Review Page: Legalzoom Review
Are you looking to launch your business efficiently without any legal hassle?
LegalZoom is an established online LLC formation service that promises to help you get started with ease. With over two decades of experience and a 100% satisfaction guarantee, it has become a trusted name for entrepreneurs.
However, our in-depth LegalZoom review reveals a mix of strengths and weaknesses that every prospective business owner should consider before choosing this platform.
LegalZoom Review: What Is LegalZoom?
LegalZoom is a leading online legal service that simplifies business formation and various legal needs for entrepreneurs and individuals. Founded in 2001, it has helped millions of business owners establish their businesses and manage legal procedures.
It offers a range of services, including LLC formation, corporation setup, trademark registration, and more. Its user-friendly platform allows clients to complete necessary paperwork quickly and efficiently compared to traditional legal services.
With LegalZoom, you can expect a straightforward process for creating your business entity. The platform allows users to form limited liability companies (LLCs), corporations, and other business structures with ease.
LegalZoom provides step-by-step guidance and ongoing support. Beyond business formation, you can access various services like compliance reminders, tax advice, and document preparation.
Detailed LegalZoom Review
LegalZoom offers a wide range of legal services to businesses of all sizes and from all industries. Whether you want to formally register your business or hire someone as your business’s registered agent, LegalZoom can help you out.
While LegalZoom is well known for its LLC formation service, we’ll review its other services in detail in this section of our LegalZoom review.
Let’s get started.
Business Formation Services
LegalZoom is most popular for its business formation services and it takes care of all the formation paperwork and formalities from start to end.
During our LegalZoom review, we found that it can help you form all types of business entities, so let’s discuss each briefly.
Sole Proprietorship Formation Services Review
This is one of the easiest types of business entities to form and does not require a lot of paperwork. In fact, you don’t even need to register your business at the federal government level.
What does LegalZoom offer?
LegalZoom will:
- Provide you with legal advice on how to form your Sole Proprietorship and comply with government regulations
- Register your business name with the state government
- Help you acquire the necessary business licenses and permits
- File for doing business as (DBA) if you want that
- Convert your Sole Proprietorship into an LLC or other legal entity
During our LegalZoom review, we found that it has not mentioned a separate pricing plan for Sole Proprietorship formation. It does, however, charge for additional services like acquiring business licenses or filing DBA.
LLC Services Review
In our LegalZoom review, we found out that the platform specializes in offering LLC formation services and it charges $79 for these services, excluding the state filing fees.
Here are the services it offers:
- Business name search
- Business registration with complete paperwork
- Add-on services like DBA filing and acquiring business licenses
Remember, that the additional services cost more and the basic plan only includes business name search and LLC registration. When you check out they will try to upsell these add-on services, so add only the services you really need.
Incorporation Services Review
Our LegalZoom review would not be complete without talking about their incorporation services. They will help you form a Corporation with just $149 and state filing fees. Any add-on services are chargeable.
Given that the paperwork required for forming a Corporation is more complicated than forming a limited liability company, the higher fee is justified. You simply need to answer the questions and give them the information they need and they’ll take care of all the legal formalities.
Non-Profit Business Formation Review
Based on our LegalZoom review, the process for forming a non-profit organization is slightly different and requires some additional paperwork. As these don’t have a profit motive, they qualify for tax-exempt status and can also apply for grants.
LegalZoom will take care of the non-profit formation process for $99 plus the state filing fees. They will also help you get the tax-exempt or 501(c)(3) status by filing form 1023 or form 1023-EZ.
That brings us to the end of the business formation services part of this LegalZoom review.
One last thing that we want to mention in our review is that they offer a complete 60-day money-back guarantee if you don’t like their services.
Registered Agent Services
For this part of our LegalZoom review, we will discuss the registered agent services offered by the company. After business formation services, this is the most important and popular service offered by LegalZoom.
LegalZoom can act as a registered agent for your company and ensure that you get all legal notices and documents on time.
Missing any legal notice can cause a lot of harm for your new company in the form of penalties. That’s why you need a registered agent that’s available during regular business hours, all 365 days, to receive these notices.
