WEBVTT 00:00:00.218 --> 00:00:06.298 The 5 best registered agents in Arizona in 2026 are Mainstay Filing, Northwest 00:00:06.342 --> 00:00:11.578 Registered Agent, AZ Registered Agent.org, Bizee, and 00:00:11.658 --> 00:00:14.378 Arizona Registered Agent.co. 00:00:14.378 --> 00:00:16.938 Welcome to The Business Formation Podcast. 00:00:17.048 --> 00:00:21.738 Arizona doesn't even use the phrase registered agent for an LLC, does it? 00:00:21.738 --> 00:00:25.498 It doesn't. The statute says statutory agent. 00:00:25.569 --> 00:00:32.298 Changing yours is Form L020 at five dollars, and Arizona LLCs file no annual 00:00:32.355 --> 00:00:33.498 report at all. 00:00:35.138 --> 00:00:38.618 So what's a statutory agent, in plain terms? 00:00:38.618 --> 00:00:43.338 The person or business your LLC names to be served with lawsuits, notices and 00:00:43.418 --> 00:00:48.698 demands. The Corporation Commission's own instructions explain the word: it's called 00:00:48.794 --> 00:00:52.458 statutory because a statute requires you to appoint someone. 00:00:52.458 --> 00:00:54.378 Who can take the job? 00:00:54.378 --> 00:01:00.218 An Arizona resident who's at least 18, or a corporation or LLC that's formed in 00:01:00.298 --> 00:01:03.178 Arizona or authorized to do business here. 00:01:03.238 --> 00:01:09.018 The Commission says an LLC can't be its own agent, but a member or manager can serve 00:01:09.071 --> 00:01:09.898 as an individual. 00:01:09.898 --> 00:01:11.497 And the address? 00:01:11.497 --> 00:01:14.138 A street address in Arizona, not a P.O. 00:01:14.258 --> 00:01:19.578 box. There's a second, mailing address too, and that one is allowed to be a box. 00:01:19.614 --> 00:01:21.498 Everything you file is public record. 00:01:21.498 --> 00:01:23.418 Does the agent have to agree? 00:01:23.418 --> 00:01:30.218 In writing. On paper that's the Statutory Agent Acceptance, Form M002. 00:01:30.332 --> 00:01:36.378 Online, the new agent gets an email and has 72 hours to accept, or the whole filing 00:01:36.405 --> 00:01:37.098 is rejected. 00:01:37.098 --> 00:01:40.138 I should say, I'm Maya, and this is Dan. 00:01:40.138 --> 00:01:43.498 Good to be here. Let's take the five in order. 00:01:44.194 --> 00:01:45.074 Number one? 00:01:45.074 --> 00:01:50.674 Mainstay Filing, at $149 a year, and the renewal price is the same 00:01:50.754 --> 00:01:52.514 $149. 00:01:52.514 --> 00:01:54.354 What's included? 00:01:54.354 --> 00:01:59.434 Its Arizona address is the one on the public record, so yours stays off it. 00:01:59.497 --> 00:02:03.874 Papers served on your company are scanned and uploaded that same business day with 00:02:03.954 --> 00:02:08.994 no fee, and the first three government mailings each year are scanned free. 00:02:08.994 --> 00:02:10.994 What if I have an agent already? 00:02:10.994 --> 00:02:15.314 Mainstay files the change for you, so you don't chase the acceptance. 00:02:15.414 --> 00:02:18.114 The five-dollar state fee goes through at cost. 00:02:19.054 --> 00:02:19.954 And the catch? 00:02:19.954 --> 00:02:22.834 There are cheaper flat options below it. 00:02:22.967 --> 00:02:27.634 If the lowest sticker price decides it for you, Mainstay isn't your answer. 00:02:28.434 --> 00:02:29.394 Second place. 00:02:29.394 --> 00:02:33.874 Northwest Registered Agent, at $125 a year. 00:02:34.114 --> 00:02:38.834 It says that price has held for twenty years, and up to ten pieces of regular 00:02:38.878 --> 00:02:41.474 business mail a year are scanned at no charge. 00:02:41.474 --> 00:02:43.234 What do I watch out for? 00:02:43.234 --> 00:02:49.474 Signing up enrolls you in its annual report filing service, $100 plus state fees for 00:02:49.538 --> 00:02:51.474 each filing, until you cancel. 