does the agent have to agree? Dan: In writing. On paper that's the Statutory Agent Acceptance, Form M002. Online, the new agent gets an email and has 72 hours to accept, or the whole filing is rejected. Maya: I should say, I'm Maya, and this is Dan. Dan: Good to be here. Let's take the five in order. [1:43] Mainstay Filing Maya: Number one? Dan: Mainstay Filing, at $149 a year, and the renewal price is the same $149. Maya: What's included? Dan: Its Arizona address is the one on the public record, so yours stays off it. Papers served on your company are scanned and uploaded that same business day with no fee, and the first three government mailings each year are scanned free. Maya: What if I have an agent already? Dan: Mainstay files the change for you, so you don't chase the acceptance. The five-dollar state fee goes through at cost. Maya: And the catch? Dan: There are cheaper flat options below it. If the lowest sticker price decides it for you, Mainstay isn't your answer. [2:28] Northwest Registered Agent Maya: Second place. Dan: Northwest Registered Agent, at $125 a year. It says that price has held for twenty years, and up to ten pieces of regular business mail a year are scanned at no charge. Maya: What do I watch out for? Dan: Signing up enrolls you in its annual report filing service, $100 plus state fees for each filing, until you cancel. Its page says you can add or cancel it any time. Maya: But Arizona LLCs don't file one. Dan: Right, so before you leave that service switched on, ask what it would actually file for you. For an Arizona LLC, the honest answer may be nothing. [3:08] AZ Registered Agent.org Maya: And number three? Dan: AZ Registered Agent.org, $99 a year and still $99 at renewal. You get the registered office, same-day scanning of court papers, and reminders ahead of state deadlines. Maya: To move over to them? Dan: Just the $5 state fee. Forming the company is a separate service, so it isn't bundled in. Maya: How does that stack up against Mainstay? Dan: $99 versus $149 is a $50 gap, or $150 across three years. [3:40] Bizee Maya: Four. Dan: Bizee, the company that was Incfile until recently. Its agent costs nothing the first year if you buy a formation package, then $149 a year after that. Maya: It renews on its own? Dan: Automatically, and its policy says an auto-renew charge can't be reversed once it's taken. Free, then $149, then $149 is $298 over three years. Maya: And if I already formed my LLC elsewhere? Dan: Then the free year doesn't apply, and you're paying $149 from the start. [4:17] Arizona Registered Agent.co Maya: Last one. Dan: Arizona Registered Agent.co, another flat $99. The address used on filings, same-day scanning of legal mail, and reminders for state deadlines. Maya: Anything different from number three? Dan: Nothing we could see on the listings. It has the same catch too, formation filing is separate. So the choice between the two $99 agents comes down to which one you prefer. [4:45] No annual report Maya: You keep mentioning that Arizona LLCs file no annual report. Is that really true? Dan: The Commission's FAQ says, flatly, that LLCs aren't required to file annual reports. It's unusual. Maya: Is that good news? Dan: Mostly. There's no yearly fee, but it also means no yearly form where you'd catch a stale agent. Maya: Why does that matter? Dan: Official Commission notices are mailed to the statutory agent's address. That includes the warning that comes before an administrative dissolution. If your agent moves or quits and nobody updates the record, that notice goes somewhere you'll never see it. Maya: What does the first year cost, then? Dan: The Articles of Organization are $50. With Mainstay, year one is that $50 filing plus the $149 agent. After that it's the $149 alone, because there's no state report to pay for. Maya: And with a $99 agent? Dan: $50 plus $99 is $149 the first year, then $99 each year after. [5:52] Changing the agent Maya: Walk me through the change. Dan: It's the Statement of Change of Principal Address or Statutory Agent, Form L020. The fee is $5, or $40 if you expedite it. You file online in the Arizona Business Center, or on paper with a cover sheet. Maya: Does it need a newspaper notice? Dan: No. The instructions ask whether publication is required for a Statement of Change, and the answer is no. Maya: What's the gotcha? Dan: Acceptance. If the new agent's acceptance isn't in the Commission's system when the change is reviewed, it gets rejected. And paying online by card adds a processing fee, a two-dollar minimum, so the five dollars isn't quite the whole bill. Maya: Where does publication come in, then? Dan: At formation. It's tied to the agent's street address. Outside Maricopa and Pima counties you publish a notice in a county newspaper, three times in a row. Those two big counties use a notice on the Commission's website instead. [6:54] If your agent resigns Maya: What happens if the agent walks away? Dan: The agent files a Statutory Agent Resignation, Form L032. The current form lists a $10 fee. The agent has to mail you notice at an address that isn't theirs. Maya: When does it take effect? Dan: On the 31st day after the Commission receives it, or sooner if you appoint a new agent. Maya: So there's about a month to file Form L020. Dan: Yes. Use that month, and keep your principal address current, because that's the address the notice goes to. Maya: And if I never replace them? Dan: Go sixty consecutive days without a statutory agent and the Commission can administratively dissolve the LLC. You get a notice first, and sixty days after it to fix the problem. Maya: What if someone sues in the meantime? Dan: With no agent, or one who can't be served with reasonable diligence, the company can be served by certified mail at its principal address. Reinstatement after a dissolution is $100, so the cheap fix is the better one. [7:58] Picking one Maya: How would you decide, if you're in Phoenix or Tucson? Dan: Three questions. Does the price stay the same next year, is the address on the record a real Arizona street address, and does someone handle the acceptance for you. Maya: And your answer? Dan: Mainstay Filing. Our pick for Arizona, at $149 a year. [8:20] The five in a row Maya: Give us all five once more. Dan: One, Mainstay Filing: $149 a year, same at renewal. Two, Northwest: $125, and skip the report service. Three, AZ Registered Agent.org: $99 flat. Four, Bizee: free the first year with a formation order, then $149. Five, Arizona Registered Agent.co: $99 flat. Maya: The links are in the show notes. Thanks for listening to The Business Formation Podcast.