You can, of course, choose to be your own registered agent, but that will restrict you to remain available at the registered address on all business days. This might not be possible for most people and that’s why appointing a company as your agent is so much better.
LegalZoom charges $299 per year for their registered agent services. This is a decent price given that it takes a lot of pressure off of your back.
Here’s what you can expect from their services:
- Alerts on emails received on behalf of your company
- Email alerts on upcoming compliance or filing deadlines
- Unlimited cloud-based storage for all your business documents
What’s more is that they’ll cover the paperwork and fees associated with switching your registered agent, if you’re not happy with their services.
Business Operation Services
The legal formalities and compliance requirements do not end once you form your business. There are a lot of things that you need to take care of to enable smooth business operations.
LegalZoom provides a wide range of services that help with your day-to-day business operations. As these are all important parts of your business, we decided to cover these in our LegalZoom review.
Let’s cover each of these services one by one.
Annual Report
Filing annual reports is a formality that most businesses have to do every year. Just because it’s an annual thing, does not make it any easier.
That’s where LegalZoom comes into the picture. It can create and file your annual reports on time and take care of all the paperwork for just $99 plus the filing fees.
If you need faster service, LegalZoom also offers a rush option for $119 plus state filing fees, providing expedited processing and express shipping.
With this option, you’ll have your documents delivered to you within 2-3 business days, making the process as seamless as possible.
They’ve filed over 145K annual reports for businesses to help them remain in good standing with the state government and other authorities.
Contracts and Agreements
LegalZoom is a gold mine for templates on legal documents, contracts, and agreements. Any type of document that you may need to create for your business, you can find on their website.
Whether you want to file an affidavit with the state or have someone sign an NDA, you can create your document using LegalZoom. You can simply choose from the 150+ documents on their website, fill in the details, and print your document.
During our LegalZoom review, we did not find any pricing information for this as it seems like a free service that they offer.
Business Licences
This is another important service offered by LegalZoom and is, therefore, a crucial part of this LegalZoom review.
LegalZoom can help you find all the business licenses and permits you would need to run your business smoothly, in just a few minutes.
They provide this service in collaboration with their partner Business Licenses.
Once you find all the necessary information, you can choose to file for these licenses yourself or use professional help.
LegalZoom charges $99 for this service.
Foreign Qualification
Many businesses operate in multiple states and not just the state of formation. To do so, your business would need a foreign qualification in each of the states (other than your home state) where you want to operate.
This process becomes tedious if you have to apply for this in multiple states as it can take a lot of your time. LegalZoom can make this process quick and easy for you by taking care of all the paperwork on your behalf.
All you need to do is to answer a few straightforward questions about your business and its operational plans. LegalZoom will prepare all necessary paperwork for your foreign qualification and file them with the appropriate Secretary of State or other state agency on your behalf.
LegalZoom’s foreign qualification services can be accessed through two main pricing packages. The Standard package costs $229 plus state filing fees and includes the preparation and filing of the paperwork. The Rush Package costs $339 plus state filing fees and includes everything from the Standard Package, plus expedited filing and delivery.
Corporate Amendment
If you want to make any amendments to your business name, address, or other important information, LegalZoom can do it for you. Making amendments is important because you must inform your state if there are any changes to your business name or other essential information for compliance and legal standing.
LegalZoom simplifies the amendment process in just a few steps:
- Answer a Few Questions Online: Start by providing the necessary information about your business changes.
- LegalZoom Creates and Files Your Paperwork: The provider will prepare the articles of amendment and file them with the appropriate state office.
- Receive Your Filed Amendment in the Mail: After processing, you’ll receive your filed amendment documentation in the mail.
Two pricing plans are offered for this service:
- Standard Plan: This starts at $129 plus state filing fees. This package includes the creation of your articles of amendment and filing with the state.
- Rush Plan: This plan costs $239 plus state filing fees. It includes everything from the Standard plan, plus quick processing of your paperwork and delivery of your filed documents within 2-3 business days.
Tax Services
The tax services offered by LegalZoom are handled by a separate sister company called LZ Tax. It is a one-stop shop for all the tax advice and services you’ll ever need for your business or personal needs.
