Best Registered Agent Services in West Virginia

One of the main tasks of a business owner when forming an LLC in West Virginia is to find a registered agent.

The latter is required by state law in any U.S. commercial enterprise. Not having one can be a good reason to be fined or denied the right to legally establish a limited liability company in the state.

In this article, we are going to review the best providers who offer quality RA services across the US, including WV. This will help you save time searching for a reliable business partner.

Best Registered Agent Service in West Virginia

The state's marketplace is full of attractive offerings, including both national and local options. Most of the RA service providers represented in this article operate in all 50 states and also cover additional regions of the United States.

Registered Agent Services in Beckley, West Virginia

West Virginia Registered Agent™. You can find this provider at 110 Main ST, Beckley, WV 25801. The cost of instant WV registered agent service is $49. For the fee, you also get comprehensive and personalized customer service, a secure online account for document storage and management, a client resource center with how-to guides, a commercial registered office address, same-day business document uploads and notifications, transparent fees, and 24/7 request monitoring.

Harbor Compliance. This well-known service also has its office in Beckley. Their services start at $99 per year (no additional charges). The company is ready to provide instant online access to RA address, annual report notifications, same-day e-delivery of your business docs, ongoing access to the company's local office and online software, and offer discounts in case of long-term cooperation (2+ years).

Registered Agent in Charleston, West Virginia

URS Agents. This nationwide RA provider service is located at 1627 QUARRIER ST C/O URS AGENTS, LLC CHARLESTON, WV, 25311. Apart from West Virginia registered agent services (including routine mail and invoice history, document cloud storage, forms center, etc.), the company also offers quality LLC formation services. URS Agents has a BBB rating of "A+" so if you choose this provider, you can rest assured your business is in good hands.

CT Corporation. The company claims to be America's most reliable registered agent since 1892. You can find the company at 5098 Washington St W, Charleston, WV 25313. The RA service package costs $320/year and includes a registered agent location within WV (to receive legal/tax documents, receive and manage service of process legal notifications, etc.), an online compliance portal (to keep your business compliant 24/7), and name availability check (+ reservation of your chosen business name). Other packages of the company include RA services & incorporation filing ($745 + state fees) or RA services & qualification filing ($766 + state fees). These include more options if you want to start a business with a solid and smart foundation or need to register an existing business in another state. 

Registered Agent for an LLC in West Virginia: Legal Requirements 

West Virginia Business Corporation Act §31D-5-501 states that a registered agent in West Virginia can be:

• An individual who is a resident of the state, and his/her office is identical to the registered office;
• A local/foreign business or nonprofit company with the right to do business in the state. Its office must also be identical to the registered office. The same goes for domestic corporations or domestic nonprofit corporations.

Northwest Registered Agent 

Northwest is considered one of the best in 2022, with truly competitive and useful services. The company is mainly popular due to providing quality registered agent services in West Virginia at a good price, which makes it affordable to business owners on a tight budget. 

Northwest Pros:

• Experience. The service will soon be celebrating its 25th anniversary, and that says it's firmly established in the marketplace. Today, Northwest is considered a large firm with more than 700 employees;
• Suggestions. Northwest offers you to appoint an RA for your business for $125/year. Yes, it's not the lowest price, but the service offers a bit more than just notifying you of a lawsuit (if any). The RA package includes free mail forwarding, a personal Corporate Guide, the Privacy by Default feature, business setup guides, and much more;
• Service. Northwest is ahead of the competition in this regard because the company employs experienced local experts (not just regular managers) who are able to offer better service. Such guides act as guarantors that all issues that involve RAs or the formation of LLCs will be met. That said, Northwest claims that their Corporate Guides are only allowed to advise clients after 2 years of working for the company;
• Payment. On the official website, each customer of the company is able to apply for the RA service and pay the corresponding fee. Once done, you will be able to access your personal account, where you can immediately review information on your RA. Also, all your uploaded business documents will be securely stored there;
• Cancellation. Northwest will cover all the fees if you want to switch from your old agent. The same goes for refunds if you want to cancel or update your West Virginia registered agent. No cancellation fee will be charged unless 90 days have passed since the purchase.

Northwest Cons:

• Pricey package. Compared to competitors, Northwest’s business formation service is expensive, even though it includes one year of free RA services. Thus, it costs $325 to form a limited liability company in West Virginia with a 10-day filing deadline and $350 with a 3-day deadline.

Northwest Reviews

We like what customers are saying about Northwest. They confirm the professionalism of Corporate Guides as well as the competence of registered agents who simplify business operations.

