Ranked October 2026 · prices checked October 26, 2026 · service fees only

Cheapest registered agent for a Delaware LLC

The lowest published registered agent price we found for a Delaware LLC is $49 a year, from A Registered Agent, Inc., a Dover-based agent. Harvard Business Services is a dollar more at $50 and is the only one of the seven that guarantees its price for life. Other Delaware agents not listed here may charge less.

Two of the seven, A Registered Agent, Inc. and Harvard Business Services, publish Delaware prices. The other five list one national price for every state. Whichever agent you pick, the state bills a Delaware LLC separately:

$110 to file the Certificate of Formation
A $400 annual LLC tax, due on or before June 1 each year for the prior year

Our Delaware LLC annual tax page covers the state rules. This page contains no affiliate links.

How we ranked

Criterion: the yearly registered agent price each provider publishes for a Delaware LLC, which is what you pay for every year you keep the agent.
Tie-break: a published price guarantee or refund window, then how clearly the provider publishes its other terms.
What we left out: a free first year is shown but doesn't change the rank, since it ends after year one. A price you can only see at checkout is marked “not published”.
No payment for placement: no provider paid to be listed, and there are no affiliate links.

Rank	Provider	Yearly agent price	First year	Terms to watch
1	A Registered Agent, Inc. (Delaware price)	$49	$49, or $204 for a formed LLC including the $110 state fee, per the provider	Agent clients are enrolled in its Renewal Service, whose price is not published
2	Harvard Business Services, Inc. (Delaware price)	$50	$50, or $90 for two years and $125 for three paid in advance	Price fixed for the life of the company if paid on time. Agent refund terms not published
3	Northwest Registered Agent (national price)	$125	Included with the $39 LLC formation	Automatic enrollment in its renewal service, $100 plus state fees
4	Bizee (national price)	$149 standalone	Free first year with formation	Year-2 price for formation customers not published
5	ZenBusiness (national price)	$199	$199 on any plan	Worry-Free Compliance renews at $199 a year after a free year on Starter
6	Tailor Brands (national price)	$199	$199	Bookkeeping trial becomes $39 a month after 30 days
7	LegalZoom (national price)	$249	$249 for first-time agent customers	Auto-renews at the purchase rate until cancelled; the renewal rate can change

Why each provider ranks where it does

1. A Registered Agent, Inc. ($49 a year in Delaware)

Why first: $49 a year is the lowest price we found on any of the seven providers' own pages.
Location: it says it owns its building “On the Green” in Dover, a few blocks from the Division of Corporations.
Formation: it lists a formed Delaware LLC at $204 in total: its $45 filing fee, the $110 state fee and a year of agent service.
Watch for: registered agent clients “are also enrolled in Renewal Service”. Its Delaware site doesn't publish what that service costs.
Not the same company as Registered Agents Inc, which isn't on this page.

2. Harvard Business Services, Inc. ($50 a year)

Why second: $50 is one dollar above the first-ranked price.
Price guarantee: it is the only provider here with a published lifetime price guarantee: “We guarantee your annual Registered Agent Fee will remain fixed at $50 per company, per year, for the life of your company. All you need to do is pay on time each year.” It says the fee “has remained unchanged since 1981”. If a locked price matters more to you than one dollar, this is the term that decides it.
Prepaying: two years cost $90 and three years $125, paid in advance.
Not published: a refund policy for the agent fee. The only refund line in its terms of use covers Franchise Tax filings already processed, and the terms point to a separate registered agent services agreement. Its pages also don't say whether the fee is charged automatically each year.

3 to 7. The national providers (one price in every state)

These five don't publish a separate Delaware price, so they rank purely on their national yearly fee:

Northwest Registered Agent, $125. Its $39 LLC formation covers the first agent year, and its terms cap agent service at 15 legal documents per year. Agent customers are enrolled automatically in its $100 plus state fees renewal service, charged when Northwest files. The terms say: “Cancel auto-pay at least one business day before the charge.” and “You may cancel services anytime in your portal with no fee (past-due balances remain).”
Bizee, $149 standalone. Free for year one with a Bizee formation; the year-two price for those customers isn't published.
ZenBusiness, $199. An add-on on every plan, never included. It beats Tailor Brands on the tie-break because it publishes an agent refund window: within 30 days of first purchase and before it is appointed.
Tailor Brands, $199. Same price as ZenBusiness, with no refund policy on the pages we checked.
LegalZoom, $249. The highest price here. LegalZoom says it applies to first-time agent customers, renews automatically at the purchase rate until you cancel, and that the renewal rate can change.

The Wyoming ranking covers these five national services in more detail.

What Delaware law requires of your agent

Section 18-104 of Delaware's LLC Act sets the rules every agent on this list has to meet:

Who can serve: every Delaware LLC must keep a registered office and agent in Delaware. The agent can be the LLC itself, an individual who lives in Delaware, or a qualifying business entity.
Tax notices: the agent must forward the state's annual tax statement to the LLC, which is how many owners first hear about the June 1 payment.
A real office: an agent can't work only through a virtual office or a mail-forwarding service. Agents serving more than 50 entities also need a Delaware business license and an office open during normal business hours.
If your agent quits: an agent can resign on 30 days' notice. If the LLC doesn't name a new agent within 30 days of the resignation filing, Delaware cancels its certificate of formation.

What every Delaware LLC pays the state anyway

State cost	Amount	Due
Certificate of Formation	$110	At formation
Annual LLC Tax	$400	On or before June 1, for the prior year
Late payment	$200 penalty plus 1.5% interest per month on tax and penalty	After June 1

The Delaware Division of Corporations says LLCs don't file an annual report and that the tax isn't prorated: it is owed for any year the LLC is active in the Division's records at any time from January 1 to December 31. The Division also warns about deceptive mail and email about taxes and annual reports that doesn't come from the state or your registered agent.

For every state's yearly total, see the LLC Annual Fees 10-Year Cost Index. Formation services compared: Northwest vs ZenBusiness. Filing in a state that does have a report? Read how to file your LLC annual report.

FAQ

What is the cheapest Delaware registered agent?

Of the seven providers we checked, A Registered Agent, Inc. publishes the lowest yearly Delaware price, $49. Harvard Business Services charges $50 and guarantees that price for the life of the company. We didn't check every Delaware agent.

Does the registered agent fee include Delaware's $400 tax?

No. The $400 annual LLC tax is paid to the State of Delaware on or before June 1 for the prior year, on top of any agent fee.

Do Delaware LLCs file an annual report?

No. The Delaware Division of Corporations says LLCs don't file an annual report. They pay the $400 annual tax instead.

Sources

Provider prices and terms, all checked on each company's own pages (prices last re-checked October 26, 2026):

Delaware state fees come from our Delaware page, checked against official state sources: see how we verify data. Prices change often, so confirm at checkout. Spot an out-of-date price? Email team@llcannualfees.com. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.