Here are some of the key services that it offers, that we think are important enough to be covered in this LegalZoom review:
- Preparation for and filing of annual taxes with the state and federal government
- Tax advisory from trusted professionals all year round
- Accounting and bookkeeping services
- Automatic payroll management services using QuickBooks
During our LegalZoom review, we did not find any fixed pricing plans for the tax filing on their website. You can fill out their online form and submit your query to get the pricing and plan details.
For nonprofits looking to maximize donations and grants, LegalZoom facilitates the application for 501(c)(3) status. This status not only exempts nonprofits from federal income taxes but also allows donors to make tax-deductible contributions.
The application packages start at $595, covering essential services like the completion of the 1023-EZ application and submission of paperwork. An expedited plan is available for $795, which prioritizes your application, getting it emailed to you within 3-5 business days.
Intellectual Property Services
In this section of this LegalZoom review, we will cover the intellectual property protection services offered by LegalZoom. When you start a new business, you will need one or more of these services at some point.
Let’s review each of these services, one by one.
Trademark Search
Before you apply for a trademark, you need to ensure that it’s available and not taken up by some other company. This requires extensive research to find the availability of a particular trademark to avoid any potential future conflicts.
LegalZoom offers trademark search services to help you determine the availability of a trademark so you can confidently file for it knowing that it’s unique. It charges $199 for a comprehensive search and provides results in as less as 15 minutes.
Trademark Registration
As a business, you would probably like to trademark your company’s name, logo, or slogan to prevent others from copying them. LegalZoom offers trademark registration services and can help you through the process of getting a trademark.
They take the help of a professional attorney to complete this process and charge $649 plus the federal fees for this service. Though the price may seem a bit steep at first, it’s still cheaper than hiring an attorney and getting it done yourself.
Trademark Monitoring
Just because you obtain a patent or a trademark does not mean that no one will ever file for something similar that may be an infringement. You can’t, however, keep track of all trademark or patent applications that may be potentially infringing.
That’s where LegalZoom can help you and that’s why we’ve included this service in our detailed LegalZoom review. LegalZoom offers a trademark monitoring service for $175 per year. If you don’t want to invest in this service every year, you can choose to use this every few years to see if there have been any potential infringements.
Provisional Patent
If you’ve developed an innovative product or process, a provisional patent can provide initial protection while you work on a full patent application to protect your invention before launching it to the public.
LegalZoom offers a provisional patent service that allows you to market your innovation as “patent pending.” This gives you ample time to further develop the product while keeping competitors at bay.
This service starts at $199 plus filing fees. LegalZoom handles the entire process, including submitting the application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Copyright
Similar to patents and trademarks, you can file for copyright for your creative work like books, films, or any other tangible creative work. This helps safeguard your creative work from unauthorized use or distribution. LegalZoom charges $114 plus filing fees for this service.
With this protection in place, you can maintain control over how your work is used and have the legal standing to take action against any infringements. LegalZoom also provides a delivery confirmation or notification once the copyright registration form has been received by the Library of Congress.
Cost of the LegalZoom Formation Service
LegalZoom offers three main packages for LLC formation, each with varying levels of features and costs, namely the Basic, Pro, and Premium packages. In our LegalZoom review, we examined these packages to help you understand what you get with each.
Basic
The Basic package is the most affordable option since it’s free and only involves the state filing fee. It covers all the basic services required to form your LLC. This package may take up to 30 business days to complete formation.
1. Comprehensive Name Search and Business Entity Filing
You input the name you want on the LegalZoom website and the company searches the name directory to see if it is available, fills out your LLC paperwork and submits it to your state.
2. Peace of Mind Review™
Before sending your documents to the state, LegalZoom reviews everything to make sure the paperwork is correct and consistent. This service helps prevent delays due to errors.
3. Business Entity Filing
This package handles all the paperwork required to form your LLC. LegalZoom submits the necessary documents to the state on your behalf, streamlining the registration process and saving you time.
4. Digital LLC Welcome Packet
After your LLC is approved, you’ll receive a digital welcome packet. This packet includes key documents like your articles of organization and a checklist for post-formation steps to follow for your LLC.
5. Customer Support
LegalZoom provides ongoing customer support via email and chat. Whether you need help with a question or clarification on a service, their team is available to assist you at any stage of your LLC’s development.
