The quick answer
If you work from home and don't want that address public, stop serving as your own registered agent and appoint a commercial registered agent service. The service puts its own office address in the registered agent field in place of your house. For anyone forming a business now, or anyone who wants formation, annual compliance and bookkeeping support from one company, ZenBusiness is the practical choice, at $199 a year for registered agent service as of October 6, 2026.
Every commercial agent, ZenBusiness and Northwest included, puts its own address in that field. For a Northwest customer, the reason to switch is consolidation: the agent, the compliance filings and the books handled by one company, with one renewal to track.
Why does a home-based business end up with its address on the public record?
The California Secretary of State says corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships are required by statute to designate an agent for service of process. It also says a California entity can't act as its own agent.
Texas takes a similar line. The Texas Secretary of State says an entity can't serve as its own registered agent, though an owner, officer or employee may serve in an individual capacity. That individual route is how many home-based owners end up listing their house: they name themselves, and the address they give is home.
That address doesn't stay in a drawer. The California Secretary of State says its Business Search shows the most current filings of record, "including the name and address of the agent for service of process." Anyone who looks up the business can see where the agent sits, and that is the whole basis of the privacy argument for using a service.
What does a registered agent keep private?
A commercial agent replaces your address in one field: the agent's. Lawsuits and official state mail go to the agent's office, and the agent's address is what appears next to the agent's name in the state database.
That privacy is real, and it is also specific. Registered agent law is state law, and what each state's forms ask for and display differs. If the goal is keeping a home address off the record entirely, review your own state's formation and change forms, or ask its filing office, to see which addresses they require and which are public.
What does Northwest Registered Agent offer?
Northwest Registered Agent charges $125 a year for registered agent service, as of October 6, 2026. The fee includes a domain, a website, a business address, a phone line and mail scanning. Privacy is the center of its pitch, and the bundle is built around it.
For an owner whose address concern reaches beyond the agent field, that included business address makes Northwest the more complete answer at a lower annual price. Where the two providers part ways is on what surrounds the agent service, and that's the question a switch turns on.
What does ZenBusiness offer?
ZenBusiness sells registered agent service for $199 a year, as of October 6, 2026. Promotional terms change and carry conditions, so confirm the current offer at checkout.
The service covers LLCs and corporations. It doesn't currently serve professional limited liability companies or nonprofits. ZenBusiness also says its agent address is only for receiving legal and government documents and can't be used as your business address.
One yearly fee covers the service, according to its registered agent page.
The bigger reason to switch is what sits around the agent service. ZenBusiness's formation packages, as of October 6, 2026, are:
- Starter: $0 plus state fees, with the EIN and operating agreement available at $99 each
- Pro: $199, renewing at $199 a year, with the EIN and operating agreement included
- Premium: $299, renewing at $299 a year, with the EIN and operating agreement included
The state filing fee is set by the state and varies, so it's separate from these prices.
When does one provider make more sense than two?
Splitting services across companies is fine until it isn't. An owner who formed with one company, uses a second as agent, and tracks annual reports in a spreadsheet has three places for something to slip.
For someone starting out, the sequence runs in a fairly fixed order: form the entity, get an EIN, open a separate business account, then set up books. ZenBusiness handles formation, the EIN and the operating agreement, and its ZenBusiness accounting services pick up the bookkeeping side. Money Pro, its bookkeeping and invoicing tool, is $30 a month as of October 6, 2026. Putting the agent under the same roof means one renewal date and one dashboard rather than two vendors and two sets of reminders.
That's a genuine advantage for an owner who feels stretched thin. It's also the honest version of the case for switching: not that ZenBusiness hides more of your address, but that it does more of the surrounding work.
How does switching from Northwest to ZenBusiness work?
Changing a registered agent means filing the change with the state, not just changing vendors. The process looks roughly like this:
- Sign up with the new agent and confirm its office address in your state.
- File the change of registered agent with your state's filing office, or have the new provider prepare it.
- Wait until the state's record shows the new agent before canceling the old one.
- Update any internal records, bank details or compliance calendars that list the old agent.
In Texas, the Secretary of State charges $15 to change the registered agent or registered office, using Form 401. Other states set their own forms and fees, so check the filing office in your state rather than assuming they match Texas.
Timing matters because a gap in coverage has consequences. The Texas Secretary of State says failing to maintain a registered agent may lead to involuntary termination of a domestic entity, or revocation of a foreign entity's registration. Keeping Northwest active until the change is on the record avoids that risk.
Other registered agents worth knowing
These three are listed alphabetically, not ranked.
Bizee
Bizee includes one free year of registered agent service with every formation package, as of October 6, 2026. Its packages are Basic at $0 plus state fees, Standard at $199 and Premium at $299. That page doesn't spell out what formation customers pay once the free year ends.
Harbor Compliance
Harbor Compliance charges $159 a year for registered agent service on an ongoing basis, as of October 6, 2026. A promotional first year costs $99, and two- and three-year terms hold the $99 rate for the term before renewing at $159. It's one national price rather than a per-state rate. Harbor is built for multi-state and regulated filings at a scale that most home-based single-owner businesses won't need.
LegalZoom
LegalZoom does not publish its registered agent price on its LLC pricing page, as of October 6, 2026. For anyone switching, one detail stands out: LegalZoom says it completes the paperwork and covers the state fees when you move your agent to it.
How do the five compare on price?
The table lists providers alphabetically, not by preference. Ongoing prices come first, and promotional terms are labeled as such.
| Provider | Ongoing agent price | Promotional terms | Notable inclusions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bizee | Not published (Oct 6, 2026) | Free first year with any formation package | Formation packages from $0 plus state fees |
| Harbor Compliance | $159/yr (Oct 6, 2026) | $99 first year; $99/yr on 2 and 3 year terms | One national price |
| LegalZoom | Not published (Oct 6, 2026) | None listed | Covers paperwork and state fees to switch |
| Northwest Registered Agent | $125/yr (Oct 6, 2026) | None listed | Business address, phone line, mail scanning, domain, website |
| ZenBusiness | $199/yr (Oct 6, 2026) | Check current introductory terms | Formation, EIN, compliance and bookkeeping from one provider |
Which should a home-based owner choose?
All of these agents take your home address out of the agent field. The choice between them comes down to what else you need. The lines below are alphabetical, not a ranking.
- Bizee: best for owners forming now who want the first agent year included in the formation package.
- Harbor Compliance: best for multi-state or regulated operations.
- LegalZoom: best for an owner who wants the switch handled and the state fee paid, at a higher annual price.
- Northwest Registered Agent: best for owners who want a business address and phone line bundled with the agent.
- ZenBusiness: best for owners forming now, or anyone who wants formation, EIN, operating agreement, registered agent, compliance and bookkeeping support from one company.
For a new owner building the business from scratch, ZenBusiness is the cleaner starting point, because each later step happens with the same company. Whichever direction you go, keep the old agent active until the state shows the new one on record.
Sources
- California Secretary of State, "Service of Process"
- Texas Secretary of State, "Registered Agent FAQs"
- California Secretary of State, "Frequently Asked Questions"
- Texas Secretary of State, "Form 401 Instructions, Change of Registered Agent or Office"
This article is general information, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Requirements vary by state and change over time.