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Maryland Foreign LLC Registration

The fee, the form, what triggers registration in Maryland, and how to file.

State filing fee $100 one-time
Registered agent $125/year based on Northwest RA
Total, all in $1,375
Maryland data last reviewed Sep 11, 2026 · dat.maryland.gov Totals include the $100 filing fee once, Northwest RA at $125/year, and Maryland recurring state costs over the selected period.

Foreign Qualification

Filing fee
$100
Form
Limited Liability Company Registration (for a non-Maryland LLC)
Annual obligation
$300/year
Processing time
Maryland reviews a non-expedited online filing in 6 to 8 weeks and a non-expedited paper filing in 4 to 6 weeks.
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The 7 to 10 business days often quoted for Maryland is the EXPEDITED time and costs $50; SDAT prints the two figures side by side. Paper being faster than online is counterintuitive and is what SDAT states.

Expedite
$50 for documents hand delivered or left in the dropbox, which buys review within 7 to 10 business days rather than the 6 to 8 weeks a non-expedited online filing takes.
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Same day service is a separate product: $325 online, submitted by 2:30pm, or $425 on paper, dropped off by 10am and collected by 3:45pm.

Estimated year 1 cost
$400
Note: The $300 is technically a personal property tax return fee, not a franchise tax. A 2022 bill proposed eliminating the fee for online filers but was not enacted in that form, so $300 remains payable online. The one live exemption is MarylandSaves enrollment, which waives the annual report fee for qualifying employers.
Visit Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation ↗

Need to register your LLC in Maryland?

Northwest files the foreign registration and serves as your registered agent in Maryland, which the filing requires. Only need an agent? Northwest's registered agent service alone is $125/year.

Have Northwest register your LLC in Maryland ↗
$225 + the state fee · One year of registered agent included
Other registered agent options 2 alternatives
Registered Agents Inc
$200/year · Report filing included, state fees extra
Visit site ↗
Harbor Compliance
$99 first year, then $149/year · Full-service compliance option
Visit site ↗

What triggers foreign qualification in Maryland?

  • Physical office or place of business
  • Employees working in the state

Important to know

  • Every Maryland LLC pays $300 for the annual report, domestic and foreign alike, and owes it whether or not the business operated, earned revenue or owns any property. SDAT Form 1 serves as both the annual report and the personal property return, which is why the charge is sometimes described as a tax.
What does NOT require registration in Maryland 8 activities

Maryland carves 8 activities out by statute. On their own, none of them requires a foreign LLC to register.

  • Maintaining, defending, or settling an action, suit, claim, dispute, or administrative or arbitration proceeding
  • Holding meetings of members or agents, or carrying on internal company affairs
  • Maintaining bank accounts
  • Conducting an isolated transaction that is not one of a number of similar transactions
  • Foreclosing mortgages and deeds of trust on property in the state
  • Acquiring title to property in the state by foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure after a mortgage default
  • Holding, protecting, renting, maintaining, and operating property so acquired
  • Selling or transferring title to property so acquired, including to the FHA or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Under Md. Corps. and Assns Section 4A-1009. Maryland departs from the uniform pattern more than any other state: only 8 items, keeping 3 of the 11 uniform core and replacing the rest with a foreclosure safe harbor. NO time limit on the isolated-transaction item. Subsection (b) is an affirmative trigger: a foreign LLC that owns income-producing real or tangible personal property in Maryland IS doing business.

Forming a new LLC in Maryland instead? $100 to form
Formation fee
$100
Annual cost
$300/year
State income tax
Income tax up to 6.5%, plus county taxes (2026 tax year)
Privacy
High
Sources 1 link

More Maryland guides

Already operating without registering?Civil penalty, back fees and court access in Maryland, statute-cited ↗ Not sure Maryland applies to you?What counts as doing business, and what does not ↗ Changing your registered agent?The form, the fee and the steps in Maryland ↗ Operating in more than one state?Free 3-question check of where you must register ↗

This page provides general information based on publicly available state requirements. It is not legal advice. Verify with the Maryland SDAT before filing.