Pro
You get everything that comes with the Basic package, along with some additional features, for $249 plus state filing fees. Here are the additional features you can get with this package:
1. Operating Agreement
The Pro plan includes an operating agreement, which is a document stating the rules of your LLC. It outlines responsibilities, voting rights, and procedures for resolving disputes to ensure the smooth operation of your business.
2. Employer Identification Number (EIN)
An EIN serves as your business’s federal tax ID, which is essential for any LLC. This plan helps you obtain an EIN, which is required for opening a business bank account, filing taxes, and hiring employees.
3. Bookkeeping Tools
For the first year, the Pro plan gives you access to bookkeeping tools to track expenses and send invoices. This feature helps manage finances and maximize tax savings, ensuring your business stays on track financially.
4. Access to Customizable Legal Documents
LegalZoom offers one-year access to over 150 legal forms, including contracts and agreements. This helps you manage various business needs, from hiring employees to setting up vendor agreements, all with customizable templates.
5. Unlimited eSignatures
This feature allows you to send and sign contracts digitally to save time and avoid paperwork. You can finalize agreements with clients, partners, or employees easily. This feature is available for a year.
Premium
The Premium plan builds on the Pro package by offering all its features along with enhanced legal support tailored for more complex business needs. This tier costs $299 plus the state filing fee.
1. Attorney Guidance
The Premium plan includes hands-on support from a business attorney of your choice. This guidance ensures your LLC formation is done correctly and that any legal issues are addressed from the start.
2. Unlimited 30-Minute Attorney Consultations
You’ll get 30-minute consultations for the first 30 days with a business attorney on legal topics related to your business. This feature helps you handle any emerging legal issues as your business grows.
3. Amendments and Rush Service
LegalZoom allows you to make amendments to your LLC formation documents within the first 30 days. This is especially useful if you need to make any changes. You can also opt for rush processing to avoid delays.
4. Copyright Registration
With the LegalZoom Premium plan, you’ll get one copyright registration per month for 30 days. This feature is ideal if you need to protect intellectual property like logos, content, or product designs.
5. Legal Contracts Review
For 30 days, you can submit legal contracts for attorney review. This ensures that any agreements you make are legally sound and protect your business from potential risks.
Add-On Services
We also noted the available add-on services for our LegalZoom LLC reviews:
- Registered agent service
- Employer identification number
- Compliance calendar
- Operating agreement
- Business licenses
These services can be useful, but many of them are available at lower prices elsewhere.
Advantages of LegalZoom
In our LegalZoom review, we carefully evaluated the platform and discovered a few key pros. These advantages contribute to LegalZoom’s appeal for individuals and businesses seeking reliable legal support and business formation service.
Customer Service
LegalZoom’s customer care agents are available from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT during the week and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT on the weekends. While this isn’t as good as 24-hour service would be, it provides several hours before and after work, plus weekends. This should give most corporation customers an opportunity to contact the company at a convenient time by phone, chat or submit a question on the website.
Satisfaction Guarantee
LegalZoom provides a satisfaction guarantee where customers can request a refund within 60 days of purchase if they’re unsatisfied. They can contact LegalZoom via phone or email for reimbursement. However, only the service fees paid directly to LegalZoom are covered. Fees like third-party processing, attorney costs, and government filing fees are excluded from the scope of this guarantee.
One-Stop Shop
You can check whether the business name you want is available on LegalZoom’s site, which saves you some effort. Additionally, LegalZoom offers a variety of other services that your business may need, such as trademark registration or annual report filing. Additionally, if you decide not to form an LLC, the site can help you form a sole proprietorship, S corporation, C corporation or nonprofit.
Disadvantages of LegalZoom
While LegalZoom offers convenience and all-in-one solutions for many legal needs, it’s not without its drawbacks. In this LegalZoom review, we’ve also noted a few features that we didn’t like.
Limited Features in the Free Plan
The Basic plan is free, but it comes with limited features. Users can file the articles of organization, but advanced services like tax planning consultation and digital document storage are not included. Meanwhile, Inc Authority provides all these features for free. This can be a drawback for those who value affordability and those who need comprehensive support.