00:02:51.674 --> 00:02:55.154 Its page says you can add or cancel it any time. 00:02:55.154 --> 00:02:58.034 But Arizona LLCs don't file one. 00:02:58.034 --> 00:03:03.554 Right, so before you leave that service switched on, ask what it would actually file 00:03:03.614 --> 00:03:08.594 for you. For an Arizona LLC, the honest answer may be nothing. 00:03:09.323 --> 00:03:10.443 And number three? 00:03:10.443 --> 00:03:17.083 AZ Registered Agent.org, $99 a year and still $99 at renewal. 00:03:17.223 --> 00:03:21.723 You get the registered office, same-day scanning of court papers, and reminders 00:03:21.750 --> 00:03:22.844 ahead of state deadlines. 00:03:22.844 --> 00:03:24.363 To move over to them? 00:03:24.363 --> 00:03:29.243 Just the $5 state fee. Forming the company is a separate service, so it isn't 00:03:29.283 --> 00:03:29.883 bundled in. 00:03:29.883 --> 00:03:32.203 How does that stack up against Mainstay? 00:03:32.203 --> 00:03:39.163 $99 versus $149 is a $50 gap, or $150 across three 00:03:39.243 --> 00:03:39.723 years. 00:03:40.523 --> 00:03:41.083 Four. 00:03:41.083 --> 00:03:44.403 Bizee, the company that was Incfile until recently. 00:03:44.473 --> 00:03:50.283 Its agent costs nothing the first year if you buy a formation package, then $149 a 00:03:50.347 --> 00:03:51.483 year after that. 00:03:51.483 --> 00:03:53.243 It renews on its own? 00:03:53.243 --> 00:03:58.683 Automatically, and its policy says an auto-renew charge can't be reversed once it's 00:03:58.750 --> 00:04:05.163 taken. Free, then $149, then $149 is 00:04:05.223 --> 00:04:08.363 $298 over three years. 00:04:08.363 --> 00:04:11.483 And if I already formed my LLC elsewhere? 00:04:11.483 --> 00:04:16.443 Then the free year doesn't apply, and you're paying $149 from the start. 00:04:17.520 --> 00:04:18.959 Last one. 00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:24.000 Arizona Registered Agent.co, another flat $99. 00:04:24.200 --> 00:04:29.600 The address used on filings, same-day scanning of legal mail, and reminders for 00:04:29.653 --> 00:04:30.640 state deadlines. 00:04:30.640 --> 00:04:32.960 Anything different from number three? 00:04:32.960 --> 00:04:35.360 Nothing we could see on the listings. 00:04:35.520 --> 00:04:39.440 It has the same catch too, formation filing is separate. 00:04:39.653 --> 00:04:44.720 So the choice between the two $99 agents comes down to which one you prefer. 00:04:45.432 --> 00:04:49.592 You keep mentioning that Arizona LLCs file no annual report. 00:04:49.645 --> 00:04:50.552 Is that really true? 00:04:50.552 --> 00:04:57.232 The Commission's FAQ says, flatly, that LLCs aren't required to file annual reports. 00:04:57.379 --> 00:04:58.633 It's unusual. 00:04:58.633 --> 00:05:00.232 Is that good news? 00:05:00.232 --> 00:05:06.712 Mostly. There's no yearly fee, but it also means no yearly form where you'd catch a 00:05:06.779 --> 00:05:07.592 stale agent. 00:05:07.592 --> 00:05:09.432 Why does that matter? 00:05:09.432 --> 00:05:13.352 Official Commission notices are mailed to the statutory agent's address. 00:05:13.480 --> 00:05:17.352 That includes the warning that comes before an administrative dissolution. 00:05:17.619 --> 00:05:22.952 If your agent moves or quits and nobody updates the record, that notice goes 00:05:22.992 --> 00:05:24.391 somewhere you'll never see it. 00:05:24.744 --> 00:05:26.312 What does the first year cost, then? 00:05:26.312 --> 00:05:29.432 The Articles of Organization are $50. 00:05:29.544 --> 00:05:36.112 With Mainstay, year one is that $50 filing plus the $149 agent. 00:05:36.185 --> 00:05:42.312 After that it's the $149 alone, because there's no state report to pay for. 00:05:42.312 --> 00:05:44.952 And with a $99 agent? 00:05:44.952 --> 00:05:51.752 $50 plus $99 is $149 the first year, then $99 each 00:05:51.800 --> 00:05:52.552 year after. 00:05:53.305 --> 00:05:54.905 Walk me through the change. 00:05:54.905 --> 00:06:01.865 It's the Statement of Change of Principal Address or Statutory Agent, Form L020. 