WEBVTT 00:00:00.151 --> 00:00:06.471 The 5 best registered agents in Pennsylvania in 2026 are Mainstay Filing, Northwest 00:00:06.515 --> 00:00:11.111 Registered Agent, PA Registered Agent.org, Bizee, and 00:00:11.173 --> 00:00:14.791 Pennsylvania Registered Agent.co. 00:00:14.791 --> 00:00:16.791 This is The Business Formation Podcast. 00:00:16.871 --> 00:00:19.271 And Pennsylvania has an odd one, doesn't it? 00:00:19.471 --> 00:00:22.231 I hear it doesn't even use the word agent. 00:00:22.231 --> 00:00:28.311 Right. Pennsylvania asks every LLC for a registered office, not a named agent, and 00:00:28.355 --> 00:00:30.631 changing that office costs $5. 00:00:31.607 --> 00:00:33.727 So what is it, if nobody is named? 00:00:33.727 --> 00:00:36.927 It's the official Pennsylvania address on the public record. 00:00:37.047 --> 00:00:42.127 The statute says the company must continuously maintain one, and it also fixes the 00:00:42.184 --> 00:00:44.687 county for court venue and official publication. 00:00:44.687 --> 00:00:46.607 Can it just be my own address? 00:00:46.607 --> 00:00:52.207 Yes, any real Pennsylvania street address works, and so does a rural route box 00:00:52.264 --> 00:00:56.447 number. A post office box is never acceptable on a Pennsylvania filing. 00:00:56.447 --> 00:00:59.167 And if I don't have a Pennsylvania address? 00:00:59.167 --> 00:01:01.647 Then the form gives you a second choice. 00:01:01.697 --> 00:01:06.047 Instead of an address, you write "c/o" followed by the name of a commercial 00:01:06.098 --> 00:01:08.607 registered office provider and a county. 00:01:08.687 --> 00:01:13.246 The industry shorthand is CROP, said like the word crop. 00:01:13.246 --> 00:01:14.367 Who's on that list? 00:01:14.367 --> 00:01:16.567 The Department of State publishes it. 00:01:16.707 --> 00:01:21.487 A CROP is a business that has filed a statement with the state, and the state says 00:01:21.527 --> 00:01:24.207 you should have a contract with one before you list it. 00:01:24.287 --> 00:01:28.767 Listing a CROP without a contract can bring civil and criminal penalties. 00:01:28.767 --> 00:01:32.528 Before we go on, I'm Maya, by the way, and this is Dan. 00:01:32.528 --> 00:01:35.167 And now the five, in order. 00:01:36.545 --> 00:01:37.585 Who's at the top? 00:01:37.585 --> 00:01:44.465 Mainstay Filing, at $149 a year, and $149 again at renewal. 00:01:44.465 --> 00:01:45.825 What does that cover? 00:01:45.825 --> 00:01:50.305 Its Pennsylvania office is the one that goes on the record in place of yours. 00:01:50.396 --> 00:01:55.105 Papers served on your company are scanned and uploaded the same business day, with 00:01:55.185 --> 00:02:00.385 no fee, and the first three government mailings each year are scanned free. 00:02:00.385 --> 00:02:01.665 And switching over? 00:02:01.665 --> 00:02:05.105 Mainstay files the change of registered office for you. 00:02:05.185 --> 00:02:08.145 The $5 state fee is passed through at cost. 00:02:08.805 --> 00:02:09.906 The honest catch? 00:02:09.906 --> 00:02:13.226 Two companies on this list charge $99. 00:02:13.319 --> 00:02:17.266 If the lowest sticker is your only test, Mainstay isn't it. 00:02:18.521 --> 00:02:19.561 Number two. 00:02:19.561 --> 00:02:23.881 Northwest Registered Agent: $125 a year. 00:02:23.981 --> 00:02:28.441 Its page says the price hasn't gone up in 20 years, and up to 10 pieces of regular 00:02:28.485 --> 00:02:30.681 business mail are scanned free annually. 00:02:30.681 --> 00:02:32.761 What should I watch? 