Expensive Registered Agent Service
You don’t have to sign up for LegalZoom’s registered agent service, even if you are operating in a state that requires you to have a registered agent. However, if you do select it, you will pay a $249 annual fee that automatically renews every year until you remember to cancel it. By contrast, Northwest Registered Agent offers a year of free registered agent service with a $125 annual renewal fee.
Top LegalZoom LLC Alternatives
While LegalZoom is one of the best-known formation services, it is far from the only option. These are three other services we believe are worth considering:
1. Northwest Registered Agent
Northwest’s VIP service gives you the option to have the company cover your state filing fees in exchange for a monthly fee. Alternatively, you can opt to pay a $225 fee upfront or go with the basic plan for $39 plus state filing fees. All of the plans come with one year of free registered agent service.
Northwest Registered Agent service is available across all US states, with the option for state compliance notifications. Additional features include comprehensive support for business formation needs. Clients can benefit from personalized assistance and access to several legal resources.
2. ZenBusiness
With user-friendly tools and resources, ZenBusiness helps streamline the formation process while offering various add-on services. The Starter Plan is free. It covers basic formation services, and clients only have to pay for the state fees.
However, additional features incur extra costs depending on the selected package. Plans include the Pro plan starting at $199/year and the Premium plan starting at $299/year. Features include expedited filing options, EIN filing, and compliance alerts to help businesses stay on track after business formation.
3. Bizee
Bizee, formerly known as Incfile, is a streamlined platform for the formation of different types of businesses, such as LLCs, C Corporations, S Corporations, or nonprofits, with ease. Pricing for Bizee’s services starts with a free Basic package, where users only need to pay the state filing fee.
For more comprehensive services, the Standard Package is available for $199, while the Premium Package costs $299 plus state fees. Bizee offers several features, including a free registered agent service for one year, business banking offer, business tax consultation, compliance alerts, and more.
What Sets LegalZoom Apart
Having helped over 4 million entrepreneurs transform their ideas into businesses, LegalZoom has built a solid reputation for itself. Here are six key aspects that distinguish LegalZoom from its competitors.
Comprehensive Legal Solutions
LegalZoom provides a wide array of services, from business formation to family law services. With this all-in-one approach, clients can find almost all the legal assistance they need in one place. Whether you’re starting a new business or drafting a will, LegalZoom covers it all.
User-Friendly Platform
The LegalZoom website is designed to be intuitive and easy to navigate. Users can access the services they need without getting lost in complicated jargon or lengthy processes. This simplicity empowers clients to complete their legal tasks with minimal hassle.
Transparent Pricing Structure
LegalZoom is known for its clear and upfront pricing structure. Clients can easily find out the costs associated with their chosen services without hidden or additional fees. With this transparency, trust is built and clients can budget for their legal expenses effectively.
Access to Licensed Attorneys
LegalZoom offers clients the option to consult with licensed attorneys for personalized legal advice. This feature provides an extra layer of assurance, especially for those dealing with complex legal matters. Clients can receive tailored guidance while still benefiting from LegalZoom’s cost-effective solutions.
Strong Customer Support
The company prides itself on providing exceptional customer service. Clients can reach out for assistance via phone, chat, or email, ensuring they receive timely help and guidance on any query. This commitment to customer support enhances the overall experience and resolves issues quickly.
Positive Customer Feedback
Numerous LegalZoom reviews highlight the company’s effectiveness and reliability. Satisfied clients often share their success stories, showcasing the value of LegalZoom’s services. This positive feedback reinforces the brand’s credibility and commitment to client satisfaction.
With a solid reputation backed by positive reviews, it’s clear why many choose LegalZoom as their preferred online service provider.
LegalZoom Customer Reviews
One of the benefits of the popularity of LegalZoom is that there are plenty of customer reviews available on the internet. We take a look at three of the most popular review sites here.
SiteJabber
3.3out of 5
There are over 1,700 LegalZoom reviews on this site with an average rating of 3.3 stars out of 5. Positive reviews note the ease of using the service, professional staff and fast document delivery. However, the service has received a high rate of negative reviews in recent months, many of which note that the redesigned website is difficult to navigate. Other customers complained about customer service issues and hidden fees.