00:06:02.005 --> 00:06:05.945 The fee is $5, or $40 if you expedite it. 00:06:06.105 --> 00:06:11.145 You file online in the Arizona Business Center, or on paper with a cover sheet. 00:06:11.145 --> 00:06:13.145 Does it need a newspaper notice? 00:06:13.145 --> 00:06:18.745 No. The instructions ask whether publication is required for a Statement of Change, 00:06:18.785 --> 00:06:19.945 and the answer is no. 00:06:19.945 --> 00:06:21.305 What's the gotcha? 00:06:21.305 --> 00:06:26.585 Acceptance. If the new agent's acceptance isn't in the Commission's system when the 00:06:26.631 --> 00:06:28.905 change is reviewed, it gets rejected. 00:06:29.105 --> 00:06:34.825 And paying online by card adds a processing fee, a two-dollar minimum, so the five 00:06:34.875 --> 00:06:37.305 dollars isn't quite the whole bill. 00:06:37.305 --> 00:06:38.905 Where does publication come in, then? 00:06:38.905 --> 00:06:43.145 At formation. It's tied to the agent's street address. 00:06:43.265 --> 00:06:48.665 Outside Maricopa and Pima counties you publish a notice in a county newspaper, three 00:06:48.745 --> 00:06:53.385 times in a row. Those two big counties use a notice on the Commission's website 00:06:53.455 --> 00:06:54.025 instead. 00:06:54.822 --> 00:06:56.582 What happens if the agent walks away? 00:06:56.582 --> 00:07:02.022 The agent files a Statutory Agent Resignation, Form L032. 00:07:02.222 --> 00:07:05.302 The current form lists a $10 fee. 00:07:05.462 --> 00:07:09.382 The agent has to mail you notice at an address that isn't theirs. 00:07:09.382 --> 00:07:10.982 When does it take effect? 00:07:10.982 --> 00:07:16.182 On the 31st day after the Commission receives it, or sooner if you appoint a new 00:07:16.249 --> 00:07:16.584 agent. 00:07:17.132 --> 00:07:20.023 So there's about a month to file Form L020. 00:07:20.023 --> 00:07:25.063 Yes. Use that month, and keep your principal address current, because that's the 00:07:25.133 --> 00:07:26.743 address the notice goes to. 00:07:26.743 --> 00:07:28.343 And if I never replace them? 00:07:28.343 --> 00:07:33.143 Go sixty consecutive days without a statutory agent and the Commission can 00:07:33.223 --> 00:07:35.863 administratively dissolve the LLC. 00:07:36.003 --> 00:07:40.823 You get a notice first, and sixty days after it to fix the problem. 00:07:40.823 --> 00:07:42.743 What if someone sues in the meantime? 00:07:42.743 --> 00:07:47.783 With no agent, or one who can't be served with reasonable diligence, the company can 00:07:47.836 --> 00:07:50.983 be served by certified mail at its principal address. 00:07:51.250 --> 00:07:57.463 Reinstatement after a dissolution is $100, so the cheap fix is the better one. 00:07:58.539 --> 00:08:01.018 How would you decide, if you're in Phoenix or Tucson? 00:08:01.018 --> 00:08:05.739 Three questions. Does the price stay the same next year, is the address on the 00:08:05.796 --> 00:08:10.539 record a real Arizona street address, and does someone handle the acceptance for 00:08:10.579 --> 00:08:10.779 you. 00:08:10.779 --> 00:08:13.338 And your answer? 00:08:13.338 --> 00:08:18.859 Mainstay Filing. Our pick for Arizona, at $149 a year. 00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:21.920 Give us all five once more. 00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:27.520 One, Mainstay Filing: $149 a year, same at renewal. 00:08:27.860 --> 00:08:34.320 Two, Northwest: $125, and skip the report service. 00:08:34.547 --> 00:08:40.400 Three, AZ Registered Agent.org: $99 flat. 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:46.320 Four, Bizee: free the first year with a formation order, then 00:08:46.360 --> 00:08:53.120 $149. Five, Arizona Registered Agent.co: 00:08:53.154 --> 00:08:54.400 $99 flat. 00:08:54.400 --> 00:08:56.640 The links are in the show notes. 00:08:56.697 --> 00:08:59.600 Thanks for listening to The Business Formation Podcast.