77 of 79 fee datums on this page are verified against the agency's own published schedule or statute (2026-09-04); the rest are marked pending review in the Status column - portal-surcharge components no official page states, values the official source contradicts (held for a correction package), or sources that could not be reached.
Values were first corroborated across independent internal records; verified cells now also carry the agency's own published schedule or statute as their authority, which is what promotion to verified requires.
Cost position
Ranked 40 of 54 on first-year state
filing cost, at $260.00 against a national median
of $185.00.
Recurring annual cost $85.
See the full ranking.
Where Maine sits among its neighbours in the first-year cost ranking (USD)Show all 54 jurisdictionsThe full ranking with Maine highlighted (USD)
Registered-agent statutes, quoted verbatim
The one section on this page that clears the publication gate in full. 11 citations, verified, quoted from the official code with every elision marked.
5 M.R.S. § 105
◎Verified
Model Registered Agents Act (5 M.R.S. ch. 6-A) · applies to
corporations and LLCs
Appointment of clerk or registered agent1. Contents of filing. A clerk or registered agent filing must state: A. The name of the represented entity's commercial clerk or commercial registered agent; or B. If the entity does not have a commercial clerk or commercial registered agent: (1) The name and address of the entity's noncommercial clerk or noncommercial registered agent; or (2) The title of an office or other position with the entity if service of process is to be sent to the person holding that office or position, and the address of the business office of that person.
Maine Business Corporation Act · applies to
corporations
ClerkEach domestic corporation to which this Act applies shall maintain in this State a clerk, who is a natural person resident in this State. The clerk may be, but is not required to be, one of the directors or officers of the corporation, or the clerk may be a person holding no other position with the corporation. [...] The clerk required under this section is also governed by Title 5, chapter 6-A.
Maine Limited Liability Company Act · applies to
LLCs
Registered agent for limited liability companyA limited liability company must have and continuously maintain a registered agent in this State as defined by Title 5, section 102, subsection 27.
IncorporatorsOne or more persons may serve as the incorporator or incorporators of a corporation by delivering articles of incorporation to the Secretary of State for filing.
Maine Limited Liability Company Act · applies to
LLCs
Formation of limited liability company; certificate of formation1. Formation requirements. In order to form a limited liability company: A. One or more authorized persons must execute a certificate of formation. The certificate of formation must be filed in the office of the Secretary of State and set forth: (1) The name of the limited liability company; (2) The information required by Title 5, section 105, subsection 1; and (3) Any other matters the members determine to include. [...] 2. Time formed. A limited liability company is formed at the time of the filing of the initial certificate of formation in the office of the Secretary of State or at any later date or time specified in the certificate of formation if, in either case, there has been substantial compliance with the requirements of this section. A limited liability company formed under this chapter is a separate legal entity.
Annual report of domestic and foreign corporations; excuse1. Filing of annual report. Each domestic corporation, unless excused as provided in subsection 4 or excluded by subsection 6, and each foreign corporation authorized to do business in this State, shall deliver to the Secretary of State for filing, within the time prescribed by this section, an annual report setting forth: A. The name of the domestic or foreign corporation and the jurisdiction of its incorporation; [...] 3. First annual report. The first annual report required in subsection 1 must be delivered to the Secretary of State between January 1st and June 1st of the year following the calendar year in which a domestic corporation was incorporated or a foreign corporation was authorized to transact business. Subsequent annual reports must be delivered to the Secretary of State between January 1st and June 1st of the following calendar years. [...]
Maine Limited Liability Company Act · applies to
LLCs
Annual report for Secretary of State1. Annual report. Each year, each limited liability company or each foreign limited liability company authorized to conduct business in this State shall deliver to the office of the Secretary of State for filing an annual report setting forth: A. The name of the limited liability company or the foreign limited liability company; [...] 3. First annual report; subsequent reports. The first annual report under this section must be delivered to the office of the Secretary of State between January 1st and June 1st of the year following the calendar year in which a limited liability company was formed or a foreign limited liability company delivered its statement of foreign qualification to the office of the Secretary of State for filing. [...]