ZenBusiness Registered Agent

ZenBusiness hit the market in 2015. However, the company is already a worthy competitor to Northwest, which offers quality registered agent services for LLCs in West Virginia in all 50 states. Even though ZenBusiness doesn't offer a free plan to customers, you can always make your own plan with useful add-ons. The one that will be affordable and will suit your business needs.

ZenBusiness Pros:

• Price. For those who hire the company for the first time, the price point for registered agent services will be $99. The cost is valid for the first year. After the first year, the fee will be $119. Customers can also choose the Worry-Free Compliance service with 50% off the first year, which includes processing correspondence with the Secretary of State, sending alerts for important compliance and filing events, 24/7 access to your personal account with business docs and tools, expert customer support via phone, mail, or chat;
• and yearly amendments (up to 2);
• Easy startup. In addition to RA services, ZenBusiness offers an easy way to start a company for all entrepreneurs who want to turn their ideas into working prototypes. The Starter package with basic features costs $49. At the end of the first year, the package will be renewed with the Worry-Free Compliance service for $199/year;
• Support. ZenBusiness has recruited top-notch professionals for the support team. The latter also serves customers after-hours on Sundays. On regular business days, the team is available for consultations from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

ZenBusiness Cons: 

• The RA service is not the core one of the company (more of an add-on). Additionally, if you choose to form an LLC with ZenBusiness, after the first year, you will need to pay $119 for the RA service;
• No free plan. Plus, users won't be able to order the registered agent service and business formation services in a single package;
• Expensive and useless add-ons. If you'd like the company to prepare an operating agreement for you, the template will cost you $125. To get an EIN, you will need to pay $70. Additionally, even though the company offers a wide range of services and features, not all of them are really useful for most business owners.

ZenBusiness Reviews

Almost all West Virginia registered agent reviews about ZenBusiness are positive. Customers usually praise the Starter plan along with the overall simplicity and convenience of the service. The same goes for the ability to independently create the most suitable set of add-ons. So it's no wonder why the average rating for the service today is 4.6 out of a possible 5.

Incfile Registered Agent

In 2022, Incfile's main area of focus remains to provide support in the formation of limited liability companies, corporations, and West Virginia registered agent services, as well as other related services (filing a DBA, getting an EIN, obtaining business licenses/permits, etc.).

Incfile Pros: 

• Affordability. Incfile offers to take on the responsibility of handling your LLC documentation that comes from state and/or federal agencies. The company promises complete confidentiality and will save your time and nerves. At the same time, the provider offers its basic (Silver) formation package with core features at $0 (excluding state fees) for the first year ($119/year after). The package includes a free registered agent service, preparing and filing your Articles of Organization in one day (for LLCs), and unlimited business name searches;
• Add-ons. With Incfile, your West Virginia registered agent search will instantly get much easier since the company offers the most affordable plan. Apart from that, you can also count on useful add-ons (e.g. automatic service renewals), low prices, and excellent customer support. Additionally, you can get a free consultation with a tax expert;
• No hidden fees or automatic service renewals;
• Quick and simple checkout;
• Support. Every day on weekdays, customers can contact the support service from 9 to 18 by phone. Also, on the website, users are able to leave their contact information for feedback;
• Website. The online platform will delight its visitors not only with simple navigation but also with plenty of useful information for beginners. 

Incfile Cons:

Cancellation fees. Customers can cancel any order they have placed on the service website, but the service costs $30.

Incfile Reviews

The provider has received excellent ratings on various review sites. Incfile's customers are fully or partially satisfied with the service and the prices, as well as the work of the support team. This company is totally worth hiring when you're on a tight budget.

Rocket Lawyer Registered Agent

Rocket Lawyer is valuable not only for quality registered agent services in West Virginia but also for its legal support. Hiring an RA here will be relevant for those who want to get legal assistance on an ongoing basis.

Rocket Lawyer Pros:

• Experience. Rocket Lawyer has been able to serve thousands of clients in a short period of time. Since 2008 and to this day, the company remains competitive among law firms and registered agents alike;
• Suggestion. If you're a business that needs regular advice from professional attorneys, then Rocket Lawyer is a great combination of RA services and legal support. Also, by signing up for their basic package, you will receive a 25% discount on the RA service;
• Support. Rocket Lawyer's customer service is available Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the team does the job quite well. You can contact the company by phone at (877) 881-0947 or leave a message on the website.
• Trial version. Each customer also has the opportunity to test the service via a free 7-day trial. 

