Connecticut requires every LLC to name a registered agent in the Certificate of Organization it files to form. Hiring a paid service is optional: in most states the LLC's owner, or another individual who qualifies, may serve as its registered agent, and the rules below set out who qualifies in Connecticut. See the rules below.
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Best Registered Agent Services for Connecticut LLCs (2026)
Affiliate disclosure: Northwest Registered Agent, Bizee, ZenBusiness and LegalZoom pay us a commission if you sign up through our link, at no extra cost to you. We list only the registered agent services we have an affiliate relationship with, so this is not a survey of the whole market.
This table is not scored. The four are listed cheapest annual renewal first, and the rows below it say which one fits which situation. The scored ranking, and the formula behind it, is on the formation services review, which orders them on three-year cost, BBB rating and Trustpilot score.
Note: Bizee holds a C rating from the BBB and is not accredited. BBB's profile carries a live alert describing a pattern of complaints about unexpected charges, difficulty canceling and filing delays, and Bizee has posted a response to it. We flag this so you can make an informed choice.
Prices are each provider's standard published rates; year-one pricing applies when you form your LLC through the same service. BBB and Trustpilot figures as recorded September 15, 2026, not re-checked since, and both sources update continuously. These are the dates the figures were last written to our dataset, which is the most we can show: they are not verification dates. See how we evaluate these companies in our full formation services review →
Which Registered Agent Is Best for Your Connecticut LLC?
You're forming a new LLC and want phone, email and chat support
Our pick: ZenBusiness
A $0 Starter formation plan, backed by an A from the BBB and a 4.8/5 Trustpilot score. Registered agent is not included in any plan: it is $99 for the first year when you form with them, then $199/yr.
Your LLC already exists and you just need an agent
Our pick: Northwest Registered Agent
A flat $125/yr for registered agent service, the lowest renewal of the services listed here, and a privacy policy that says it does not sell your information. Registered agent customers are enrolled by default in Northwest's report filing service, which charges your saved payment method $100 plus state fees each time it files for you and which you can cancel.
You want year one free and the cheaper renewal after it
Our pick: Bizee
Registered agent is free for year one on every Bizee plan and renews at $149/yr, $50/yr less than ZenBusiness. Northwest renews lower still at $125/yr, but its first year comes inside a paid $39 formation package rather than free. Tradeoff: a C rating from the BBB, which cites a pattern of complaints about charges and cancellation, so read every auto-renewal term.
Complex legal needs alongside your filing
Our pick: LegalZoom
The only one of the services listed here with attorney consultations, which come with LegalZoom's $299 formation plan (and in one version of its plans its $249 plan) for 30 days and then cost $49 or $99 a month until you cancel, depending on the version. Also the most expensive registered agent listed here at $249/yr, which is never included in their plans.
Need the Connecticut Secretary of the State?
Go directly to the Connecticut Secretary of the State website.
Best for: Connecticut residents who work from a fixed location and don't mind public address disclosure
Friend or family member
Pros
Low cost option
Personal relationship and trust
Your home address is not the one listed for the registered agent
Cons
Depends on their availability and reliability
May strain personal relationships
Still requires Connecticut residency
Best for: LLC owners with reliable Connecticut contacts who understand the responsibility
Professional service
Pros
Your home address is not the one listed for the registered agent
Staffed to accept documents during business hours
Professional document handling and forwarding
Cons
An annual fee set by the provider
Less direct control
Ongoing expense
Best for: Business owners prioritizing privacy, reliability, and professional service
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state publishes about filing deadlines, fees, and the consequences of missing them, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you what your own company owes: the date turns on when and where you formed, states change these rules between our reviews, and in several states an entity-level tax falls due in a year when no report does. Confirm your own dates with the filing office named on this page before you rely on one here, because missing a deadline can cost the company its good standing or, in many states, its existence.
Frequently Asked Questions
A registered agent is a person or business designated to receive official legal documents, tax notices, and court papers on behalf of your LLC. Connecticut law requires every LLC to maintain a registered agent with a physical Connecticut address to ensure the state and courts can reach your business for important matters.
