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 Harbor Compliance, one of the most popular service providers in the industry. Are they the right registered agent service for your business?

About Harbor Compliance

Harbor Compliance is a relatively recent addition to the business services industry, as they’ve served 25,000+ organizations since opening in 2012. There are certainly more experienced online formation services, but Harbor Compliance is finding success as a midsize company.

According to the mission statement on their website, they “simplify the licensing process to help your organization stay compliant. That means access to a team of compliance experts, backed by our proprietary tracking software to ensure that no detail goes unnoticed. So you can proceed with confidence — and peace of mind.”

One fun fact about Harbor Compliance is that they partner with major nonprofit and business organizations around the nation.

Through their partnerships with the Library of Congress, the U.S. Small Business Administration, Charity Navigator, and more, they produce resources that make it easier to form and license business entities.

30-Second Summary of Our Review

Harbor Compliance offers affordable pricing for registered agent service, which is complemented by a rather robust collection of inviting attributes.

They have positive customer feedback on several third-party review websites, volume discounts based on prepaying multiple years or purchasing service in multiple states, and a strong customer service reputation.

However, many of Harbor Compliance’s services are only available to large enterprise clients that serve multiple businesses. As such, they would likely not be interested in forming your LLC or submitting your annual reports, two services most competitors are happy to offer.

Harbor Compliance Strengths

• Professional customer service – Their compliance specialists provide a level of support that you won’t find with many of their competitors. These aren’t typical call-center employees, but rather highly skilled experts in their field.
• Large collection of white papers, webinars, and how-to guides – Harbor Compliance’s information center includes over 3,000 guides, white papers, and other resources. Most competitors have some sort of learning center, but none of them are this extensive.
• Good registered agent service at a fair rate – Harbor Compliance really excels when it comes to providing registered agent services. Their low $89-99 rate even has some volume discounts if you prepay for multiple years or states upfront.

Harbor Compliance Weaknesses

• Extremely limited availability for business formations and other services – If you want Harbor Compliance to form your business, file your annual reports, or provide most other services commonly offered by competitors, you’re probably out of luck. Harbor Compliance only offers these services to large enterprise clients.
• Not as much experience as some competitors – Especially compared to competitors like LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer which have served millions of customers, Harbor Compliance is a relatively young company without a huge client volume.

Pricing & Additional Features

Their registered agent service is available for $89-99 per year, although if you pay for more than one year in advance ― or purchase service in at least four states ― Harbor Compliance will provide a discount of up to 10%.

Additionally, you’ll receive access to software that helps you track and file your annual reports, making it easy to remain compliant with your state government.

Harbor Compliance vs Other Registered Agent Services

We like what Harbor Compliance has to offer for registered agent service. However, they have very high prices and limited availability for business formation service.

Some competitors offer entity formation and registered agent service in a bundle for less than $50 — but Harbor Compliance likely wouldn’t even be interested in forming your entity unless you operate a massive enterprise firm. For more information on your other options, take a look at our guide to the top registered agent services available.

Online Customer Reviews

We found 106 customer reviews on Google for Harbor Compliance, with an average score of 4.3 out of 5 stars, along with a 4.4 score on Facebook (27 reviews).

Their satisfied clients like to point out Harbor Compliance’s helpful customer support, often thanking their representatives by name in their reviews.

We also found quite a few customers talking about how quick and easy the process of purchasing services from Harbor Compliance is. Overall, customer feedback is an advantage for this company.

Customer Service Quality

Harbor Compliance assigns a dedicated account manager (they call them compliance specialists) to oversee your account.

These well-informed employees draw from their considerable knowledge base to help you navigate the nuances of business ownership and compliance. You can reach them via phone or email, or simply fill out the contact form on their website.

Main Reasons to Use Harbor Compliance

If you’re looking for a company that provides a high degree of customer support, and you don’t need business formation service, Harbor Compliance is a good choice for you.

Main Reasons Not to Use Harbor Compliance

If you’re looking to bundle registered agent or annual reports with business formation service, you’ll need to look elsewhere. For instance, ZenBusiness offers an LLC formation package for free (all you pay is your state’s fee), while also providing reasonable rates for registered agent service. Also, there are other options that have more experience, as well as a higher volume of positive customer feedback.

Conclusion

Harbor Compliance has an appealing low rate for registered agent service, although its exact price point varies by state. Unfortunately, most of this company’s other services are only available for large enterprise companies.

Disclaimer: The content on this page is for informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. If you have specific questions about any of these topics, seek the counsel of a licensed professional.