Source: LegalZoom in early stages of preparing to go public

Online legal document host LegalZoom is in the early stages of preparing to file for an initial public offering, a source told VentureBeat today.

The company hasn’t filed any documents that indicate it will go public with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The process begins when a company files a Form S-1, which includes its most recent financial details and how much money the company is looking to raise. So the actual initial public offering might not happen for several months.

LegalZoom is an online service that helps people find and fill out legal documents. That can include documents to create a last will and testament, filing to incorporate a business, trademarking a name or title or filing for a divorce. The documents can range anywhere from $100 to $400, according to the company’s website. LegalZoom is not an actual law firm — they just supply the documents. That means the site won’t offer any kind of legal advice for those seeking it out.

It’s a private company, which means it does not disclose its financial information. But the company did get in a spat with the city of Los Angeles over how much they would have to pay in taxes around this time last year. The company ended up deciding to relocate its offices from Hollywood to Glendale.

The Los Angeles, Calif.-based company was founded in 2001 and has more than 500 employees. LegalZoom raised $2 million in what looks like an early seed funding round and about $46 million in an institutional funding round that included Polaris Venture Partners and Kayne Anderson Private Investors.