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How to Form an LLC in Maine

Maine charges $175 to form an LLC, and formation is a paper filing only: complete Form MLLC-6, print it, and mail it with the fee, with the Secretary of State stating a processing time of 40 to 55 business days on its LLC forms page. Maine then charges $85 a year for an annual report due June 1, calls the operating agreement a limited liability company agreement that must exist but may be oral or implied, and prices reinstatement at $150 per ground with the annual report ground capped at $600.

By the LLCForming research teamFees checked Nov 8, 2026

The Maine filing steps

1. Check your name on the state's own search

   Search the Secretary of State's records before you file. Under Section 1508, subsection 1, a Maine LLC name must contain the words "limited liability company" or "limited company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C.," "LLC," "L.C." or "LC," or, for a low-profit limited liability company, "L3C" or "13c," with "limited" shortened to "Ltd." and "company" to "Co." if you choose, unless the company is filing an assumed name under Section 1510 or a registration of a foreign LLC name under Section 1511. Under Section 1508, subsection 2, the name must be distinguishable on the records of the office of the Secretary of State from the name of a corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership or limited partnership incorporated, organized or authorized in Maine, from assumed, fictitious, reserved and registered name filings for all entities, and from registered marks, unless the mark owner is the same person or entity and files proof of ownership. Maine's standard is distinguishable on the records, not deceptively similar. Under Section 1508, subsection 6, the Secretary of State disregards entity descriptor words, "and" and "the," and differences in punctuation, capitalization or special characters. A conflicting name can still be authorized under subsection 4 if the entity in possession of the name consents in writing and undertakes to change its name, or on a certified copy of a final court judgment, on Form MLLC-15 for $20. A search does not reserve the name. To hold one, file an application for reservation for $20 under Section 1680, subsection 1; Section 1509 reserves the name for your exclusive use for 120 days, the reservation may not be renewed, and after expiration the same name may be reserved again by the same or another applicant.

2. Choose your registered agent

   Maine LLCs use a registered agent, not a clerk. Clerk is the corporation term under Title 13-C, Section 511. Under Section 1661, a limited liability company must have and continuously maintain a registered agent in this State as defined by Title 5, Section 102, subsection 27. Title 5, Section 102 defines two kinds: a commercial registered agent under subsection 5, an individual or a domestic or foreign entity listed with the Secretary of State under Section 106 and identified on Form MLLC-6 by name and CRA public number, and a noncommercial registered agent under subsection 17, which includes a person who serves as agent for service of process or the individual who holds an office or position designated as the agent, so Maine allows designating an office or position, not only a named person. Under Title 5, Section 105, subsection 1, the filing states the name of the commercial registered agent, or, if there is none, the name and address of the noncommercial registered agent, or the title of an office or position and the address of the business office of the person holding it. Under subsection 2, the appointment is an affirmation that the agent has consented to serve, and the MLLC-6 form restates that affirmation; no separate signed acceptance document is part of the package. Under Title 5, Section 104, an address in a filing must state an actual street address or rural route box number in Maine, and a mailing address in Maine if different; the form restates this for a noncommercial agent as physical location, not P.O. Box. Change the agent under Title 5, Section 108 on Form CLKRA-3, Statement of Appointment or Change of Commercial or Noncommercial Registered Agent, for $35 on the Secretary of State's schedule. Failure to maintain an agent is a ground for administrative dissolution under Section 1591 and, for a foreign LLC, for revocation under Section 1625.

3. File the Certificate of Formation with the Secretary of State

   File the Certificate of Formation, Form MLLC-6, with the Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions, under Section 1531. Formation is paper only in the sources the Secretary of State publishes: complete the fillable form on screen, print it, and mail it with the proper filing fee to Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions, 101 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0101, payable to the Maine Secretary of State by check or money order, or by credit card using the SOS credit card voucher. No online formation filing is offered; the online system takes the annual report, not formation. The fee is $175 under Section 1680, subsection 13, printed at the top of the form itself. The Secretary of State states on its LLC forms page that corporate filings processing time is 40 to 55 business days. Under Section 1531, subsection 1, one or more authorized persons must execute the certificate, setting forth the name of the company, the registered agent information required by Title 5, Section 105, subsection 1, and any other matters the members determine to include, and the certificate must be signed by at least one authorized person. No business purpose and no member or manager names are required. The form adds optional designations only: a later effective date, low-profit LLC status under Section 1611, and professional LLC status. Under Section 1531, subsection 2, the company is formed at the time of filing, or at a later date or time specified in the certificate, if there has been substantial compliance. Expedited service is $50 additional per entity for 24-hour service or $100 additional per entity for immediate same business day service, and only one expedite fee is required if filing multiple documents for the same entity at the same time.

4. Get an EIN from the IRS

   Free, online, and takes minutes once your Maine filing is approved. Never pay a service for this. See EIN for an LLC for the walkthrough and the one IRS rule (a real person as responsible party) that surprises people.

5. Write your operating agreement

   Maine's statutory term is limited liability company agreement, and the familiar operating agreement is the same instrument under another name. Under Section 1502, subsection 15, a limited liability company agreement means any agreement, whether referred to as a limited liability company agreement, operating agreement or otherwise, written, oral or implied, of the member or members as to the affairs of the company and the conduct of its activities, including any amendments. Existence is a formation requirement; written form is not. Under Section 1531, subsection 1, paragraph B, a limited liability company agreement must be entered into or otherwise existing, and it may be entered into before, after or at the time of filing the certificate of formation. A single-member company's agreement is not unenforceable by reason of there being only one party to it. Under Section 1521, subsection 1, the agreement governs relations among the members as members and between the members and the company, and under subsection 2, to the extent the agreement does not otherwise provide for a matter, Chapter 21 governs the matter. One limit matters in practice: under Section 1521, subsection 3, duties may be expanded, restricted or eliminated, and liability for breach may be limited or eliminated, only by provisions in a written limited liability company agreement, and the implied contractual covenant of good faith and fair dealing may not be eliminated in any case. The agreement is not filed, the MLLC-6 form does not ask for it, and Section 1680 sets no fee for one.

