Statutia › Methodology
Methodology and corrections
How every number on Statutia is sourced, labeled and calculated — and what we don’t do.
Evidence labels
| Label | Meaning | How it shows on the site |
|---|---|---|
| VERIFIED | Read on an official state source or the provider’s own site, with the date checked | Plain figure with a source link and “checked” date |
| Reported | Stated, but inconsistent (e.g., a provider shows two prices), incomplete, from an older page, or found only in third-party sources | Labeled next to the figure with the reason; where a provider shows two prices we use the itemized, more conservative one |
| Estimated | Calculated from verified figures with a stated assumption | Marked ≈ and never allowed to produce a definite verdict |
| Unknown | Not found on a primary source | “Not verified”; never counted as $0, left out of totals |
Freshness
Each figure carries its check date. Anything not re-checked within 120 days is removed until someone re-verifies it: immediately in the calculator, and at the next weekly rebuild on the guide pages and open data. We change a “checked” date only after a real re-check.
How costs are calculated
- Staying with an agent = five renewals.
- Switching = the new agent’s verified first-year price for switchers (or its renewal price, marked as an estimate) + four renewals + the state’s change fee. Pages that compare providers nationally show the state fee separately, because it is the same whichever agent you pick (except where an agent says it pays it).
- Starting with a service = package price + agent in year one if not included + four renewals + the state’s filing fee. A provider’s free first year is applied only when that provider forms the LLC.
- Cost to start also includes state costs due in the first year (for example, California’s $800 tax).
- State yearly fees are the same on every path, so they never decide a verdict.
- Registered agent rankings = five-year cost for a business buying agent service on its own (first-year price + four renewals). Cancellation, refund and switching terms are shown beside the cost and come from each provider’s own terms; anything we couldn’t confirm says “Not verified” and never improves a ranking. Providers that don’t publish a renewal price are listed in the price index but not ranked.
How recommendations are made
Verdicts and best-fit picks use cost over a stated time frame and the need you choose (lowest total, lowest to start, EIN and operating agreement included, annual reports filed). Differences under $25 over five years — or under $100 when something is estimated — are called too close to call. We name an alternative when it is cheaper up front, cheaper over time, or within $100. We don’t score service quality, we don’t publish star ratings, and we haven’t hands-on tested these services. Commissions are not an input, and the recommendation code can’t read affiliate data.
Corrections log
- Oct 11, 2026: ZenBusiness: its $99 first-year agent price applies to businesses switching in (its change-agent page: "50% off" when you switch). We had priced switchers at the $199 renewal as an estimate; five-year cost for a switcher is now $895, not about $995.
- Oct 11, 2026: Added cancellation, renewal, refund and price-change terms for six registered agents, read on each provider's own terms and help pages, and a dated log of price changes (Harbor's renewal rise from $149 to $159 is labeled reported: we confirmed $159 on Harbor's site but not the date of the change).
- Oct 11, 2026: Added first-year state costs to "cost to start": California's $800 minimum tax and $20 Statement of Information, Nevada's $150 initial list and $200 business license due with the articles, New York's $50 publication certificate.
- Oct 11, 2026: New York: a registered agent is optional (the Secretary of State is the agent for service of process), so filing yourself is now the default verdict there.
- Oct 10, 2026: Fixed the new-LLC comparison: it had applied Bizee's free first year of agent service to a do-it-yourself filing, but that offer applies only when Bizee forms the LLC.
- Oct 10, 2026: Added the newspaper-publication requirements for New York, Arizona and Nebraska.
- Oct 8, 2026: Vermont fees updated to current statute: $45 annual report, $155 formation, $35 agent change.
- Oct 7, 2026: Corrected: Louisiana $35/$30/$125, Hawaii $12.50 online, Georgia $60, Massachusetts $520 online, North Carolina $203 online, Missouri change $10, Utah change $17, Virginia change $0, New Jersey formation $100, West Virginia due June 30.
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