Maine Foreign Registration Registered agent
Choosing a registered agent for a foreign LLC in Maine
Form MLLC-12 asks every foreign LLC to name a registered agent in Maine, either a commercial one identified by a public number or a noncommercial one with a name and a physical address. Changing the agent later costs $90 on Form MLLC-12A.
The two kinds of agent
| Kind | How it is identified | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial registered agent | Its CRA public number | Kept by the Secretary of State |
| Noncommercial registered agent | Name of the person or business | A physical street location in Maine, not a P.O. Box |
How the statute frames the choice
A filing must state either the name of the entity's commercial registered agent or, if it has none, the name and address of a noncommercial agent, or the title of an office whose holder takes service at a business address. Naming the agent is an affirmation by the entity that the agent consented to serve.
The search tool
The Secretary of State publishes a search for commercial clerks and commercial registered agents, on the same page as the forms. Look an agent up there before you copy its number onto the form.
No P.O. Box
Both forms ask for a physical location, with a mailing address only as an addition. A noncommercial agent therefore needs a street address in Maine where papers can be handed over.
Changing the agent
The LLC files a statement of change on Form MLLC-12A, signed on its behalf, stating its name and the information that will be in effect. The fee is $90. Item SIXTH is completed only if the agent changes, and the new agent's consent is recorded. The change takes effect on filing.
Resignation
The agent leaves by filing a statement of resignation, at any time and whatever the entity's standing. The agent is released on day 31 after filing, or sooner if a replacement is named. The agent must promptly tell the entity the date it filed. A noncommercial agent resigning from a corporation's file uses Form MBCA-12E-NCRA, which costs $35.
What a gap costs
Having no registered agent is a ground for revocation, and so is failing to report that the agent or its address changed or that it resigned. Revocation does not end the agent's authority to accept service.
Using us as agent
We can serve as the Maine registered agent named on your statement, or we enter the agent you choose. Whoever it is, the agent's consent is recorded on item SEVENTH.
Choosing between a commercial and a noncommercial agent
A commercial registered agent is a listed business with a public number, which makes it easy to enter on the form. A noncommercial agent is whoever you choose to name, provided there is a physical Maine address where papers can be handed over. The first suits an LLC with no Maine office. The second suits one that has a trusted person or an office of its own in the state.
Replacing the agent
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Choose the new agent | Commercial, or noncommercial with a physical address |
| Confirm that the agent will serve | Naming the agent affirms that it consented |
| Complete Form MLLC-12A | The fee is $90 |
| Have an authorized person sign | The statement of change names the LLC and the new information |
| File | The change takes effect on filing |
The daily list of filings
The Secretary of State makes available a daily list of filings that name an agent, in alphabetical order by agent, with the filing type and the entity. The list stays available for at least 14 calendar days.
Corporations and the noncommercial agent
A noncommercial agent can resign from a corporation's file by using Form MBCA-12E-NCRA, which costs $35. For an LLC, the agent files a statement of resignation naming the entity, the agent and the person to be notified.
Titles as agents
If an entity has neither kind of agent, the statute allows a filing to name the title of an office whose holder takes service at a business address. Form MLLC-12 itself offers only the two agent choices, so use one of those.
Agent questions
Does the agent have to be in Maine?
Yes. The form asks for a physical location in Maine.
What is a CRA public number?
The identifying number the form asks for when the agent is a commercial registered agent.
What does a change cost?
$90 on Form MLLC-12A.
Our fee and Maine's
- Form MLLC-12 completed from your answers, with the cover letter
- Your home-state proof tested against Maine's 90-day limit
- A Maine registered agent for the statement, either ours or the one you pick
- The package mailed to the corporations division, then your qualification record returned
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
Checkout lists Maine's $250 on a separate line. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Sources
- Maine Secretary of State, foreign entities
- 31 MRSA 1680, fees
- 31 MRSA 1622, statement of foreign qualification required
- Maine Form MLLC-12, statement of foreign qualification
- 31 MRSA 1665, annual report
- Maine Secretary of State, business corporation forms
- Maine Secretary of State, nonprofit corporation forms
- Maine Form MLPA-12, limited partnership application for certificate of authority
- 5 MRSA 105, naming a registered agent
- Maine Form MLLC-12A, statement of change of foreign qualification
- 5 MRSA 108, changing a registered agent
- 5 MRSA 111, a registered agent resigning
- 31 MRSA 1625, grounds for revocation
- 31 MRSA 1626, procedure for and effect of revocation
- 13-C MRSA 1532, how revocation works
Maine qualification, drafted and filed
Give us the LLC details and we prepare the statement, the cover letter and the package.