6. Open the business bank account and handle licenses

   Bring your approved formation document and EIN letter. Then check your city and county for a general business license and your industry for state permits. Maine issues no single statewide general business license through the Secretary of State. Licensing is industry specific, through state agencies and boards, or local, through your city or town. The near universal state level step is tax registration with Maine Revenue Services for the taxes your activity triggers. Check your industry and your locality before you budget, because those offices, not the Secretary of State, set those charges.

Filing details that trip people up

• Formation is paper only, and the state states the wait: 40 to 55 business days. The Secretary of State instructs filers to complete the fillable MLLC-6 on screen, print it, and mail it to Augusta with the $175 fee. Its Online Services page lists Corporate Name Search, Annual Reports Online, and a downloadable preprinted paper annual report form, and no formation filing service. Annual reports are the filing Maine does take online, at SOSonline.org, which is not an online formation channel. The processing time printed on the LLC forms page is 40 to 55 business days. If that wait does not work, expedited service is $50 for 24-hour filing or $100 for immediate same business day filing, per entity.
• The annual report is $85, due June 1, and the $50 late penalty may not be waived. Under Section 1665, subsection 3, the first annual report must be delivered between January 1 and June 1 of the year following the calendar year of formation, and subsequent reports in the same window each year. The fee is $85 for a domestic LLC and $150 for a foreign LLC under Section 1680, subsection 6, and an amended report costs the same. Under Section 1680, subsection 10, failing to deliver by the due date adds a fee of $50, so a late domestic report costs $135 in total. The Secretary of State warns that a substantial late filing penalty will be assessed, and may not be waived, on reports received after June 1, and it does not mail a reminder. Section 1667, subsection 3 provides only a narrow excusable neglect excuse, where the company establishes the failure resulted from excusable neglect and furnishes a copy of the report within 30 days after learning the Secretary of State failed to receive the original.
• Reinstatement is $150 per ground, capped at $600 for the annual report ground, within six years. It is not $250. Under Section 1680, subsection 17, reinstatement costs $150 for failure to file an annual report, to a maximum fee of $600 regardless of the number of delinquent reports or the period of delinquency, and $150 each for failure to pay the late filing penalty, failure to appoint or maintain a registered agent, failure to notify of an agent or agent address change or to appoint a replacement after a resignation, and filing false information. The $600 maximum is stated only for the annual report ground. Delinquent report fees and late penalties are payable in addition, because the ground must be eliminated. Under Section 1593, subsection 1, application must be made within six years after the effective date of administrative dissolution, and subsection 3 provides that reinstatement relates back as if the dissolution had not occurred. If the company is not reinstated within six years, the Secretary of State cancels its certificate of formation effective on the sixth anniversary under Section 1593, subsection 4. The $250 figure in Maine LLC law is the foreign qualification fee, not reinstatement.
• Foreign LLCs file a Statement of Foreign Qualification for $250, with a certificate issued within 90 days. Maine does not use a certificate of authority for an LLC. The document is a Statement of Foreign Qualification to Conduct Activities, Form MLLC-12, for $250 under Section 1680, subsection 19. Under Section 1622, subsection 2, paragraph H, it must include a certificate of existence or other suitable document proving valid existence under home state law, issued not more than 90 days before delivery of the statement. Under Section 1629, a company conducting activities without a statement on file may not maintain a proceeding in a Maine court for the collection of its debts, faces a civil penalty of $500 for each year or portion of a year it transacts business without complying, and its acts remain valid and it may still defend a proceeding. A statement of change of foreign qualification is $90, or $35 if only the principal office address changes, and a Statement of Cancellation of Foreign Qualification, Form MLLC-12B, is $90 under Section 1680, subsection 21. A foreign LLC's annual report while qualified is $150, not $85.
• An assumed name is $125, filed with the Secretary of State before use. A fictitious name is a different filing at $40. Maine's DBA is an assumed name under Section 1510. Prior to transacting business under the name, the company shall execute and deliver a statement on Form ASUM-5 for $125 under Section 1680, subsection 2, with a separate statement for each name. Section 1510 states no term, expiration or renewal, and Section 1680 lists no renewal fee. Termination of an assumed or fictitious name is $20. Keep the two name fees distinct: a fictitious name is only the name a foreign LLC adopts because its real name does not comply with Section 1508 under Section 1624, and its statement fee is $40, not $125. Our DBA guide covers the details.

After your Maine LLC is approved

Get the EIN, open the business bank account, and register with Maine Revenue Services for the tax accounts your activity triggers. Then calendar the recurring filing Maine does impose: the annual report, $85 for a domestic LLC, due June 1, with a filing window of January 1 to June 1, and the first report due in that window of the year following the calendar year of formation. It can be filed online through Annual Reports Online at SOSonline.org, and the Secretary of State does not mail a reminder. Keep the registered agent record current as well, and file Form CLKRA-3 for $35 whenever the agent changes, because failure to maintain an agent is a ground for administrative dissolution. If the business will trade under a different name, file the assumed name statement for $125 before transacting business under that name.

The full recurring picture for Maine, with fees and due dates, is on the Maine annual report and compliance page, and the money view is on the Maine LLC cost page.

Maine LLC questions