Maryland Foreign Registration / Register an LLC

Registering a foreign LLC in Maryland, from home-state proof to SDAT acknowledgment

To register a foreign LLC in Maryland, file the application with SDAT for $100, through Business Express or by mail, with the home state's proof of good standing attached, a resident agent named and an authorized person's signature on it. SDAT endorses the date and time of acceptance, records the registration and sends an acknowledgment.

Each step is short. Where a step has its own page, it links there.

Who does what, in order

Stage	Responsible	Result
1. Decide that Maryland requires it	The LLC	A yes or no, tested against the safe list
2. Settle the name	The LLC	The home name or another name for Maryland
3. Choose the resident agent	The LLC with the agent	A Maryland agent with a street address
4. Pick the speed and how to pay	The LLC	Regular, expedited or rush; online or paper
5. Complete the application	The LLC or us	8 statutory items
6. Order proof of good standing	The home state	A document SDAT accepts as proof
7. Sign and file	An authorized person	$100 plus any speed option

Step 1: confirm that Maryland requires it

Eight activities are listed as not counting, and owning income-producing property is a separate trigger. If the LLC does anything outside the safe list, it should register. The explainer on when registration is required goes through each with examples. The statute does not claim the list is complete, so the safe list is only a starting point.

Step 2: settle the name

Maryland lets a foreign LLC take whatever name it wants for its Maryland record, and that need not match the home-state name. The statute points to its name subtitle for the rules. Check the name in the SDAT business entity search before you file, because a name already in use by another Maryland entity cannot simply be reused. Reserving a name costs $25 and is optional.

Step 3: choose the resident agent

The registration names a resident agent in Maryland with a street address. The statute defines that role as an individual residing in Maryland or a Maryland corporation, LLC or limited partnership whose name, address and designation are filed with the Department. By that definition an out-of-state LLC cannot be its own Maryland agent. SDAT is the backstop when no agent is available, which is a fallback and not the plan. The resident agent page compares the options.

Step 4: choose a speed and a payment method

Online filing through Business Express is the route SDAT recommends, and paying by card or PayPal adds a 3 percent technology fee. A paper filing avoids that fee but is reviewed more slowly, and SDAT says non-expedited paper filings are reviewed within eight weeks of receipt. The speed options are regular at $0, expedited at $50 and online rush at $325. Only rush promises a fixed review window, which is hours online and the next business day after the cutoff.

Step 5: complete the application

The statute fixes the contents. Fill in the LLC's name and any Maryland-only name, the formation state and date, a description of the Maryland business, the agent, the SDAT statement, the home office address and the proof of good standing, and say so if the LLC is a series company. The signer is an authorized person of the LLC, and every statement must match the LLC's records.

Step 6: order proof of good standing last

The proof is the one document you do not control, so order it last and attach it as soon as it arrives. SDAT accepts home-state proof that it finds acceptable, and the paper form asks for a document no older than 60 days. If the LLC has an unpaid annual tax or report at home, settle it first so the certificate reads good standing.

Step 7: sign, pay and file

An authorized person executes the application. Payment cannot wait, because the statute bars SDAT from accepting a registration while any required fee is unpaid. Online, the payment is by card or PayPal. By mail, it is a check or money order, and the package goes to SDAT Charter Legal, 700 E. Pratt St., Suite 2700, Baltimore, MD 21202-6377.

What expedited and rush buy

Regular processing is reviewed in the second calendar month after submission, with an initial review of 7 to 14 business days. Expedited review begins no earlier than business day 7. An online rush request that arrives ahead of 2:30 pm on a business day gets a review within 3 hours, and a later one waits for the next business day. If SDAT returns a filing, the clock starts again from the resubmission. A rush filing submitted when the Department is closed is reviewed by 12:00 pm the next business day.

After the registration is accepted

An approved online filing shows as approved in the Business Express account and SDAT emails a confirmation with the acknowledgment letter within 24 hours of approval. The registration takes the date of the original submission when it is legally sufficient, and the date corrections were made when it is not. Keep the acknowledgment with the LLC's records, and note the SDAT identification number.

Your first annual report

The first Form 1 is due by April 15 of the year after the LLC registers, even if it had no revenue. The fee is $300. The annual report page explains Form 1, the personal property part, the extension and the penalty.

Changes along the way

If a statement in the application becomes inaccurate, the statute tells the LLC to file a certificate correcting it promptly. SDAT's schedule lists a certificate of correction at $25 and a resident agent or principal office change at $25. Which of the two SDAT expects for a foreign LLC changing its agent is something we confirm for each order.

Ending the registration

When Maryland work is over, the LLC files a certificate of cancellation, which SDAT currently takes without a base filing fee. The cancellation page covers the other agencies to close with.

Corporations, partnerships and LLPs

A foreign corporation either registers for interstate or foreign business or qualifies for intrastate business, each for $100. A foreign limited partnership or LLP registers for $100. Read the corporation page before choosing the filing.

