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Formation ClassClass is in session: LLC paperwork, state by state.

Class 2 · Virginia

Virginia Registered Agent Class (2026): 6 Assignments and the 2 Best Agents

If you want help getting a registered agent in Virginia in 2026, the top grades go to Mainstay Filing ($149 a year) and VA Registered Agent.org ($99 a year), in that order. 6 assignments cover the rule, who is eligible, the address test and the filing.

Taught by the Formation Class faculty

Key facts for this class

Needed by law?Yeslaw.lis.virginia.gov (page read October 2026)
Yearly cost of the graded agents$99 to $149 a yearRead from each company's price page
Annual Registration Fee$50 a yearscc.virginia.gov (page read October 2026)
How many assignments6Listed below

By the end you will know

  • What Virginia requires of a registered agent
  • Who may serve and from what address
  • Recording the agent
  • The agents at the top of the class

Virginia: the graded services

Graded on the grading page: three-year tuition (30%), homework done (34%), year-two tuition, fit with the Virginia class and fees a student can read.
Start with this one

1. Mainstay Filing: best for one agent for every state

$149 yearly, the same at renewal

Mainstay Filing earns the top grade in Virginia: a flat $149 a year, whichever state the LLC sits in.

You pay $150 extra across three years compared with VA Registered Agent.org, and you keep less of the paperwork.

Covered by the tuition

  • A real street address in the state
  • Scans of papers served on the company, free and on the same business day
  • Three government letters a year are scanned free
  • Also serves nonprofits, corporations, LPs and LLPs

Strengths

  • The same provider anywhere
  • A flat $149 yearly

Weak spots

  • Higher by $50 a year
  • Report filing needs the formation package
In-state service

2. VA Registered Agent.org: best for a small yearly agent fee

$99 yearly, the same at renewal

VA Registered Agent.org lands in second place: $99 a year secures a Virginia agent with an office inside the state.

Covered by the tuition

  • A Virginia address for the registered office
  • Legal papers scanned and posted for you

Strengths

  • Less each year than Mainstay Filing
  • $99 a year, same at renewal

Weak spots

  • A single-state service
  • You finish the Annual Registration Fee on your own

2 services, side by side

#ServiceAnnual priceRenewal priceThree-year total
1Mainstay Filing$149$149/yr$447Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2VA Registered Agent.org$99$99/yr$297Visit VA Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Each company's posted price on November 13, 2026. State fees do not change with your choice of agent.

Naming a Virginia registered agent, assignment by assignment

  1. Assignment
    1

    Learn the requirement

    Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.

    Textbook page: law.lis.virginia.gov (page read October 2026)

  2. Assignment
    2

    Check who is eligible

    A Virginia resident who is a member, manager or officer of the LLC (or of an entity that manages it) or a member of the Virginia State Bar, or a corporation, LLC or registered LLP authorized in Virginia. See Va. Code § 13.1-1015 for the text.

  3. Assignment
    3

    The address rule

    The address has to be a registered office in Virginia that is the agent's business office. A P.O. box is accepted only in a town of under 2,000 people with no street address.

    Paying a service keeps your home address out of public records.

  4. Assignment
    4

    Be your own agent or hire one

    Owners who qualify can name themselves, and the graded agents charge $99 to $149 each year.

  5. Assignment
    5

    Record the appointment

    Your filing with the State Corporation Commission (SCC) is where the agent gets identified, and any change means a fresh filing at that office.

    Textbook page: law.lis.virginia.gov (page read October 2026)

  6. Assignment
    6

    Update when things change

    Each year the Annual Registration Fee confirms the agent's details for $50, by last day of the LLC's anniversary month. A late filing costs $25.

    Textbook page: scc.virginia.gov (page read October 2026)

Agent and state costs

EntryGoes toAmount
Agent serviceService$99 to $149 a year
From year twoService$99 to $149 a year
Annual Registration FeeThe state$50 every year
Here is how the three-year state row works: filing fee, plus the report in each of years two and three, plus any yearly minimum tax. Service fees get their own rows.

How the grades came out

On homework the price does (34% of the grade) came out on top, with close behind.

An agent that can follow your LLC into any state earned a higher grade than VA Registered Agent.org's lower price.

Short answers

Does Virginia require every LLC to have a registered agent?

Yes. Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.

Can I be my own registered agent?

An owner can serve if eligible; the tests are in assignments 2 and 3.

Can I change my registered agent later?

Yes, any time. Assignment 5 shows how to file the change with the State Corporation Commission (SCC).

What does a registered agent cost in Virginia?

$99 to $149 a year across the graded agents.

What does the LLC pay the state each year?

$50 every year for the Annual Registration Fee.

Which registered agent would you choose?

Pick Mainstay Filing: $149 a year from one provider, including for states you add later. Then VA Registered Agent.org.

Keep learning

Textbook pages and extra reading

  1. Study tip for Virginia yearly filing: Recurring filing, official source: everything above comes from law.lis.virginia.gov, which we reread in October 2026. Open it and follow along.
  2. Study tip for Virginia yearly filing: Recurring filing, official source: everything above comes from scc.virginia.gov, which we reread in October 2026. Open it and follow along.
  3. Study tip for Va: everything above comes from law.lis.virginia.gov, which we reread in August 2026. Open it and follow along.
  4. Study tip for Virginia formation fee: Filing fee, official source: everything above comes from law.lis.virginia.gov, which we reread in October 2026. Open it and follow along.
  5. Study tip for Virginia registered agent statute: everything above comes from law.lis.virginia.gov, which we reread in October 2026. Open it and follow along.
  6. Pulled November 13, 2026: Virginia service page from Mainstay Filing
  7. Pulled November 13, 2026: pricing page from VA Registered Agent.org