Grounds for administrative dissolutionNotwithstanding Title 4, chapter 5 and Title 5, chapter 375, the Secretary of State may commence a proceeding under section 1421 to administratively dissolve a corporation if: [...] 1. Nonpayment of fees or penalties. The corporation does not pay when they are due any fees or penalties imposed by this Act or other law; [...] 2. Failure to file annual report. The corporation does not deliver its annual report to the Secretary of State as required by section 1621; [...] 4. Failure to maintain clerk. The corporation is without a clerk in this State as required by Title 5, section 105, subsection 1; [...]
Maine Limited Liability Company Act · applies to
LLCs
Grounds for administrative dissolution of limited liability companyNotwithstanding Title 4, chapter 5 and Title 5, chapter 375, the Secretary of State may commence a proceeding under section 1592 to administratively dissolve a limited liability company if: [...] 1. Nonpayment of fees or penalties. The limited liability company does not pay when due any fees or penalties imposed by this chapter or other law; [...] 2. Failure to file annual report. The limited liability company does not deliver its annual report to the Secretary of State as required by section 1665; [...] 4. Failure to maintain registered agent. The limited liability company is without a registered agent in this State as required by section 1661 and Title 5, section 105, subsection 1; [...]
Corporate name1. Prohibition. A corporate name may not contain language stating or implying that the corporation is organized for a purpose other than that permitted by section 301 and the corporation's articles of incorporation. [...] 2. Distinguishable name. Except as authorized by subsections 3 and 4, a corporate name must be distinguishable on the records of the Secretary of State from: A. The name of a corporation, nonprofit corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership or limited partnership that is incorporated, organized or authorized to transact business or carry on activities in this State; [...]
Maine Limited Liability Company Act · applies to
LLCs
Limited liability company name1. Requirements. A limited liability company name must contain the words "limited liability company" or "limited company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C.," "LLC," "L.C." or "LC" or, in the case of a low-profit limited liability company, "L3C" or "13c" unless the limited liability company is filing an assumed name under section 1510 or a registration of a name of a foreign limited liability company under section 1511. The word "limited" may be abbreviated as "Ltd.," and "company" may be abbreviated as "Co." [...] 2. Distinguishable name. Except as authorized by subsections 4 and 5, a limited liability company name must be distinguishable on the records of the office of the Secretary of State from: A. The name of a corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership or limited partnership that is incorporated, organized or authorized to transact business or carry on activities in this State; [...]
Under the Model Registered Agents Act (which 13-C M.R.S. §512 and 31 M.R.S. §1662 incorporate for corporations and LLCs), if an entity no longer has a clerk or registered agent, or the agent cannot with reasonable diligence be served, service may be made by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the entity's governors by name at its principal office; if that fails, by handing a copy to the manager, clerk, or other person in charge of any regular place of business. Separately, after revocation of a foreign corporation's authority, the Secretary of State is its agent for service of process (13-C M.R.S. §1532(4)).
Administrative Dissolution. The Secretary of State may administratively dissolve an LLC that is without a registered agent in Maine or that fails to notify the Secretary of State of an agent change, address change, or resignation, after a 60-day notice-and-cure period (31 M.R.S. §1592(2)).
Revocation Foreign. The Secretary of State may revoke a foreign corporation's authority to transact business if it is without a registered agent in Maine or fails to notify the Secretary of State of agent changes or resignation; upon revocation the Secretary of State becomes the corporation's agent for service of process for causes of action that arose while it was authorized (13-C M.R.S. §1532(4)). Parallel grounds exist for foreign LLCs (31 M.R.S. ch. 21).
Other. An administratively dissolved corporation continues to exist but may not transact any business in Maine except as necessary to wind up and liquidate its business and affairs and notify claimants.
Reinstatement Fee. Reinstatement of a corporation administratively dissolved for failure to appoint or maintain a clerk costs $150; reinstatement for failure to notify of clerk changes or resignation also costs $150. Application must be made within 6 years of dissolution (13-C M.R.S. §1422(1)).
Reinstatement Fee. For LLCs, reinstatement after administrative dissolution for failure to appoint or maintain a registered agent costs $150; failure to notify of agent changes or to appoint a replacement after resignation also costs $150 (annual-report reinstatement is $150 per report to a $600 maximum).