00:02:32.761 --> 00:02:38.841 Signing up auto-enrolls you in its annual report service, $100 plus state fees per 00:02:38.921 --> 00:02:43.881 filing, unless you cancel. Its page says you can add or cancel at any time. 00:02:43.881 --> 00:02:47.321 Pennsylvania's report is only $7, isn't it? 00:02:47.321 --> 00:02:53.001 It is. So the service fee would be more than ten times the state's own charge. 00:02:53.161 --> 00:02:58.201 If you want it, fine. If you'd rather do a seven-dollar online filing yourself, 00:02:58.247 --> 00:02:59.001 cancel it. 00:02:59.801 --> 00:03:01.800 Third place? 00:03:01.800 --> 00:03:06.841 PA Registered Agent.org, $99 a year, the same at renewal. 00:03:07.241 --> 00:03:11.801 A Pennsylvania registered office address, same-day scanning of legal documents and 00:03:11.870 --> 00:03:14.281 alerts before state deadlines. 00:03:14.281 --> 00:03:15.001 To move to them? 00:03:15.001 --> 00:03:19.081 Their fee is zero and the state charges $5. 00:03:19.281 --> 00:03:23.321 The catch is that annual report filing is a separate service. 00:03:23.451 --> 00:03:26.520 And that's $50 a year under Mainstay. 00:03:26.520 --> 00:03:33.321 Exactly. Over three years, $297 against $447. 00:03:34.739 --> 00:03:35.699 Number four. 00:03:35.699 --> 00:03:41.699 Bizee, formerly Incfile. Its agent service is free for the first year with any 00:03:41.755 --> 00:03:46.499 formation package, then $149 a year, renewing on its own. 00:03:47.246 --> 00:03:49.459 So it's the same as Mainstay after the first year. 00:03:49.459 --> 00:03:55.939 Yes. Free, then $149, then $149 is 00:03:55.959 --> 00:04:01.699 $298 over three years. But the free year needs a formation order, so if your 00:04:01.748 --> 00:04:06.899 Pennsylvania LLC already exists, it's $149 from the start. 00:04:07.643 --> 00:04:08.523 And five? 00:04:08.523 --> 00:04:13.243 Pennsylvania Registered Agent.co, $99 flat. 00:04:13.443 --> 00:04:17.883 A registered address on file, same-day scanning of legal documents and reminders 00:04:17.929 --> 00:04:19.164 before the state deadlines. 00:04:19.164 --> 00:04:21.164 What's different from number three? 00:04:21.164 --> 00:04:26.284 Nothing in what the listings say, including the catch: annual report filing is 00:04:26.377 --> 00:04:26.924 extra. 00:04:28.321 --> 00:04:30.081 Let's talk about the annual report. 00:04:30.145 --> 00:04:30.801 What's due? 00:04:30.801 --> 00:04:37.441 Form DSCB:15-146, $7, filed 00:04:37.491 --> 00:04:42.681 between January 1 and September 30, starting the year after you form. 00:04:42.828 --> 00:04:44.881 It's new, so it's easy to miss. 00:04:44.881 --> 00:04:45.921 What if I miss it? 00:04:45.921 --> 00:04:51.921 From reports due in 2027, the state can administratively dissolve the company six 00:04:51.978 --> 00:04:58.721 months after the due date. Reinstatement is $35 online plus $15 for each missing 00:04:58.778 --> 00:04:59.201 report. 00:04:59.201 --> 00:05:00.881 And how would I even hear about it? 00:05:00.881 --> 00:05:04.721 The Department of State mails the notice to your registered office at least two 00:05:04.778 --> 00:05:09.441 months before the deadline. That's why the office has to be somewhere mail reaches. 00:05:09.441 --> 00:05:12.481 What does a first year cost, formation included? 00:05:12.481 --> 00:05:16.481 The Certificate of Organization is $125. 00:05:16.577 --> 00:05:21.921 With Mainstay, $125 plus $149 is 00:05:21.961 --> 00:05:27.921 $274 for the first year. After that, it's the $7 report plus the 00:05:27.961 --> 00:05:29.521 $149. 00:05:33.521 --> 00:05:35.201 Walk me through the change itself. 00:05:35.201 --> 00:05:41.201 It's the Statement of Change of Registered Office, $5, and you can submit it online. 