Incorporate.com Review 2024: Features, Pros & Cons

With over a century of experience assisting businesses, incorporate.com stands out as a reliable choice for registered agent services. Through the years, the company continues to maintain its core ethos: assisting businesses with compliance and business formation. What sets incorporate.com apart? A thorough understanding of what business owners go through, thanks to a team that has been in the entrepreneurial trenches themselves.

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With a long-standing history, incorporate.com is a service provider that offers compliance and business formation services, including registered agent services. It has garnered a position on our list of best registered agent services, making it a viable option for businesses seeking compliance support. The company also offers business formation assistance, with solutions covering a range of needs including annual reports and business license research.

Pros

• Established history. Boasting a long history that dates back to 1899, incorporate.com is one of the oldest companies in the industry. This extensive experience provides a level of stability and expertise that newer entrants in the business services sector might not offer.
• Secure client portal. The company’s client portal, CSCNavigator, serves as a secure online dashboard for managing your business compliance needs. An award-winning entity management system used by Fortune 500 companies, this online portal ensures your compliance needs are handled on a secure and reputable platform.
• 24/7 document access. Its CSCNavigator provides round-the-clock access to your vital documents via an online dashboard, giving you the flexibility to manage your compliance tasks or review important documents whenever you need.
• Online invoice payment. Your incorporate.com dashboard also offers you the ability to review and make payments online. This adds an extra layer of convenience to simplify your administrative workload and streamline your financial processes.

Cons

• More costly. The company’s registered agent services come at a higher price point compared to many of its competitors, which could be a significant consideration if you’re operating on a tighter budget.
• Support hours not disclosed on site. While incorporate.com offers various methods of customer support, its support hours aren’t disclosed on its website. This makes it challenging to know when you can reach out for assistance, which could lead to delays in resolving any issues you may have.
• No specified document delivery timeframes. While the company notes that it provides prompt delivery of documents, there’s no information about document delivery times on its site, including whether same-day document delivery is available. Delivery timeframes can be an important factor to weigh, especially if your business relies on quick document delivery.
• No free first year or free plan. Unlike some of its competitors, incorporate.com’s business formation plans do not come with a free first year of registered agent services. It also doesn’t offer a free business formation plan, if you’re also looking to set up a new business. This lack of a free first year or a free plan may be a major factor if you’re facing financial constraints.

The process for using incorporate.com’s registered agent services is straightforward. Start by choosing your state and type of business entity—for example, limited liability company (LLC) or corporation. You need to decide whether you’d like to file the documents yourself or have incorporate.com handle the filing process for you.

After providing your contact and business information, you review your selections and proceed to checkout. As a customer of the company’s registered agent services, you have access to the CSCNavigator client portal, an online compliance dashboard.

If you’re also interested in incorporate.com’s business formation services, you select from one of its three formation packages: The Starter, for basic needs; The Essentials, for a more rounded selection of services and The Works, for a full suite of services. Keep in mind, however, that these packages do not include registered agent services, and the CSCNavigator client portal is exclusive to those using the company as a registered agent.

With services that include registered agent services, online document access and business formations, incorporate.com brings years of expertise to the table. The following is a closer look at some of its key services.

Registered Agent

A registered agent’s role is to receive service of process (for lawsuits) and official government documents on behalf of your business. In most states, businesses are required to have a registered agent.

To help you maintain compliance with state requirements, incorporate.com provides reliable registered agent services. These services include receiving and summarizing documents before promptly sending them your way.

While the company has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), it’s worth noting that it received an average of 1 out of 5 stars based on a total of three customer reviews and one closed complaint over the last three years on its BBB profile.

Online Document Access

For ease of management, incorporate.com includes online document access via its CSCNavigator client portal. This platform serves as a one-stop shop for managing your compliance needs, including viewing compliance deadlines, tracking order status, reviewing and paying invoices and communicating with customer support via live chat.

LLC Formation and Incorporation Services

If you’re looking to set up an LLC or a corporation, incorporate.com offers a variety of packages to help you with the formation process. Depending on the package selected, these services can include not only the preparation and filing of required paperwork but other offerings as well, such as annual reports and Employer Identification Numbers (EINs). Keep in mind, however, that the company’s client portal is only available to customers who also opt to sign on for its registered agent services.

Articles of Organization / Articles of Incorporation

If you’re forming an LLC or a corporation, you need to file Articles of Organization (for an LLC) or Articles of Incorporation (for a corporation). The platform not only helps you complete these documents, but incorporate.com also handles the filing as part of its formation packages.

Annual Report

To help your business stay compliant and in good standing with your state’s business regulations, incorporate.com offers an annual report preparation and filing service. The company researches your state-specific annual report requirements and files your annual report for you.

Note, however, that this annual report service is only available to customers who also use incorporate.com as a registered agent. The service also comes with an additional service charge (plus state filing fees).

Corporate Compliance Guarantee

All business formation packages from incorporate.com come with the company’s $75,000 Corporate Compliance Guarantee. This guarantee covers filing errors made by incorporate.com, for the life of your entity.

If a U.S. court finds your corporation or LLC’s filings to be invalid due to incorporate.com’s error, the company commits to either fixing the issue or paying you up to $75,000. The guarantee is conditional on your business meeting certain criteria, including continuous use of incorporate.com’s registered agent services.