Dollar amounts named in the registered-agent statutes
Commercial clerk or commercial registered agent termination (5 M.R.S. §107)
$150
○Pending review
Statement of appointment or change of clerk or registered agent by entity ($15 for Title 13-B nonprofits)
$35
○Pending review
Statement of change of name or address by noncommercial clerk or noncommercial registered agent ($15 for Title 13-B nonprofits)
$35
○Pending review
Statement of change of name, address, or type of organization by commercial clerk or commercial registered agent
$50
○Pending review
Statement of resignation by commercial clerk or commercial registered agent
No fee
○Pending review
Statement of resignation by noncommercial clerk or noncommercial registered agent ($15 for Title 13-B nonprofits)
$35
○Pending review
Statement of appointment of agent for service of process for a nonfiling domestic entity or nonqualified foreign entity
$100
○Pending review
Corporation reinstatement after administrative dissolution for failure to appoint or maintain a clerk
$150
○Pending review
Corporation reinstatement after administrative dissolution for failure to notify of clerk change or resignation
$150
○Pending review
Corporation reinstatement after administrative dissolution for failure to file an annual report, per application, capped regardless of number of delinquent reports
$150 (max $600)
○Pending review
LLC reinstatement after administrative dissolution for failure to appoint or maintain a registered agent (same $150 for failure-to-notify ground; annual-report ground $150 to $600 max)
$150
○Pending review
21 statutory citations and their supporting verbatim quotations sit behind this section in the record and are withheld from public display until the review pass lands, because a citation presented as authority is a verification claimed. Statutory references appearing inside the summaries above are part of the recorded text rather than an authority claim, and they are not rendered as citations, linked, or emitted in this page's structured data. How the gate works.
Governance rules
7 governance rules are recorded for Maine - the organizational and annual meetings, action by written consent, and whether bylaws or an operating agreement are mandatory. Each verified rule links to the statutory text it was verified against, quoted verbatim below.
Organizational meeting required · applies to
corporations ·
yes
An organizational meeting must be held before or after incorporation... the initial directors shall hold an organizational meeting... to complete the organization of the corporation by appointing officers, adopting bylaws
Annual meeting required · applies to
corporations ·
yes
Unless directors are elected by written consent in lieu of an annual meeting as permitted by section 704, a corporation shall hold a meeting of shareholders annually
Action by written consent allowed · applies to
corporations ·
yes
may be taken without a meeting if the action is taken by all the shareholders entitled to vote... The articles of incorporation may provide that any action... may be taken without a meeting
Operating agreement required · applies to
LLCs ·
yes
A limited liability company agreement must be entered into or otherwise existing [...] "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
The activities and affairs of a limited liability company are under the direction, and subject to the oversight, of its members... Any matter requiring the consent of the members... may be decided without a meeting
Action by written consent allowed · applies to
LLCs ·
yes
A matter in the ordinary course of activities of a limited liability company may be decided by a majority of the members... Any matter requiring the consent of the members... may be decided without a meeting
perpetual (no expiration; effective until terminated - $20 termination filing)
Renewal
None - no renewal requirement in the corporate/LLC fee statutes
Publication
Not required. None
Online filing
Not available
The regime
Maine's general assumed-name act is a municipal-clerk filing, not a state registry. Before commencing business, partners in a mercantile enterprise must deposit a sworn certificate with the clerk of the city or town where the business will be carried on (31 M.R.S. § 1), and a sole proprietor adopting any business name other than his own name exclusively must do the same (§ 2). Corporations, limited partnerships, and LLCs are excluded from these sections and instead file assumed-name statements with the Secretary of State under their entity acts (§ 7).
Where it is filed
The office of the clerk of the city or town in which the business is to be carried on. Municipal clerks must record the certificates in books kept exclusively for the purpose, open to public inspection.
Name restrictions
A non-corporation may not adopt a business name containing 'corporation,' 'incorporated' or 'limited' or any abbreviation of those words (with carve-outs letting LPs, LLCs, and LLPs use their own entity designators). A separate section bars use of the word 'Passamaquoddy' in a business name or with goods or services without written authorization from the Passamaquoddy Tribe; violation is a deceptive trade practice.
Assumed names for registered entities
Maine entities file assumed-name statements with the Secretary of State, not the municipal clerk. Under 13-C M.R.S. § 404, a domestic or foreign corporation may transact business under one or more assumed names after filing a statement for each name; a 'fictitious name' is specifically the name a foreign corporation adopts because its real name is unavailable under § 401 (see also 13-C M.R.S. § 1506(1)). Non-complying use may be enjoined, and the statute notes that the mere filing does not constitute actual use for determining priority of rights. LPs and LLCs use parallel provisions (31 M.R.S. §§ 1308(2), 1510).