00:05:41.401 --> 00:05:46.322 You give either a new street address, or a CROP's name and a county. 00:05:46.455 --> 00:05:47.523 Never both. 00:05:47.523 --> 00:05:49.443 Is there any other way to do it? 00:05:49.443 --> 00:05:54.083 Yes. The statute lets you put the change on your annual report instead of filing 00:05:54.141 --> 00:05:58.003 separately. It has to be made before the change takes effect. 00:05:58.003 --> 00:06:00.083 Does anyone have to sign a consent? 00:06:00.083 --> 00:06:05.363 There's no consent filing, but the state expects a contract with the provider first. 00:06:06.835 --> 00:06:08.355 What if my provider walks away? 00:06:08.355 --> 00:06:13.155 The provider files its own $5 statement, and its responsibility ends the moment it 00:06:13.248 --> 00:06:15.235 files. There's no waiting period. 00:06:15.235 --> 00:06:16.835 So I'm stuck? 00:06:16.835 --> 00:06:23.075 Not stuck, but exposed. The old address stays on record for venue and official 00:06:23.135 --> 00:06:26.675 publication, with nobody now responsible for what arrives there. 00:06:26.815 --> 00:06:30.755 The provider is supposed to send you a copy promptly, and you should file a 00:06:30.812 --> 00:06:32.755 superseding address right away. 00:06:33.954 --> 00:06:36.434 I live in another state. Does that change anything? 00:06:36.434 --> 00:06:41.474 It changes the first choice. If you have no Pennsylvania street address, your own 00:06:41.524 --> 00:06:46.114 address is off the table, so you're picking between a provider's office or a CROP 00:06:46.146 --> 00:06:46.994 with a county. 00:06:46.994 --> 00:06:50.674 Is it really a problem to just use my home address anyway? 00:06:50.674 --> 00:06:55.314 It's not allowed unless it's in Pennsylvania, and even for a local owner there's a 00:06:55.394 --> 00:07:00.354 catch. That address is public on the state's business search, and it's where legal 00:07:00.423 --> 00:07:02.434 papers and state notices arrive. 00:07:02.434 --> 00:07:05.394 And every move means another filing. 00:07:05.394 --> 00:07:11.394 Every move, yes, at $5 each. A provider's office doesn't move when you do. 00:07:11.394 --> 00:07:15.074 What does the Department of State say a CROP can do for service? 00:07:15.074 --> 00:07:20.194 It says a CROP may also be an agent authorized in writing to receive service of 00:07:20.264 --> 00:07:25.074 process for your company. So the paperwork between you and the provider matters. 00:07:25.874 --> 00:07:27.794 A rule of thumb for Pennsylvania? 00:07:27.794 --> 00:07:31.874 Ask whether the price holds next year, whether you have a contract with whoever is 00:07:31.927 --> 00:07:36.514 named on the filing, and whether somebody files the $5 change for you. 00:07:36.514 --> 00:07:38.514 And who clears all three? 00:07:38.514 --> 00:07:44.194 Mainstay Filing. Our pick for Pennsylvania, at $149 a year. 00:07:44.970 --> 00:07:45.850 One more pass? 00:07:45.850 --> 00:07:52.010 One, Mainstay Filing: $149 a year, same at renewal. 00:07:52.310 --> 00:07:59.130 Two, Northwest: $125, and cancel the report service if you don't need 00:07:59.183 --> 00:08:05.210 it. Three, PA Registered Agent.org: $99 00:08:05.290 --> 00:08:11.370 flat. Four, Bizee: free the first year with a formation order, then 00:08:11.450 --> 00:08:18.010 $149. Five, Pennsylvania Registered Agent.co: 00:08:18.124 --> 00:08:20.010 $99 flat. 00:08:20.010 --> 00:08:22.570 The links are in the show notes. 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:25.690 Thanks for listening to The Business Formation Podcast.