Best resident agent services in Maryland

How is this list ordered, and what did we compare?

Providers are listed by our score, highest first, and ties fall back to an editorial order that says nothing about quality; for each we compared price, renewal, document delivery, cancellation and refunds.

Our score uses only published facts that we cite: customer satisfaction from Trustpilot, the breadth of services and dashboard, and value and cost. The method, with every provider's breakdown, is on how we score. We don't test services or buy them to compare. The Trustpilot rating in the table is a separate, third-party number and we show it as Trustpilot reports it.

"Score" is our editorial score out of 10, built from published facts: half from the Trustpilot rating, the rest from breadth of services, dashboard and mail scanning, and package value and two-year cost (how we score; scores approved 2026-10-14). We don't test services. Trustpilot ratings are third-party, cited to Trustpilot, and not adjusted.

For each provider we looked for the same set of published facts: what the resident agent costs, what it renews at, how lawsuit papers and state notices reach you, whether the provider sells a business address of its own, how renewal and cancellation work, and the refund terms. Each fact is cited to the provider's own pages or terms, or flagged as supplied by the provider. Where a provider is silent, we say it doesn't publish the fact. If you want the background on the role first, read what a resident agent does.

How do Maryland's rules shape the choice of agent?

They decide who can be named, which second address you need, and what you pay every spring. Maryland limits the agent to residents and Maryland entities and asks for a yearly report.

Only a Maryland resident or a Maryland entity may serve. The statute's wording is an individual residing in this State or a Maryland corporation, limited liability company, or limited partnership. A national company that serves Maryland does so through an individual or entity that fits that definition, and that agent's name and address go on your filing. The provider facts we cite don't name who each company uses in Maryland, so ask before you check out if you want to know what will appear on the record. The full rules, including serving as your own agent, are in our Maryland resident agent guide.

The principal office is a separate field. Maryland's statute asks for the address of its principal office in this State, listed apart from the resident agent's name and address. Hiring an agent fills only the agent field. If you have no Maryland location of your own, the principal office is a second address to solve. Some providers sell a business address product: Bizee's is $29/month, and Northwest lists Mail Forwarding $20/month (24 select states); the Northwest fact we cite doesn't say whether Maryland is one of them. Whether a given address can be used as your principal office is a question for SDAT.^{4, 5, 6}

The annual report comes due every year, and some services file it. The report costs $300 and is due April 15 each year. It doubles as the business personal property return. Several agent services sell annual report filing, but none of the provider facts we cite names Maryland's report or says it covers the property return part. LegalZoom is the one that names Maryland, and only to say its subscription's auto-filing excludes Indiana, Maryland, Wyoming. The ongoing filing rules are covered in staying compliant in Maryland.⁷

Changing agents is a cheap filing. SDAT charges $25 for the Change Principal Office or Resident Agent (Resolution) filing. With a fee that low, a provider's notice period or refund terms can cost more than the change itself, so exit terms belong in the comparison. The general process is in how to change a resident agent.^{8, 9}

How do the resident agent services compare in Maryland?

The paragraphs follow the order of the table above, one provider per heading, using only what each one publishes.

Tailor Brands

Tailor Brands lists its resident agent service at $199/year, renewing at $199/year (renews at the same price); both figures are supplied by the provider. Coverage is listed as All 50 states, documents land in an LLC dashboard with new-document notifications, and its agent page says the agent can file the annual report if instructed. One term limits how the address can be used: "You must not designate or otherwise refer to the Registered Address as your business location in any public materials." It also sells a separate Virtual Address product and doesn't publish its price; whether that address can serve as a Maryland principal office is a question for SDAT. Subscriptions have auto-renewal on by default, and refunds carry a $29 service fee deducted from any refund issued. Its Essential package, at $199/yr plus state fees, includes annual compliance (report filing and updates); the package page doesn't say whether that covers the property return part of Maryland's report. Read the Tailor Brands review.^{10, 11, 12, 13, 14}

ZenBusiness

ZenBusiness charges $199/year and renews at $199/yr. Instead of a free year it offers 50% off the first year ($99) when you form an LLC. For urgent notices it promises mail and overnight delivery to ensure you receive time-sensitive documents promptly. It sells Annual Report Filing at $100 per report, and the fact we cite doesn't say whether the state's fee is included or added on top. Cancelling is done by contacting customer support by phone, and a refund is possible only if the service has not yet been used. The ZenBusiness review has the rest.^{15, 16, 17}

LegalZoom

LegalZoom's agent price is $249/year (first-time registered agent customers), and the renewal follows the purchase rate with the rate subject to change. The Maryland-specific point is in its compliance plan, which starts at $199/year: the plan's auto-filing excludes Indiana, Maryland, Wyoming. It also sells one-time report filing at $99 + state filing fees, bills once. You can cancel by phone or online via My Account, and proof of new RA may be required, which points to filing the SDAT change form first. Its agent terms say prepaid fees are refunded only when LegalZoom terminates the service. LegalZoom doesn't state its state coverage on the pages we checked. See the LegalZoom review.^{7, 18, 19, 20}