Penalties
Failure to seasonably deposit the required certificate is punished by a fine of $5 for each day of default. A signer may not contradict the certificate's statements in any judicial proceeding. Swearing to an untrue certificate is perjury.
Corporation application for an assumed name (Secretary of State, entity-side filing under 13-C M.R.S. § 404)
$125
13-C M.R.S. § 123(1)(JJ)
◎Verified
Foreign corporation application for a fictitious name (real name unavailable)
$40
13-C M.R.S. § 123(1)(KK)
◎Verified
Application for termination of an assumed or fictitious name (corporation)
$20
13-C M.R.S. § 123(1)(LL)
◎Verified
Known gaps in the record
Term: 31 M.R.S. ch. 1 states no duration or renewal requirement for the municipal certificates
Fees: no municipal filing-fee amount is printed in 31 M.R.S. ch. 1 (the dollar fees listed are the entity-side Secretary of State fees in 13-C M.R.S. § 123)
exclusive-rights: the municipal act is silent on name rights (the entity-side no-priority language quoted is from 13-C M.R.S. § 404(7))
LP and LLC assumed-name sections (31 M.R.S. § 1308(2) and § 1510) are cited via the § 7 routing text; their full texts were not separately extracted this pass (source PDFs are in corpus)
Common questions
Where does a Maine sole proprietor file a DBA?
With the clerk of the city or town where the business is to be carried on - before commencing business. Maine has no state-level DBA registry for sole proprietors or general partnerships; 31 M.R.S. § 2 requires a sworn certificate stating the proprietor's name, residence, the assumed business name, and that he is the sole proprietor.
Do Maine corporations and LLCs file their assumed names with the town clerk too?
No. 31 M.R.S. § 7 states that sections 1 and 2 'do not apply to corporations, limited partnerships or limited liability companies.' Corporations file an assumed-name statement with the Secretary of State under 13-C M.R.S. § 404 (fee: $125 per 13-C M.R.S. § 123(1)(JJ)); LPs use 31 M.R.S. § 1308(2) and LLCs 31 M.R.S. § 1510.
What is the penalty for skipping Maine's assumed-name certificate?
A fine of $5 for each day of default (31 M.R.S. § 5). In addition, a person who signs and swears to a certificate cannot contradict its statements in any judicial proceeding, and swearing to an untrue certificate is perjury (31 M.R.S. § 3).
Can a Maine business name include the word 'incorporated' or 'limited'?
Not unless the business is a corporation. 31 M.R.S. § 6 bars any non-corporation from adopting a business name containing 'corporation,' 'incorporated' or 'limited' or any abbreviation of those words, while allowing LPs, LLCs, and LLPs to use their own statutory designators.
Recurring entity-level tax
No franchise or privilege tax in this jurisdiction
Stored as a delta against the federal baseline:
2 days this state closes that the
federal government does not, and 0 federal
holidays its filing office works through.
Maine 2026 closure delta
Date
Day
Filing office
2026-04-20
Patriot's Day
Filing office closed
2026-11-27
Thanksgiving Friday
Filing office closed
Provenance - Maine 2026 closures◎Verified
Citation withheld: this record did not clear the publication gate.
4 restricted entity-name word entries
are recorded for Maine,
the rest requiring an agency's consent or licensure before the word may appear in a name.
Governing law: 13-C M.R.S. § 401 (corporate name - generic only); restricted words in 9-B M.R.S. § 241(9).