Without a registered agent, the Connecticut Secretary of the State can't deliver dissolution notices, the IRS can't serve tax correspondence, and courts can't issue summonses or lawsuit documents. This creates serious consequences: your LLC can face administrative dissolution, miss critical tax deadlines, or lose a lawsuit by default because you never received the complaint.
When you file your Certificate of Organization with the Connecticut Secretary of the State, you must designate your registered agent's name and Connecticut street address. If your registered agent moves or becomes unavailable, file a change of agent certificate with the Secretary of the State promptly. Many LLC owners use professional registered agent services to avoid serving this role personally.
Your next step is to decide whether to serve as your own registered agent or hire a professional service before submitting your Certificate of Organization.
Operating without a registered agent puts your LLC at risk of dissolution by forfeiture. If it comes to the Connecticut Secretary of the State's attention that your LLC has failed to maintain a registered agent, the Secretary may notify the LLC by email that its rights and powers are prima facie forfeited, and unless the LLC appoints a registered agent within three months of that notice, the Secretary dissolves it by forfeiture.
Without an agent you'll also miss critical legal documents, lawsuits, tax notices and regulatory communications, which can lead to judgments by default without your knowing you were sued.
Reinstatement requires filing a certificate of reinstatement with the Secretary of the State and paying a $120 fee, together with payment of all penalties the LLC incurred, an annual report for the current year and an appointment of a registered agent, with the written consent of a majority in interest of the members.
Your next step is to appoint a Connecticut resident or professional registered agent immediately and file a change of agent certificate with the Secretary of the State.
If you serve as your own registered agent in Connecticut, there's no cost beyond the residency requirement of maintaining a physical Connecticut address. A professional registered agent service charges its own annual fee, which varies by provider. The Connecticut Secretary of the State doesn't charge a separate registered agent fee, costs apply only if you hire a third party.
For LLC owners, this distinction matters significantly. Using your personal address as the registered agent saves money but exposes your home address on public filings and requires you to handle all official documents personally during business hours. Hiring a professional registered agent carries an annual fee and means someone is available during business hours to receive legal notices on your behalf.
Many formation services include the first year of registered agent service free when you file Certificate of Organization, making professional representation affordable for startups. Next, compare registered agent providers' Connecticut-specific features and renewal rates to determine whether self-service or professional representation aligns with your privacy and operational needs.
Only in part. When you hire a registered agent service, the service is listed as your registered agent in place of you, so your home address does not have to appear in that entry. That is the only part of your LLC's record a registered agent changes. Other parts of a filing can still show an owner's name or address. In Connecticut, the Certificate of Organization is a public filing, and at least one member or manager must be listed on it with a business address and a residence address. Assume that what you file with the state can be seen by the public, and read the blank forms your LLC files with the state filing office to see what each one asks you to list.
Yes, you can change your Connecticut registered agent at any time by filing a change of agent certificate with the Connecticut Secretary of the State. The statutory filing fee is $50. Keep a registered agent on record continuously: an LLC that fails to maintain one can be notified by the Secretary of the State and, if it does not appoint an agent within three months of that notice, dissolved by forfeiture. Gaps in registered agent service also mean you won't receive critical legal notices, tax documents or lawsuit papers, potentially resulting in default judgments against your business. Coordinate the transition so your new agent's appointment takes effect on or before your current agent's resignation date. File the certificate online through the Secretary of the State's website at portal.ct.gov/sots, or by mail.
Sources
5 documentsShowHide
Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Connecticut sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so. Where we hold the citation but no stable public link, the citation is printed on its own rather than pointed at a guessed address.
Connecticut statute: Conn. Gen. Stat. 34-267g (dissolution by forfeiture)
Connecticut statute: Conn. Gen. Stat. 34-267b (reinstatement)
Connecticut statute: Conn. Gen. Stat. 34-243u (filing fees)
See how Northwest Registered Agent, Bizee, ZenBusiness and LegalZoom, the formation services we partner with, compare on 3-year cost, BBB rating and Trustpilot score before you choose.
Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.
