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Founder Mentor Guide

Walkthrough 2 · Virginia

Virginia Registered Agent Walkthrough (2026): 6 Stages and the 2 Best Agents

For naming a registered agent in Virginia in 2026, our mentors would send you to Mainstay Filing ($149 a year) and VA Registered Agent.org ($99 a year), in that order. You are 6 short stages away from a properly named registered agent.

Advice from the Founder Mentor Guide mentors

Key facts up front

Must you name one?
Yes
law.lis.virginia.gov, seen in October 2026
What recommended services charge
$99 to $149 a year
From company pricing pages
Annual Registration Fee
$50 a year
scc.virginia.gov, seen in October 2026
Stages in this walkthrough
6
In order

You will walk away able to

  • The legal requirement
  • Eligibility and address rules
  • How an agent gets on record
  • Which agents we recommend and why

If you would rather hand it off

Ranked on the scoring page: three-year cost (32%), work taken off your desk (32%), year-two price, fit with Virginia rules and honest pricing.

Our call

1. Mainstay Filing: best for owners planning to grow

Top recommendationFirst year $149, second year $149

Mainstay Filing takes first place, and the reason is that a steady $149 per year, with nothing to change if you move into another state.

Three years run $150 higher than at VA Registered Agent.org, and you get more of the work done in return.

What you get

  • A Virginia street address for the record
  • Papers served on the company are scanned for you, no charge
  • Up to three government mailings a year are scanned for free
  • Also works for nonprofits, corporations, LPs and LLPs

What works

  • Good in every state
  • $149 per year

What to watch

  • VA Registered Agent.org is $50 a year lower
  • Reports remain your job
Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Our call

2. VA Registered Agent.org: best for owners watching every dollar

One-state planFirst year $99, second year $99

VA Registered Agent.org is a solid second: a street address in the state for $99 a year.

What you get

  • A Virginia street address
  • Served documents appear online

What works

  • A flat $99 yearly
  • Under Mainstay Filing on price

What to watch

  • A single-state service
  • Filing the Annual Registration Fee is not part of its service
Visit VA Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

2 services, compared

#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.
Company prices as listed on November 13, 2026. Virginia asks the same either way.

How a Virginia agent gets set up

  1. Stage 1

    The Virginia rule in plain terms

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

    Check it yourself: law.lis.virginia.gov, seen in October 2026

  2. Stage 2

    Who can do this

    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. Read Va. Code § 13.1-1015 for the wording.

  3. Stage 3

    Learn what counts as a registered office

    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.

    The record shows the service's address instead of yours.

  4. Stage 4

    Decide who takes the role

    A qualified owner can act as agent. Prefer to hand it off? Our recommended agents bill $99 to $149 yearly.

  5. Stage 5

    Report the agent's details

    the State Corporation Commission (SCC) is where the agent gets recorded, and where any later change goes too.

    Check it yourself: law.lis.virginia.gov, seen in October 2026

  6. Stage 6

    Update when something changes

    Every year the Annual Registration Fee confirms who your agent is, for $50, by last day of the LLC's anniversary month. Filing late costs $25.

    Check it yourself: scc.virginia.gov, seen in October 2026

The bill

StageWho gets paidPrice
Hiring an agentYour service$99 to $149 a year
Every year afterYour service$99 to $149 a year
Annual Registration FeeGoes to the state$50 every year
Add the filing fee, two later reports and any minimum tax and you have the state's three-year total. The pages listed below show where each figure came from.

The thinking behind the order

Work taken off your desk settled first place in Virginia. It is 32% of the score, and the rest comes from three-year bill, year-two price, fit for where you operate and honest pricing.

An agent who can follow your LLC into any state scored higher than VA Registered Agent.org's lower price.

Virginia questions answered

Is a registered agent required in Virginia?

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 when eligible; the tests sit in stages 2 and 3.

Can I change my registered agent later?

Yes. Replacing the agent takes a change filing at the State Corporation Commission (SCC) (stage 5).

What does a registered agent cost in Virginia?

Figure on $99 to $149 a year.

What does the LLC pay the state each year?

The main cost is the Annual Registration Fee, $50 every year.

Which registered agent would you choose?

The order runs Mainstay Filing and VA Registered Agent.org, with Mainstay Filing first because you pay $149 a year here and the identical amount in any state you add later.

Where we got the facts

  1. Where the Virginia yearly filing: Recurring filing, official source advice comes from: law.lis.virginia.gov, viewed October 2026.
  2. Where the Virginia yearly filing: Recurring filing, official source advice comes from: scc.virginia.gov, viewed October 2026.
  3. Where the Va advice comes from: law.lis.virginia.gov, viewed August 2026.
  4. Where the Virginia formation fee: Filing fee, official source advice comes from: law.lis.virginia.gov, viewed October 2026.
  5. Where the Virginia registered agent statute advice comes from: law.lis.virginia.gov, viewed October 2026.
  6. We opened Mainstay Filing's Virginia service page on November 13, 2026 for the prices
  7. We opened VA Registered Agent.org's pricing page on November 13, 2026 for the prices