Rocket Lawyer Cons:

Price. If you only need a West Virginia registered agent for the service of process, the fee is $149.99, which is considered above average in the U.S. market;

Trial cancellation. Some customers state they had trouble with canceling the trial version.

Rocket Lawyer Reviews

Overall, Rocket Lawyer leaves a good impression as a registered agent. Clients are satisfied with the service and professional support. The main advantage of cooperation lies in the competency of attorneys on staff.

LegalZoom Registered Agent

If you're conducting a West Virginia business registered agent search with the ability to get legal services beyond the business environment, check out LegalZoom.

LegalZoom Pros:

• Experience. LegalZoom is a well-known brand that's been around since the '90s. The company has served more than 4 million clients, providing quality resident agent services and many other business solutions (e.g. annual report);
• contracts and agreements, business licenses, foreign qualifications, corporate amendments, tax services, virtual mailboxes, etc.);
• Attorneys. The main benefit of hiring LegalZoom as an RA is that you can get access to legal experts who can help with many business-related issues.
• Simplicity. Getting started with LegalZoom is simple. It's enough to visit the website, go to the Registered Agent Services section and confirm your desire to cooperate with the service;
• Protection. Along with the registered agent service, business owners get $1 million in identity theft protection. What's more, LegalZoom will handle your credit monitoring as part of the offering;
• RA opportunities. Business owners will receive timely alerts every time the agent receives important mail, reminders of critical deadlines on filings, renewals, and annual reports. For better convenience, LegalZoom also provides access to unlimited cloud storage and a compliance calendar, which will help not miss important business events;
• Customer support. The customer support service of the company has improved dramatically in recent years. 

LegalZoom Cons:

Expensive. Compared to competitors, the cost of LegalZoom's registered agent service is the highest on the market ($299). That said, no special offers are included in the package, except for identity theft protection.

LegalZoom Reviews

Having studied what customers are saying about LegalZoom online, we came to the conclusion that the rating of the service has recently improved significantly due to a larger number of positive reviews. 

However, LegalZoom receives more comments on quality legal support, which can't be said about the registered agent service.

Harbor Compliance Registered Agent

Harbor Compliance first voiced compliance suggestions in 2012, and since then has been able to serve thousands of businesses.

Harbor Compliance Pros:

• Reasonable pricing. The standard cost of the registered agent service is $99 per year; 
• Discounts for long-term cooperation. If you plan to sign a contract with Harbor Compliance for several years, the company will provide a discount on the West Virginia registered agent service. The longer the term of cooperation, the greater the savings;
• Volume discounts. Unique offers are available for those who need an RA in several states at the same time;
• Software. By appointing Harbor Compliance as your registered agent, as a business owner, you will receive the right to use cloud storage for your business docs; 
• Training and capabilities. On the website, in addition to resident agent services, you will also find useful materials, e.g. webinars on how to set up an LLC properly and more. Moreover, there are also sections where you can download form templates and valuable manuals;
• Support. Harbor Compliance's customer service team includes skilled professionals who provide quality support during normal business hours.

Harbor Compliance Cons:

Experience. Harbor Compliance is somewhat inferior in experience to its competitors, as it's considered a relatively young company.

Harbor Compliance Reviews

Customers are happy with how Harbor Compliance and its registered agents provide exceptional assistance in business matters, and we came across dozens of positive online reviews.

We have also contacted several clients by phone to ask for more details. That said, despite its little experience, we can recommend the service as a reliable RA service provider.

InCorp Registered Agent

InCorp started to provide its services in 1998. Back then its core business was based on serving private investment bank organizations. It wasn't until 2001 that the service launched the registered agent service.

InCorp Pros:

• Experience and opportunity. InCorp can rightfully be called the best West Virginia registered agent provider, as it has positive online ratings and extensive experience in serving clients in the RA industry. Thus, according to the latest expert data, the service has served more than 250 thousand clients; 
• Expanded geography. The RA service of the company is not limited to 50 states, those who wish can also appoint agents in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands;
• Unique offers. The standard registered agent service costs $129, which is the market's average. Note that InCorp doesn’t offer a typical system when it comes to formation packages. Instead, the company provides a single price for both LLC formations and incorporations. There's also a wide range of one-time add-ons you can choose to create your very own plan. Those who plan to make bulk purchases and hire a registered agent for several years will get discounts;
• Additional features. If your West Virginia corporation searches for a registered agent, InCorp can surprise you with its branded technology called EntityWatch, which can connect to most state databases. The technology helps prevent identity theft and protects your business data. With it, you will have no problem with remaining compliant.