A worked example

A Virginia LLC that sells restaurant equipment leases a warehouse in Columbia, hires two drivers and sells to Maryland customers. It names a Maryland agent, orders a Virginia certificate of status, and has its manager sign. The package goes in through Business Express with $100 and, because the lease starts next week, the $50 expedited option. The next April it files its first Form 1 and pays $300.

A timeline you can use

When	What happens	Who
First	Decide the name, the agent and the speed	The LLC
Next	Agent agrees; the application is drafted	The agent and us
Then	Order the home-state proof of good standing	The LLC or us
As soon as the proof arrives	Sign, pay and submit	An authorized person
Hours, days or weeks later	SDAT reviews, depending on the speed	SDAT
Within a day of approval	Acknowledgment arrives by email	SDAT

If Maryland work has already started

An LLC that is already working in Maryland should register now rather than later. The $200 civil penalty attaches to business done before registering, the LLC cannot sue in a Maryland court until it has paid and complied, and members and agents who carry on the business stay exposed to the misdemeanor provision until the registration is on file. Give us the true start date when you order, so the business description is accurate, and take the penalty question to a Maryland lawyer instead of guessing at it.

Costs along the way

The registration itself is $100. A speed option adds $50 or $325. Paying online adds 3 percent. The home-state certificate is priced by the home state, and an outside resident agent charges its own fee. The first Form 1 follows in the spring, at $300, and every spring after that. The cost page puts these in one table so that a budget can be built before the order.

Papers to file away

Keep five documents with the LLC's records: the application as filed, the home-state proof as filed, the receipt for SDAT's fee, the acknowledgment letter, and a note of the resident agent and the date the agent agreed. A certificate of status from SDAT costs $20 and is the quicker way to show current standing once the LLC is registered.

Mistakes that send filings back

Check four things before you file. Is the proof of good standing within the age the form allows? Does the resident agent have a street address in Maryland? Is the signer an authorized person of the LLC? Is the payment complete, since SDAT will not accept a registration until every required fee is paid? A filing that comes back has to be resubmitted, and the review clock then starts over.

What we handle

For $199 we do steps 2 through 7. We confirm the name, complete the application from your answers, check the proof against its age, choose the speed you ask for, submit through Business Express and return SDAT's acknowledgment. You choose the agent and sign.

Registering a foreign LLC in Maryland

Check the safe list
Decide whether any Maryland activity falls outside it.
Pick the Maryland name and agent
The agent needs a Maryland street address.
Choose a speed
Regular $0, expedited $50 or online rush $325.
Complete the application
Use the statute's items and match the LLC's records.
Order proof of good standing
Time it so it is fresh when SDAT sees it.
Sign and file
$100 to SDAT through Business Express or by mail.

Contents of the package

Piece	Holds	Source
Application	The statutory items about the LLC and its Maryland business	You, or us from your answers
Proof of good standing	The home state's document	The home-state filing office
Agent details	Name and Maryland street address	The agent, entered by us
Payment	$100 and any speed option	You, itemized at checkout

The series LLC question

A series LLC says so in the application. The statute asks for a statement that the company is a series company, and nothing else is added to the registration for it. If your LLC is a series LLC, tell us when you order so the statement is not left out.

What the registration does not change

Registering does not move the LLC's home. The formation state's law keeps governing how the LLC is organized, how it runs its own affairs and what its members are liable for, and Maryland cannot refuse registration just because its law differs. The limit runs the other way too: an LLC cannot do in Maryland what Maryland forbids a Maryland LLC to do. Doing business here amounts to accepting Maryland law, and compliance alone does not expose the LLC to suits it would not otherwise face.

Other Maryland registrations that come next

The SDAT registration is the first of several. If the LLC hires employees or sells taxable goods, it also registers with the Comptroller for its tax accounts. The Comptroller number, the federal EIN and the SDAT identification number look alike and are not the same, and the SDAT number is needed whenever you file a report. Local licenses and trader's licenses are separate again, and they are handled by the county or the clerk of the circuit court.

Registered agent: first year included, then $149 a year

$199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.

Registration guide questions

Does SDAT require a notary?

The statute asks for an application executed by an authorized person and does not mention a notary.

Do I need a Maryland address for the LLC?

Only for the resident agent. The LLC itself can keep its home office address.

Can I register and pick the date it starts?

SDAT gives the registration the date of the original submission when it is sufficient.

What happens if SDAT rejects the filing?

You correct it and resubmit, and the review clock starts over.

Our fee and SDAT's

SDAT's $100 and any speed option you choose are listed on their own lines at checkout. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.

Register in Maryland

$199

+ $100 SDAT fee

The SDAT registration for a non-Maryland LLC, completed from your answers
Your home-state proof of existence checked before anything is sent
A Maryland resident agent, either ours or the one you name
Submission through Business Express and the SDAT acknowledgment returned to you
Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year

Sources

Doing business in Maryland?

Give us the home-state details and we prepare the SDAT registration.