LegalZoom

LegalZoom is an online legal services platform for consumers and small businesses — a self-serve way to file business formations, generate legal documents from guided templates, and book consultations with independent attorneys. It is not a law firm; it sells document preparation, filings and access to a network of lawyers.

Its best-known product is US business formation: the Basic LLC package is free apart from the state filing fee, with paid tiers adding an operating agreement, EIN and bundled extras. Around that sits a library of more than 150 customizable legal documents, e-signatures, registered agent services, trademark and copyright filings, and a Business Attorney Plan that bundles consultations into a monthly subscription.

One thing to be clear about up front: this is a US service. The documents, filings, attorney network and registered agent services are built around US law and US states. It is not a route to UK company formation or UK legal documents, and it's no substitute for a solicitor on anything contentious.

How LegalZoom works

A typical task looks like this:

1. Pick the service — form a business, create a document, register a trademark or book attorney time.
2. Answer a guided questionnaire; LegalZoom turns your answers into the relevant forms or document draft.
3. For filings, LegalZoom prepares and submits paperwork to the state (standard processing is typically quoted at a number of business days, with faster options costing more).
4. For documents, customise the template in its editor, then sign with the built-in e-signature tool.
5. Add ongoing services where needed — registered agent, the attorney plan, bookkeeping — each billed separately.

Key capabilities

Business formation — LLCs, corporations and nonprofits filed with the state, from a $0 Basic package upward.

Legal document library — More than 150 customizable templates covering common business and personal documents.

E-signature — Built-in signing included with document access.

Attorney consultations — A Business Attorney Plan bundles unlimited 30-minute consultations on new legal topics, document review and discounts on further work.

Registered agent — A statutory registered-agent service for US entities, billed annually.

Intellectual property — Trademark, copyright and patent application services at published flat fees plus government filing fees.

Business extras — Websites, bookkeeping tools and tax consultations bundled or sold as add-ons.

LegalZoom plans and pricing explained

Prices are in US dollars, and most headline prices exclude the state or government filing fees the service submits on your behalf.

LLC formation — Basic is $0 plus state filing fees: articles of organization filed, a name availability check and a tax consultation. Pro is $249 plus state fees, adding an operating agreement, an EIN, a year of access to the document library and e-signatures, a customizable website, and 30 days of attorney consultations — which auto-renew at $49 a month unless you cancel. Premium is $299 plus state fees, adding bookkeeping tools on a subscription that also auto-renews. Third-party reviewers note the plan names have shifted between "Pro/Premium" and "Managed/Expert Service" across LegalZoom's pages, so confirm what's in your bundle at checkout.

Business Attorney Plan — a subscription around $39.09 a month on a one-year plan or $43.17 on six months. It includes unlimited 30-minute attorney consultations on new matters, attorney review of documents up to 10 pages (longer documents cost extra: $69 for 11–15 pages, $149 for 16–25, and a quoted price beyond that), the 150+ document library, e-signatures, one copyright registration per month, 10% off other LegalZoom services and 25% off additional attorney work.

Other published prices — registered agent service at $249 a year, a single legal form at $59, the document library at $99 a year standalone, trademark registration from $899 plus federal fees, copyright applications from $114 plus fees, and initial patent applications from $299 plus fees. Independent reviewers report these figures; LegalZoom's own pages should be treated as the final word since bundles and promotions change.

Who LegalZoom is for

US founders filing a first LLC — a guided, low-cost formation path.

Small businesses needing routine documents — NDAs, contracts and templates on tap.

People who want some attorney time — bundled consults for straightforward questions.

US businesses needing a registered agent — a published-price statutory service.

Who should look elsewhere

UK users — this is a US service end to end. Anyone facing a dispute, negotiation or unusual situation needs an actual lawyer, not a document service. And if you just want e-signatures or a couple of templates, dedicated tools cost less than a LegalZoom bundle.

Getting the most out of LegalZoom

Watch the auto-renewals: the attorney consultations bundled with Pro renew at $49 a month after 30 days, and Premium's bookkeeping renews too — set a reminder to cancel what you don't want.

Price the state fee separately — it varies by state and applies on every formation tier, including the "$0" one.

Use the attorney plan when you actually have questions to ask — a month of bundled consults is wasted on a document you could have bought for $59.

Treat templates as starting points — have a qualified attorney review anything material to your business.