Maryland Foreign Registration / The LLC form

The Maryland foreign LLC registration form, section by section

The Maryland foreign LLC registration form is the Limited Liability Company Registration (For non-Maryland Limited Liability Company), filed with SDAT for $100 through Business Express or on paper. The statute decides what it has to say. We prepare it for $199.

The LLC filing at a glance

Official title: Limited Liability Company Registration (For non-Maryland Limited Liability Company)
Business Express filing type: Non-Maryland Limited Liability Company
Statute: Corporations and Associations 4A-1002
Fee: $100
Signer: an authorized person
Attached: The home-state proof of good standing
Mail to: SDAT Charter Legal, 700 E. Pratt St., Suite 2700, Baltimore, MD 21202-6377

The LLC's name

The application gives the name of the LLC and, if different, the name under which it proposes to register and do business. Maryland lets a foreign LLC take any name for its Maryland record, as the name subtitle provides. If the home name is free in Maryland, use it. If another Maryland entity already uses it, the LLC chooses a name for Maryland.

Where and when it was formed

The application gives the state under whose laws it was formed and the date of its formation. Take both from the LLC's formation document or the certificate you are ordering, and make them match the certificate exactly.

The business to be done in Maryland

The application gives the general character of the business it proposes to transact in Maryland. A short factual sentence fits: online retail of garden equipment with a warehouse in Frederick, or ownership of a rented duplex in Annapolis. It should match what the LLC really does here.

The resident agent and the SDAT statement

The application gives the name and address of its resident agent in Maryland, and it carries a statement that SDAT is appointed as the LLC's resident agent when no agent has been appointed, when the appointment is revoked, or when the agent cannot be found or served with reasonable diligence. The statement is a backstop built into every registration. Naming a real agent keeps service of process on a person who will read it. See the resident agent page.

The home office

The application gives the address of the office required to be maintained in the state of organization or, if none is required, of the principal office. For most LLCs formed in Delaware or Wyoming, that is the registered office required at home, often the home agent's address. Where the home state requires no office, the principal office goes in.

Proof of good standing

The application is accompanied by proof acceptable to the Department of good standing in the jurisdiction where the LLC is organized. For the document SDAT sees, order the certificate of status or good standing from the formation state. The paper form asks for a certificate at most 60 days old. Order it near the end of preparation, not the beginning, so that the date is still fresh once the signature is in.

Series companies

If the LLC is a series LLC, the application says so. The statute asks only for a statement that the company is a series company.

Signing

The application is executed by an authorized person. The statute does not mention a notary. A manager or member with authority to bind the LLC is the usual signer.

Fees and speed on this filing

SDAT prints three speeds beside this filing. Regular review adds $0, expedited adds $50 and online rush adds $325. Paying online adds 3 percent. A paper filing that asks for the two-hour service pays $425 on top of the base fee, and a paper rush request that arrives before 10:30 am gets same-day review. The cost page puts the figures in a table.

What SDAT does with it

If the application meets the requirements of the title and the fees are paid, SDAT endorses the date and time of acceptance, records the document and sends an acknowledgment to the filer. The registration then takes the date of the original submission, or the date the corrections were completed if SDAT sent it back.

How we prepare the Maryland LLC registration

You supply details
Name, formation state and date, home office, the Maryland business and the agent.
We complete the application
In the statute's order, from your answers and the home-state proof.
An authorized person signs
Through Business Express or on paper.
We choose the speed with you
Regular, $50 expedited or $325 rush.
We file
The package goes to SDAT with $100.

After the form is accepted

The LLC's next date is April 15, when Form 1 is due, and the first one falls the spring after registration. Changes to the facts in the application are reported with a corrective certificate. The annual report page and the guide cover both.

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.

Maryland LLC form questions

Does the Maryland LLC form need a notary?

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

Does a corporation file the same registration?

No. Corporations use a separate filing, listed as non-Maryland corporation.

What do I attach?

The home state's proof of good standing.

What if the home name is taken?

The LLC registers under another name in Maryland.

We prepare the registration

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.