Staying compliant in Maine

How does the Maine annual report work?

The report is a short yearly filing that confirms who and where your LLC is. Maine gives a window from January to June. The statute places the report "between January 1st and June 1st of the following calendar year", counting from the year the LLC was formed.¹

So the report is never due in the calendar year you form the LLC. An LLC formed at any point this year files its first report in next year's window, and every year after that.

What the report asks for

The statute lists the contents: LLC name, registered agent information, principal office address, brief statement of the business, and name/address of at least one member, manager or other authorized person. In plain terms, you confirm the LLC's name and its agent, give the principal office address, name at least one person who can act for the LLC, and describe what the business does. The statute's wording for that last item is "A brief statement of the character of the business in which the limited liability company is actually engaged", so a short, accurate line is enough.⁵

Two of those items involve addresses you may not want to give out. The principal office address and the member, manager or authorized person's name and address go to the state with the report, and the facts for this page don't say how the Division displays them. If you'd rather not list a home address there, see which providers sell a business address in our privacy guide.

When and how to file

• The report is due January 1 to June 1. In the Division's words, "The legal filing deadline is June 1st."^{1, 3}
• The fee is $85, set in the fee section of Maine's LLC Act.²
• The Secretary of State's annual report page lists LLCs among the entities that can file through Annual Reports Online and links a paper option. It doesn't set out payment methods, so check there before your first report.

For how annual reports work in general, read annual reports explained. If you also run an LLC across the border, staying compliant in New Hampshire and staying compliant in Massachusetts cover those states' cycles.

Does Maine charge LLCs a franchise tax or other annual state fee?

The only recurring state charge in this page's sources is the $85 annual report fee. Those sources say nothing about a Maine franchise or minimum tax on LLCs, either way, so treat the question as open.²

That leaves taxes as a question for the tax agencies, not the Division of Corporations. Maine Revenue Services handles state taxes; the IRS, federal returns. Which of them apply to your LLC depends on how it is taxed, whether it has employees, and what it sells. Ask Maine Revenue Services which registrations your business needs, and keep those dates on a list of their own. An on-time annual report does nothing for a tax deadline.

What happens if a Maine LLC files late or is dissolved?

A late annual report costs an extra $50 on top of the $85 fee. Not filing at all, or filing but leaving the penalty unpaid, can each lead to administrative dissolution.²

The fee statute puts the penalty this way: "for failing to deliver an annual report by its due date, in addition to the annual report filing fee, a fee of $50". The dissolution statute, 31 M.R.S. §1591, then treats the two failures separately. Not filing, or not paying the penalty, are separate grounds for administrative dissolution. Paying the report fee without the penalty does not close the matter.^{2, 4}

The same statute lists grounds tied to the agent, starting with this one: "The limited liability company is without a registered agent in this State". Not telling the state about an agent change or a resignation is a ground too.⁴

Reinstatement costs per ground

Maine charges reinstatement for each reason the LLC was dissolved, not one flat fee. The fee statute charges $150 each for failure to pay the late filing penalty, failure to appoint or maintain a registered agent, failure to notify of an agent change or replace a resigned agent, and filing false information. Unfiled reports have their own line: "For failure to file an annual report, a fee of $150, to a maximum fee of $600".²

Two examples show how this adds up.

1. An LLC dissolved only for one missed report faces the report charge quoted above, $150 capped at $600, plus whatever reports and fees the Division says are outstanding.²
2. An LLC that skipped reports for several years and also lost its agent faces the capped report charge and a separate charge for the agent ground ($150 per ground for dissolution), before any past-due report fees.²

This page's sources do not say how long a dissolved LLC has to apply, what notice the Division sends first, or what happens to the LLC's name in the meantime. Contact the Division as soon as you learn of a problem, and talk to a lawyer if the business kept trading while dissolved. The Maine registered agent guide covers the agent-related grounds in more depth.

How do you keep your Maine registered agent current?

Keep an agent on record at all times (5 M.R.S. § 104 and § 105) and file Form CLKRA-3 for $35 whenever you change agents.^{1, 6, 7}

A noncommercial agent's address has to be "An actual street address or rural route box number in this State". If that address changes, the state has to be told: failing to notify it of an agent's new address is a ground for dissolution under 31 M.R.S. §1591.^{4, 6}

The annual report gives you a yearly prompt, because it asks for the agent's details. Read that part of the report closely. If your agent has moved, closed or stopped answering, the report is where you notice; the form the Division lists for an agent change is the statement of change. With corporate filings posted at 40 to 55 business days, file it early and keep the old agent in place until the new one shows on the state's records. Our guide to changing a registered agent covers the order of steps.¹

Resignations need the same attention. A resignation takes effect on the earlier of the 31st day after the statement of resignation is filed or appointment of a new agent, and the agent must promptly notify the entity in a record of the filing date. Make sure that notice can reach you: an outdated email in your provider's account is one way to miss it.⁸

What provider compliance features cover in Maine

The table lists what each provider publishes, in the order of our score, highest first, with ties in editorial order.

A reminder or notice tells you something is due; a filing service sends the report for you, and where a price says "plus state fees", Maine's $85 is added on top. None of the published features above describes keeping your own contact details current with the agent, so that check stays with you.

Renewal terms deserve a look in a state with a yearly bill of its own. Tailor Brands lists a renewal of $199/year (renews at the same price), InCorp lists $129 per year flat rate, though its terms allow the "then current" fee, and LegalZoom's terms say the service "Renews at the purchase rate each year; rate subject to change". Harbor Compliance requires notice of non-renewal at least 90 days before the end of the current term, or the service renews. Compare full terms on the Maine registered agent services list and the compliance-focused list, and read how to cancel an agent service before switching.^{13, 24, 28, 29}

What does a Maine LLC compliance calendar look like?

The first year is mostly setup; the second year brings the first report, due by June 1 each year.³

Year one

1. Formation filed. The Certificate of Formation costs $175, and corporate filings are posted at 40 to 55 business days unless you pay to expedite. The tiers are 24-hour (next business day) $50 and immediate (same business day) $100 per entity. The Maine LLC formation guide has the steps, and the cheapest Maine LLC options add up the costs.^{1, 30}
2. Agent contact details. Confirm the email and phone your agent will use and note when its service renews.
3. No annual report this calendar year, since the first report is due the year after formation.¹
4. Taxes. Ask Maine Revenue Services and the IRS what applies and keep a separate list.

Year two and each year after

1. January: the report window opens, since the report is due January 1 to June 1. Gather the agent details, principal office address and the name of an authorized person.¹
2. Before June 1 each year: file Form MLLC-13 with the $85 fee. After the deadline, the $50 penalty applies.^{1, 2, 3}
3. Around the renewal date: decide whether to keep your agent service, allowing for any notice period in its terms.
4. Any time the agent changes: file Form CLKRA-3 ($35) and wait for it to show before cancelling the old service.^{1, 7}

The report covered here is the domestic one, Form MLLC-13. An out-of-state LLC registered in Maine (the registration costs $250) should check the Division's forms page for the report that applies to it. Terms such as administrative dissolution are defined in the glossary, and what a registered agent does explains the agent's day-to-day role.^{1, 2}