Bizee

Bizee's resident agent is $149/year on its own, with a free first year with any Bizee formation package, and renews at $149/year (ongoing annual fee). On lawsuit papers, its page says: Service of process mailed via FedEx with tracking. Bizee offers annual report filing but doesn't publish a price for it. Its cancellation route is assigning a new registered agent with the state and notifying Bizee of the change, so the SDAT filing naming your new agent goes in before you contact Bizee. Its order terms say orders are generally refundable until payment is forwarded to a government entity. Details are in the Bizee review.^{21, 22, 23, 24}

Swyft Filings

Swyft Filings bills its agent at $149 per quarter, which comes to $596/year. Documents go to your account, and for lawsuit papers it gives this timing: legal SOP typically within 2-3 hours. Its help page says the registered agent must be changed, or the business must be voluntarily dissolved before the service can be cancelled. Its annual report filing service, ComplianceGuard, costs $199/year; it starts as a trial in the formation packages and then charges automatically. More in the Swyft Filings review.^{25, 26, 27}

doola

doola lists its agent at $297 per year. The agent also comes with its formation service (RA free with Formation Service), with the duration not stated. On paper mail, its terms say: "Physical mail forwarding is not included in your base registered agent subscription unless otherwise stated in your plan." Its pricing answers the report question plainly: Starter does not include ongoing compliance filings, so the cheapest plan leaves the Maryland report to you. Its cancellation route is listed as: Delete account any time. doola doesn't state its state coverage on the pages we checked. See the doola review.^{28, 29, 30, 31}

Northwest Registered Agent

Northwest charges $125 per year. Legal papers are scanned to your account. Its terms add: Originals can be forwarded for a fee within 30 days of receipt if there is a scanning issue. On billing, its pages say: RA customers auto-enrolled in Compliance Services billed in annual auto-pay. Its report filing is $100 + state fees, charged at filing, so an enrolled LLC pays that fee each time Northwest files unless it opts out. Its cancellation term reads: Cancel anytime through the online account; no cancellation fee. Purchases are non-refundable after 90 days. Read the Northwest review.^{32, 33, 34, 35, 36}

Rocket Lawyer

Rocket Lawyer's agent is $125 with a Plus or Pro membership, so the membership is a cost of its own: Plus at $249/year or Pro at $349/year. Pro also lists annual report $100, which would cover the filing service but not the state's fee. You can cancel any time by phone, before renewal date, and refunds must be requested within 30 days of purchase. See the Rocket Lawyer review.^{37, 38, 39}

InCorp Services

InCorp charges $129/year, and describes renewal as a $129 per year flat rate. Its terms, though, say service continues and is billed at then-current fee unless a cancellation condition is met, so the later price follows InCorp's fee at the time. Its dashboard is the Entity Management System (EMS), included free, and it sells report filing at $89 + state fees. To stop the service before the next annual fee falls due, one cancellation condition must be met: dissolve entity, appoint new agent, or resign InCorp with fees. Its refund terms add: discounted services nonrefundable. More in the InCorp review.^{40, 41, 42, 43}

Harbor Compliance

Harbor Compliance charges $99 first year for new customers and renews at $159 annually. Its managed report service costs $199 per state per year plus filing fees. Stopping the agent takes notice of non-renewal at least 90 days before the end of the current term; without it, the terms renew the service for another term. Its refund term reads: No refunds; fees non-refundable. See the Harbor Compliance review.^{44, 45, 46}

What does a resident agent cost in Maryland in year one and after?

Year one is SDAT's $100 for the Articles plus the agent's first-year price. After that, each year adds the $300 annual report fee to the agent's renewal.^{2, 8}

That report fee sets Maryland apart from states with no yearly filing. The state facts we cite don't say which April a new LLC's first report falls due, so ask SDAT. A service that files the report for you charges its own fee, and most say the state's fee comes on top. Filing late starts with an initial penalty of 1/10 of one percent of the county assessment, and non-filing leads to forfeiture. Before SDAT reinstates a forfeited LLC, all delinquent annual reports must be filed and state/local taxes paid (see Maryland's compliance rules).^{2, 8}

The gap between first-year and later prices takes different forms.

• Bizee's agent is free the first year with formation, then $149/year (ongoing annual fee).²³
• ZenBusiness gives 50% off the first year ($99) when you form an LLC and renews at $199/yr.¹⁶
• Harbor Compliance charges $99 first year, then $159 annually.⁴⁴
• LegalZoom's quoted price applies to first-time customers.
• Swyft Filings bills quarterly, so compare its yearly total.
• Rocket Lawyer needs a paid membership under the agent price.

Keeping the LLC for years? Then the renewal column and the report-filing price count for more than the first-year figure. The full formation arithmetic is in the cheapest ways to form a Maryland LLC and Maryland LLC formation services compared. National agent prices are on cheapest resident agent services, and you can set two providers side by side on the comparison page.