If you want to form a business in the United States, you will need to designate a registered agent. The role of the registered agent involves the usage of their address as your official business address, which means they’ll receive important document deliveries on your behalf, including court summons and other official correspondence from your state government.
While you can legally serve as your own agent and still operate a compliant business entity, there are some other benefits of hiring a registered agent service, like the ability to keep your personal information out of the public record. In addition, having a registered agent makes it so that you don’t need to be available at your place of business during all standard business hours, and it also cuts down on the amount of junk mail you’ll receive.
There are many companies that offer this vital service to businesses, and it can be difficult to discern which one is the best option for your company. In this review, we’ll take a close look at National Registered Agents, Inc., one of the most popular service providers in the industry. Are they the right registered agent service for your business?
About National Registered Agents, Inc.
National Registered Agents, Inc. opened for business in 1995, and since then they’ve completed over a million service of process deliveries. In 2011, NRAI merged with CT Corporation, which is itself a subsidiary of Wolters Kluwer. While that might sound a bit confusing, the point is that NRAI has the backing of two major brands in the business compliance world.
On their website, National Registered Agents, Inc. details the background of how the company came to be: “A group of industry veterans formed National Registered Agents, Inc. with the primary goal of delivering the highest quality registered agent services more efficiently and cost-effectively than the current providers.
They knew that statutory representation services needed to be more than an address and a yearly envelope with an exorbitant fee enclosed.”
A fun fact about NRAI is that they merged with the CT Corporation in 2011. CT has been around since the 19th century, and they’re a highly respected business services company. In addition, both NRAI and CT are now part of Wolters Kluwer, which is a massive global compliance firm, providing an array of services to help all sorts of businesses operate in accordance with all legal guidelines.
In short, there’s a ton of experience backing up each purchase you make from National Registered Agents, Inc.
30-Second Summary of Our Review
National Registered Agents, Inc. (NRAI) is a trusted registered agent service provider, operating offices in all 50 states.
They have completed over one million service of process deliveries over the years, which is an impressive volume. However, their pricing is very high ― they’re the only registered agent company we’re aware of that charges over $400 per year for their services.
National Registered Agents, Inc. Strengths
- Solid customer support – If you need assistance from NRAI, you can fill out the form on their website, or call one of the three phone numbers they list, which enables each customer to access the assistance they need in an efficient manner.
- Plenty of experience – Between NRAI and their affiliated partners, there’s a ton of experience backing up every purchase you make.
National Registered Agents, Inc. Weaknesses
- Incredibly high prices – We’ll be blunt: NRAI has the worst pricing we’ve seen for registered agent service. There are dozens of other companies that provide similar services for far less money.
- No online customer reviews – Maybe NRAI is such a large operation that they’re too big for online customer reviews in a sense. With companies this wide-reaching, clients who encounter problems are probably less likely to vent their frustrations online, while happy customers don’t bother writing reviews either. No matter what the reason, it’s disappointing to not be able to read any feedback.
Pricing & Additional Features
National Registered Agents, Inc. charges $405 per year to provide registered agent service in your company’s home state. For each additional state where you need registered agent service, they have a price point of $319 per year.
Beyond the basics of registered agent service, NRAI also provides secure access to your business info, along with customized reporting tools, and your company’s service of process history.
NRAI vs Other Registered Agent Services
Every single competing registered agent service available online has a lower price point than NRAI does. While NRAI does include some additional features that we appreciate, this doesn’t come close to justifying their extremely high price tag.
We honestly don’t recommend them to anyone. If you would like to take a look at some other options, take a look at our guide to the top registered agent services.
Online Customer Reviews
We were only able to track down one customer review of NRAI’s services. Obviously, we can’t do any analysis on customer feedback that doesn’t exist, other than to say that their clients simply do not bother to write reviews. Still, it’s better than a bunch of negative feedback.
Customer Service Quality
NRAI provides customer support via email or phone. We tested both options. When it comes to their email support, we received responses to our inquiries within 24 hours each time. While they didn’t exactly expand much on their replies, they did answer our questions. Their phone support is also quite efficient, as we only waited on hold for a little over one minute before being connected with one of their courteous and knowledgeable service reps.
Main Reasons to Use NRAI
They certainly have plenty of experience, and they handle a high volume of clients. In addition, we appreciate their solid customer support.
Main Reasons Not to Use NRAI
They have the highest prices in this industry, as far as we’re aware. They simply do not have the additional features to make those prices worth paying. For example, ZenBusiness charges just $99 for the first year of registered agent service and $199/year after that. We also offer an LLC formation service for free (all you pay is your state’s fee), and we also have premium packages including annual reports and other valuable features.
Conclusion
NRAI offers registered agent service in all 50 states, as well as several foreign countries, for the rate of $405/year. However, it doesn’t provide many other services, except for a handful of specialized compliance features.