InCorp Cons:

Cancellation. Judging by client feedback, InCorp has some issues with canceling services and upsells. Some customers note that the canceling procedure is quite complex and that some solutions are imposed on them.

InCorp Reviews

The company gets mixed reviews from customers, especially when it comes to cancellations. Business owners note that InCorp is good as long as you work with the company, but not when you try to cancel your order.

Registered Agent Review: Conclusion

This review demonstrates 7 business formation companies that provide resident agent services in all 50 U.S. states and can be your potential business partner.

While all services in this review are similar in some ways, each of them has its own unique features and perks. It's typically the features that help you decide on this or that firm.

LegalZoom is a strong brand with a lot of experience in the niche market. Its peculiarity is that entrepreneurs will be able to get quality legal support here, beyond the business sphere. True, the cost of the registered agent service here is quite high.

If you need an alternative to LegalZoom with lower fees, take a look at Rocket Lawyer.

Harbor Compliance and InCorp offer wholesale discounts and have good customer ratings. The latter also provides its services in the U.S. unincorporated organized territory (Puerto Rico, Guam, United States Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands). 

You can get a resident agent for $0 at Incfile, which is truly a unique and competitive offer. 

Affordable fees, high credibility, and many years of experience - Northwest has it all. In almost all reviews, the company is ranked as a top-notch service provider, and this article is no exception.

ZenBusiness services can also be very attractive to business owners. Moreover, in some ways, the company is a worthy competitor to the above-mentioned Northwest.  

Benefits of Using a West Virginia Registered Agent Service

• Document scanning. Some registered agent services offer document scanning in their packages, which helps improve the quality of the service and, therefore, improves the satisfaction factor;
• Peace of mind. Your registered agents will act on behalf of the business and receive legal/tax documents from the state. Therefore, the agent must be in the office during all business hours to not miss an important notice from government agencies. That said, if you have an irregular work schedule, it can be very inconvenient to comply with the RA obligations, which increases the risk of missing an important document. Therefore, by outsourcing the duties to a professional, the business owner can be assured that every business document will be received and processed on time;
• Privacy. If you choose one of the services above, there will be no need to indicate your home address in the registration documents. Thus, your personal data will not be publicly available. The RA service will do it for your, preserving your confidentiality;
• Reputation. Whatever document arrives at the agent's registered office, the owner will be immediately notified in a completely private manner, especially if it's a lawsuit;
• Organization. Apart from timely mail management, registered agents will also handle the proper organization of documentation via special tools and applications.

Best Registered Agent Review: How We Choose

We are an independent project which aims at informing novice entrepreneurs about important nuances of starting a limited liability company, where to look for, and how to choose a reliable registered agent.

Why You Can Trust Our Choice

• We understand. We know what it means to set up an LLC without experience. We went through mistakes, vanity, and clutter, as our experts once set up their first firms, and, due to ignorance, the process was quite exhausting. That said, our team is motivated by the idea of helping and simplifying the process for beginners;
• We are professionals. We constantly research, study, and analyze the niche to provide only 100% reliable information and improve our approaches;
• We are always up-to-date. We consult with expert attorneys and business experts to understand how certain laws are relevant in a particular state. Additionally, we keep up with changes in legislation and new court rulings;
• We are simple. There's no need to use complicated terms in a review - we write about complicated things in a simple and accessible style.

How We Select the Best Registered Agent

We have a clear algorithm and protocols for processing information, which allows us to objectively evaluate the best services on the market. Here's how we do it: 

• West Virginia registered agent search. We monitor the market to identify all possible options for cooperation. After that, we make a table with the available options and study the features of each service (including fees, basic and additional services, website convenience and performance, etc.). We do it all to select the most reliable candidates;
• West Virginia registered agent reviews and analysis. The best way to describe the work of a service provider is to hear from its clients. That's why we study what people say about this or that company on review websites and contact them personally to find out more about their experience. In addition, we also check the official website of each company by contacting their customer support teams and asking simple/complex questions;
• Processing and publishing results. Once all the necessary information is collected, we are ready to collate the facts and separate the best candidates. Once we have our results, we can get to writing our reviews.

Conclusion

Every business must hire a registered agent in West Virginia and include the RA details in the Articles of Incorporation (for corporations) or Articles of Organization (for LLCs).

In this article, we attempted to be as succinct as possible about RA services that are worthy of your attention.

We hope that by doing this, we have made it easier for you to decide on the most suitable option for your business.

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