Maine Resident Agent Service

Why Maine requires a resident agent

Maine divides the job. Under 13-C M.R.S. §511 a domestic business corporation keeps a clerk, a natural person living in Maine, who may be a director, an officer or hold no other post, and the Model Registered Agents Act also governs that clerk. Foreign corporations (13-C M.R.S. §1507-A) and LLCs (31 M.R.S. §1661) instead keep a resident agent under that Act (5 M.R.S. ch. 6-A), in one of three forms: a commercial resident agent on the Secretary of State's list (5 M.R.S. §106), a noncommercial resident agent who serves in Maine to receive process, or the individual in a designated office or position with your entity (5 M.R.S. §102(5), (17); §105(1)). Commercial and noncommercial agents alike may be an individual or an entity, domestic or foreign. Each filing must show an actual Maine street address (5 M.R.S. §104). 13-C M.R.S. §511; 31 M.R.S. §1661; 5 M.R.S. §102(5), (17) and §105(1)

What happens if you lapse

• A corporation that has no clerk in Maine, or never reports a new clerk, the clerk's new address or the clerk's resignation, may be dissolved administratively once 60 days after notice pass without a cure (§1421(2)); it can then only wind up (§1421(3)), and its name is held for just 3 years (§1421(5)). 13-C M.R.S. §1420(4)-(5)
• The Secretary of State can dissolve an LLC administratively when it has no resident agent in Maine or never reports an agent change, address change or resignation, but only after a 60-day period of notice and cure (31 M.R.S. §1592(2)). 31 M.R.S. §1591(4)-(5)
• Having no resident agent in Maine, or not reporting agent changes or a resignation, can cost a foreign corporation its authority, after which the Secretary of State serves as its agent for service of process on claims that arose while it was authorized (§1532(4)); foreign LLCs face parallel grounds under 31 M.R.S. ch. 21. 13-C M.R.S. §1531-A(4)-(5)
• Administrative dissolution does not end a corporation's existence, yet it limits the corporation to what winding up, liquidating its affairs and notifying claimants require in Maine. 13-C M.R.S. §1421(3)
• Reinstating a corporation dissolved because it failed to appoint or keep a clerk costs $150, the same $150 applies when the lapse was not reporting clerk changes or a resignation, and you must apply within 6 years (§1422(1)). 13-C M.R.S. §123(1)(W)-(X)
• An LLC reinstating after dissolution for having no resident agent pays $150, the fee is also $150 when it failed to report agent changes or replace an agent who resigned, and reinstating over missed annual reports runs $150 for each report up to $600. 31 M.R.S. §1680(17)

Switching to us

We prepare and file the change of resident agent for you. Maine charges $35 for an LLC 5 M.R.S. §103(1)(C) and $35 for a corporation 5 M.R.S. §103(1)(C).

Official Maine links

• Business entity search
• Statutes
• Forms
• Annual report filing

Frequently asked

Do I need a resident agent in Maine?

Almost every state does, and the Maine rule is set out above with its citation. Where the law leaves a choice, a resident agent is still the practical way to make sure service of process reaches you.

How much does Maine resident agent service cost?

$129 a year, with no setup fee, the same price in all 50 states plus DC, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Service of process is received and scanned the same business day.

Can I switch my Maine resident agent to ResidentAgents.com?

Yes. Order online and we prepare the change of agent filing for you; the state's filing fee is shown on this page.