Cheapest LLC formation in Maryland

What does Maryland charge to form and keep an LLC?

The State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) sets these fees, so they are the same whether you file yourself or a service files for you. Every provider package on this page lists them as extra.

Forming the LLC costs $100 for the Articles of Organization. Of the state's charges, it is the only one every new LLC pays to exist.

The second fixed cost shapes the long-run bill far more. Maryland's Form 1 Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return costs $300 for an LLC, due April 15 each year, and as the name says, it combines the annual report with the personal property return. No provider can discount it, and it comes back every year the LLC exists.⁵

Two other state fees are optional. Reserving a name before filing costs $25, and skipping it costs nothing if you are ready to file right away. An LLC formed in another state that registers to do business in Maryland pays a foreign registration fee of $100 rather than the formation fee, and then files the same annual report.¹

What raises the cost of a Maryland LLC?

Several things push the bill past the state fees: paying for faster processing, a paid resident agent, report-filing and other add-ons, and penalties for a late annual report. Most of them are choices you can make before filing.

Faster processing

Maryland's standard queue is long, at 6 to 8 weeks, and the standard fee buys that pace. Expedited service is $150 total for the Articles and takes 7 to 14 business days; SDAT's fee schedule lists the expedite charge as a separate $50 column beside the filing fee. Same-day service costs $425 online, or $525 on paper. If nothing forces a date, such as a lease, a loan or a contract that needs the LLC, the standard queue is the cheapest choice. If a formation package promises speed, ask whether that includes SDAT's expedite charge or only the provider's own handling.^{1, 8}

The resident agent

Every Maryland LLC names a resident agent, and the statute limits the role to an individual residing in this State or a Maryland corporation, limited liability company, or limited partnership. You can cover the role in any of the ways below.²

1. Act as your own agent. A member who lives in Maryland can take the role at no cost, though that member's address then goes in the agent field of the public filing. The Maryland resident agent guide covers who may serve.
2. Take a first year bundled with a formation package, then pay the provider's renewal from the second year.
3. Buy agent service on its own at the published standalone price.

A bundled agent that renews at a price you don't want can be replaced. SDAT charges $25 for the Change Principal Office or Resident Agent (Resolution) filing. File it before cancelling the old service so the LLC always has an agent on record; how to change a resident agent walks through the order.^{1, 9}

Report filing and other add-ons

Formation checkouts commonly offer an EIN, an operating agreement, a business address and a compliance plan. In Maryland the compliance plan deserves the closest look, because the report it files costs $300 in state fees on its own, and most services quote their filing price on top of that. A plan that files the report saves you the form, not the fee. LegalZoom's subscription also says its auto-filing excludes Indiana, Maryland, Wyoming, so check that any plan you buy actually covers Maryland.¹⁰

A late annual report

The late charge is tied to the business personal property side of the report: it starts with an initial penalty of 1/10 of one percent of the county assessment, plus 2% interest on the penalty per 30 days late, and the form doesn't state a minimum for an LLC with no property. Beyond the money, non-filing leads to forfeiture. Reinstating costs $100 (Articles of Reinstatement), and all delinquent annual reports must be filed and state/local taxes paid. The Maryland compliance page has the deadlines and what the report asks for.^{1, 5}

Which providers have the lowest published prices for a Maryland LLC?

The table shows each provider's published agent price, renewal and cheapest formation package. Rows follow our score, highest first, with ties in editorial order, not price order.

Below, in the same order, is what each provider's cheapest route adds to the Maryland filing fee at formation, and what keeps billing in later years alongside the state's yearly report fee.

Tailor Brands. Lite is $0 plus state fees, and its package details don't list a resident agent, so add the agent at $199/year or act as your own. Essential, at $199/yr plus state fees, is billed every year and includes annual compliance (report filing and updates). See the Tailor Brands review.^{11, 12}

ZenBusiness. Starter is $0 + state fees (does not renew). The agent is an add-on +$199/yr, with 50% off the first year ($99) when you form an LLC, then $199/yr from the second year onward. Starter includes Worry-Free Compliance free for 1 year (then $199/yr), so note when that free year ends. On its own, report filing costs $100 per report. See the ZenBusiness review.^{13, 14, 15}

LegalZoom. Basic is $0 + state filing fees. The agent costs $249/year (first-time registered agent customers), renewing at the purchase rate with the rate subject to change. Its subscription doesn't auto-file in Maryland, but it sells one-time report filing at $99 + state filing fees, bills once. See the LegalZoom review.^{16, 17, 18}

Bizee. Basic is $0 + state fee and includes the agent's first year. The agent then renews at $149/year (ongoing annual fee). With an owner who files the report, the formation bill is the state filing fee, and each later year costs the report fee plus the renewal. Bizee offers report filing with no standalone price stated. See the Bizee review.^{7, 19}

Swyft Filings. Basic is $0 + state fees and doesn't list an agent. Swyft's agent is $149 per quarter ($596/year). Its LLC packages start a ComplianceGuard trial, $199/year with a 14-day free trial then auto-charged, so cancel it before it bills if you plan to file the report yourself. See the Swyft Filings review.^{20, 21, 22}

doola. Starter is $297/yr, a yearly plan that includes the agent. Later years bill the plan rather than an agent fee alone, and doola's terms say recurring fees automatically renew at the rates then in effect. Its pricing also notes that Starter does not include ongoing compliance filings, so the Maryland report stays with you. See the doola review.^{23, 24, 25}

Northwest Registered Agent. Formation is $39 + State Fees, which its corporation page calls a total that includes one year of registered agent service; the LLC page doesn't say so, so confirm that applies to an LLC order. The standalone agent is $125 per year. On billing, its pages say: RA customers auto-enrolled in Compliance Services billed in annual auto-pay. Report filing is $100 + state fees, charged at filing, so opt out if you plan to file yourself. See the Northwest review.^{26, 27, 28, 29, 30}

Rocket Lawyer. Formation comes with a membership (First registration free with a Rocket Lawyer membership), and every membership bills yearly. Standard, $149/year, excludes the agent. The agent is $125 with a Plus or Pro membership, so the cheapest route with an agent is Plus ($249/year) plus the agent price; Pro is $349/year. See the Rocket Lawyer review.^{31, 32, 33}

InCorp Services. Formation is priced starting at $99 plus state fees, with the registered agent sold separately at $129 per state per year. Its terms say the service continues and is billed at then-current fee unless a cancellation condition is met. Report filing is $89 + state fees. See the InCorp review.^{34, 35, 36, 37}

Harbor Compliance. Formation starts at $99 plus state fees. The agent is $99 first year for new customers, then $159 annually, and stopping that renewal takes notice at least 90 days before the end of the current term. See the Harbor Compliance review.^{38, 39, 40}

Agent-only prices outside Maryland are on the cheapest registered agent services page, and the formation packages themselves are compared on Maryland LLC formation services compared. For agent terms in more detail, see Maryland resident agent services compared.