Maine restricted entity-name words
Treatment
Word or phrase
Authority
Citation
Status
Consent required
bank / banker / banking (incl. plurals and derivatives)
Superintendent of Financial Institutions (Bureau of Financial Institutions)
9-B M.R.S. § 241(9): prior written approval of the superintendent required before conducting business under a name containing these terms; entities duly authorized to conduct the business of banking are exempt
◎Verified
Consent required
credit union (incl. plurals and derivatives)
Superintendent of Financial Institutions (Bureau of Financial Institutions)
Maine SOS, 'Use of the Word Bank, Trust, and Credit Union': entities must receive acknowledgement of, or approval for, use of the restricted terms - including 'credit union' - as required under 9-B M.R.S. § 241(9) before the filing is accepted
◎Verified
Consent required
savings / saving / savings bank
Superintendent of Financial Institutions (Bureau of Financial Institutions)
9-B M.R.S. § 241(9): 'savings' among the terms requiring the superintendent's prior written approval
◎Verified
Consent required
trust / trust company / trust and banking company
Superintendent of Financial Institutions (Bureau of Financial Institutions)
9-B M.R.S. § 241(9): 'trust' and 'trust company' among the restricted terms requiring prior written approval
● accepted · ○ not accepted · ? unknown or conditional (hover for the recorded condition). Channel data covers 54 jurisdictions (2026-08-15 wave). Source links render on verified rows only.
Contact the filing office
Verified against the agency's own contact page
2026-08-13 - office hours: Customer service telephone hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday.
Source links render on verified rows only.
Department of the Secretary of State, Corporations, UCC and Commissions, 101 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0101
Courier / walk-in
Department of the Secretary of State, Corporations, UCC and Commissions, 6 E. Chestnut Street, 5th Floor, Augusta, ME 04330
The corporations customer-service line and mailbox printed on the filing forms themselves; USPS goes to the State House Station box, FedEx/UPS MUST go to 6 E. Chestnut Street 5th Floor - the form states the split explicitly
Purposed contact channels, Maine
Kind
Value
What it is for
Purpose
Source
phone
207-624-7752
Corporations customer service / Telephone Inquiries
Where to search Maine's UCC (Article 9) financing statements, on what terms, and what the office charges to file one. Verified against the filing office's own pages 2026-09-11. UCC division contacts are listed with the other filing-office contacts above.
UCC records - Maine◎Verified
Filing office
Maine Department of the Secretary of State - Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions - Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions, UCC Section
Filing-office statute
11 M.R.S. § 9-1501(1)(b) - "The office of the Secretary of State, in all other cases"; read at https://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/11/title11sec9-1501.html
Copies are delivered with an official search (UCC-11 options: search report and/or copies of associated financing statements); no separate per-image fee is printed on the fee schedule - copies are part of the $12.00 online / $20.00 paper official search
$10 electronic; $15 on paper for 1 or 2 pages, $30 for more than 2 pages; public-finance filings $60 paper / $30 electronic and manufactured-home filings $40 paper / $20 electronic
Filing channels
online or paper; Online through the SOS UCC Search and Filing Service (apps1.web.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/ucc/index.pl, InforME; 'File a Financing Statement (Fee)', 'File an Amendment Statement (Fee)'; credit card or
Filing expedite
No expedited service is printed for UCC filings; the fee schedule offers expedited service only for paper search requests (24 Hour Expedited Service additional $10.00; Immediate Expedited Service additional $25.00, dependent upon staff availability)
UCC-3 amendments, as the office states the fees
UCC-3 continuation, assignment, amendment or termination: $15 on paper for 1 or 2 pages, $30 for more than 2 pages; $10 electronic. A termination-only amendment relating to a UCC-1 filed on or after July 1, 1993 and before July 1, 2001 is free
Effective for
5 years from filing - 11 M.R.S. 9-1515(1)
Bulk data
published bulk-data program - Full data (monthly build): $600 Corporate+UCC records (current); $1,200 active+inactive Corporate+UCC; $1,500 Corporate+UCC images
Whether Maine requires a general state-level business license, and on what terms. A "None" is a verified finding cited to the agency's own pages, not a gap. Which of the state's filings ask for an industry code is in the next section.
State business license - Maine◎Verified
General state license
None - the state issues no general business license; licensing is occupation-specific and local
Which of Maine's business filings ask the filer for an industry classification, and in what form. "No industry information" is a positive finding cited to the form. Where the state uses its own category list and the list was captured, it is expandable below. The NAICS and SIC reference lists are on their own page.
Industry code on Maine filings, 7 of 7 rows verified
Maine has 16 county-equivalents: 16 countyies. Names and codes are the U.S. Census Bureau's (2020 national county codes); county seats and official sites are not yet published here.
These come from a research pass its own author graded CANDIDATES. They are shown because they are useful and withheld from every ranking on this site because they are not ratified.