Business License Research

The Business License Research Package is a service included in incorporate.com’s top-tier The Works package. The service is designed to streamline the often complicated process of securing necessary business licenses, permits and tax registrations for your business by giving you an overview of the licenses, permits and registrations you’ll require, along with contact information, applications and other relevant documents.

Service/Plan	Price
Registered agent services	$235 per year
The Starter (business formation package)	$99 (plus state filing fees)
The Essentials (business formation package)	$249 (plus state filing fees)
The Works (business formation package)	$349 (plus state filing fees)
Annual Report Prep & File	$150 service fee (plus state filing fee)

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Registered Agent Services

The comprehensive registered agent services of incorporate.com are designed to help your business stay compliant with state regulations. As your registered agent, the company takes responsibility for receiving and forwarding legal papers and official government notices directed to your business. It also summarizes and sends the key points of received documents to you.

Its network of offices across the country ensures that any service of process will be received on behalf of your business during regular business hours. And its registered agent services come with access to its state-of-the-art online compliance platform, CSCNavigator, which provides additional support by keeping you alerted on pending filings, required documents and your business’s standing with the state.

Business Formation Packages

The incorporate.com platform also offers a selection of business formation packages.

• The Starter: Includes completion and filing of formation documents, $75,000 Corporate Compliance Guarantee and online access to your company documents.
• The Essentials: Features everything in The Starter, plus annual report compliance, a corporate kit (with customized company seal, leatherette binder, sample documents and stock or membership certificates) and an EIN.
• The Works: Builds on everything offered in The Essentials package by adding business license research and an operating agreement.

Annual Report Prep & File

Included in both The Essentials and The Works business formation packages for customers who are also using incorporate.com as their registered agent, the annual report service helps to preserve your business’s good standing by researching your state’s annual report requirements and submitting your report on time.

Setting up registered agent services or initiating your LLC or corporate formation with incorporate.com is a straightforward process. Head over to the company’s website and navigate to the appropriate service:

• Registered agent services. Select whether you want incorporate.com to file your paperwork for you or whether you want to file yourself. Then select your business entity and your state. The site will prompt you for the information it needs. Once you’ve entered the requested details, you’ll get a chance to review your order and then check out.
• Business formation services. Choose the business formation package you want, then select any add-ons. Follow the prompts to input contact and company information. You’ll be able to review your order before you check out.

If you’re looking for customer support, incorporate.com offers email, phone and live chat services. However, there are some limitations. Neither the live chat nor the phone support hours are disclosed on the site. If you attempt to use the live chat outside its service hours, you’ll be prompted to fill out a contact form or to call for immediate assistance, but the hours for phone support are not stated. The company notes that an email query can take up to a full business day for a response.

Although incorporate.com doesn’t provide 24/7 customer support, it does offer a comprehensive learning hub. This resource center includes a variety of useful tools and guides, such as a business comparison chart, a how-to guide for writing a business plan and state-specific and industry-specific incorporation guides.

	incorporate.com	Northwest Registered Agent	ZenBusiness	Bizee (formerly Incfile)
Rating (out of 5 stars)
Registered agent cost	$235 per year	$125 per year	$99 and up per year	Free for one year, $119 after the first year
Business formation costs	$99 to $349 plus state filing fees	$225 plus state filing fees (cost includes registered agent fee)	$0 to $349 plus state filing fees	$0 to $299 plus state filing fees
Multi-state support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Same-day document delivery	Not confirmed	Yes	No	No
Online client portal	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mobile app	No	No	Yes	No
Learn More	—	On Northwest Registered Agent’s Website	On ZenBusiness’s Website	On Bizee’s Website
Read Reviews	—	Read Northwest Registered Agent Review	Read ZenBusiness Review	Read Bizee (formerly Incfile) Review

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Northwest Registered Agent vs. incorporate.com

Northwest Registered Agent and incorporate.com both offer multi-state support and have an online client portal for ease of management. However, Northwest Registered Agent’s higher rating reflects factors such as lower fees and same-day document delivery, which we could not confirm for incorporate.com. For businesses valuing both cost-efficiency and speed, Northwest Registered Agent may be the better choice.

ZenBusiness vs. incorporate.com

Despite some similarities in terms of features offered (or not offered, in the case of same-day document delivery), ZenBusiness stands out with its no-cost business formation plan—you only pay the state filing fees—as well as less costly registered agent service fees. Costs aside, the deal clincher for some businesses may be ZenBusiness’ mobile app, a feature that gives it an extra edge when it comes to convenient access to its services.

Bizee vs. incorporate.com

If cost is a primary concern, Bizee may catch your eye with its free business formation package, an advantage over incorporate.com’s $99 starter package. Another bonus is Bizee’s free registered agent services for the first year and lower registered agent fees for subsequent years. For startups and small businesses on a tight budget, these cost advantages could be a major factor.

If you place a premium on reliability and peace of mind, incorporate.com is a strong contender. Its long history in the industry coupled with its $75,000 Corporate Compliance Guarantee adds a layer of assurance that’s hard to match. Available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the company’s comprehensive service offerings make it easy to manage your business’s compliance and formation needs in one place.

While incorporate.com’s higher price points won’t be optimal if budget constraints are a concern, the extra cost could be justified if you have the funds and are looking for an experienced provider that offers a robust suite of features and protections.