Trustpilot
4.2out of 5
There are over 4,300 LegalZoom reviews on this site with an average rating of 4.2 stars. 81% of customers have given an excellent rating to LegalZoom. The positive reviews focus on their excellent customer service, quick service, and professionalism. The negative reviews revolve around specific instances of delayed orders or resubmissions.
Better Business Bureau
4.43out of 5
LegalZoom has an A rating with the BBB and received accreditation in 2001. The over 4,200 customer reviews have an average score of 4.43 stars out of 5. The majority of recent reviews are positive and note the professional and friendly staff. The few negative reviews mention issues with slow service and difficulty getting refunds.
Consumer Affairs
3.3out of 5
There are over 2,600 customer ratings on this site with an average score of 3.3 stars out of 5. Satisfied customers note the ease of using the site and the friendly customer service. Unlike SiteJabber, most of the recent reviews on this site are positive with a few negative reviews complaining about mistakes or slow service.
Should You Use LegalZoom To Form Your LLC?
Our LegalZoom LLC reviews found that the service shines when it comes to ease of use. The website walks you through the process step by step and doesn’t bog things down with cutesy graphics or cumbersome forms to fill out. However, the process is marred by the laundry list of add-ons you have to click through. The company is one of the best established in the business and has a good reputation for quality customer service.
However, when it comes to value, LegalZoom doesn’t hold up to the competition. Many of the services that are expensive add-ons with LegalZoom are included in the price with top competitors. Additionally, the processing time on the economy service is a substantial downside unless you are forming your LLC months ahead of your intended start date.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it helps you form all kinds of businesses. The reason we focussed mainly on LLC formation in this LegalZoom review is that it’s their most popular service. LLC is the most commonly-used business structure for new businesses in the US and that’s why we paid special attention to it in this LegalZoom review.
In addition to LLCs, LegalZoom also offers services for forming corporations, including S corporations and C corporations, as well as sole proprietorship and non-profit organizations.
As part of our LegalZoom review process, we identified the following key services that it offers:
- Business formation services
- Registered agent services
- Business operation services
- Annual report creation and filing
- Contracts & agreements creation
- Business licenses search and filing
- Foreign qualification filing
- Corporate amendments
- Tax services
- Intellectual property services
- Trademark search
- Trademark filing
- Trademark monitoring
- Patent filing
- Copyright filing
Based on the LegalZoom review and feedback users give, many find the service reliable for business formation and legal documents. LegalZoom simplifies legal processes, and many users appreciate the convenience. Overall, LegalZoom is a solid choice for straightforward legal help and LLC formation plans.
LegalZoom LLC service includes several packages to suit different needs. The Basic package, which is free, includes essential services like name availability search and legal document preparation.
Its higher-tier packages, the Pro and Premium, provide additional features, such as expedited processing, operating agreements, and access to a business advisory plan. This LegalZoom review highlights the flexibility of its LLC services that are suitable for different business types.
LegalZoom doesn’t directly offer business bank accounts. However, after forming your LLC or corporation through them, you can open a business bank account at a financial institution. Its team of experts offers guidance on this process through the LLC service, making it easier for small business owners to get started.
No, LegalZoom does not offer business insurance. You will need to purchase business insurance separately through an insurance company. However, the company, on its higher-tier plan, allows consultations with an experienced business attorney on various legal topics, which can help you understand your insurance needs better.
LegalZoom registered agent services provide a reliable way to receive important legal documents on behalf of your business. They act as your official point of contact, ensuring compliance with state regulations. Our LegalZoom review notes that their registered agent service includes document forwarding and alerts for deadlines. Using these LegalZoom services can help business owners maintain privacy.
Yes, LegalZoom assists clients in paying state filing fees as part of their LLC formation packages. When you choose a package, the total cost includes both LegalZoom’s fees and the required state fees for forming your LLC. The team guides you through the filing process and ensures that necessary payments are made to the appropriate state agencies.
LegalZoom is a good option for many small business owners. It offers affordable and convenient legal services that can help you form your business and comply with legal requirements.
Many customers report positive experiences with LegalZoom’s support team. The company provides customer support via phone, live chat, and email during specific hours. Users can choose their preferred method for assistance.