Foreign registration · no form number

Maine Corporation Foreign Registration in Delaware

A corporation formed in Maine that wants to do business in Delaware files a registration (no form number), with $245 in state fees. Delaware may ask for Maine's Certificate of Existence ($30). We file it with the Department of State, Division of Corporations using your Maine records and act as your registered agent there for the first year.

What Maine and Delaware each ask for

	Maine formed here	Delaware registering here
Document	Maine Certificate of Existence	Qualification Certificate of a Foreign Corporation (no form number)
State fee	$30	$245 at order
How it is handled	Maine: online, downloaded from the company's information summary page	Filed with Delaware
Paid expedite		24-hour $50, same-day $100, 2-hour $500, 1-hour $1,000
Office	Maine Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions	Delaware Department of State, Division of Corporations
Official page	apps3.web.maine.gov	corp.delaware.gov
Yearly filing	Annual Report, $85, every year	Foreign Corporation Annual Report, $125, every year
Due	June 1	June 30
Late yearly filing	$50 late fee	$125 late fee
Agent	Your Maine registered agent	Our Delaware registered agent

From Maine to Delaware, step by step

We prepare and file the registration
It lists us as your Delaware registered agent, next to your Maine name and formation date. If Delaware wants the Maine certificate, it is ordered first. After approval, your Maine corporation is registered with Delaware.

Your Maine name and Delaware's rules

Delaware can hold a name for 120 days for $75 before you file.

Your Delaware agent and the Maine one

Maine and Delaware both call it a registered agent. Delaware papers come to us; Maine's agent is unchanged.

Yearly filings: Delaware and Maine

Each year your corporation files Maine's Annual Report ($85) and Delaware's Foreign Corporation Annual Report ($125). With our $149 registered agent renewal, Maine plus Delaware comes to $359 a year. The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

LLC or corporation, Maine to Delaware

An LLC formed in Maine files its own registration with Delaware ($200 in state fees, plus the Certificate of Existence ($30)). After that come Maine's Annual Report ($85) and Delaware's Annual LLC Tax ($300). See the LLC filing.

Registering a Delaware company in Maine

A corporation formed in Delaware that registers with Maine files Form MBCA-12 with $250 in state fees and a $50 required expedite. See that filing.

Common questions: Maine to Delaware

Does my Maine company need to register in Delaware?

Yes, once a Maine business operates there; Delaware registers it as a foreign corporation.

Is this a certificate of authority?

Delaware calls it qualification for Maine corporations; other states say certificate of authority.

How much does it cost to register a Maine corporation in Delaware?

$444 at checkout; Delaware may also want Maine's Certificate of Existence, at extra cost.

What are the yearly costs for Maine and Delaware?

$359 a year: our $149 registered agent renewal, $85 to Maine and $125 to Delaware for the yearly reports.

Does Delaware require a registered agent?

Yes: the Maine registered agent stays, and ours covers Delaware for year one, with a street address there.

Can I form a new Delaware corporation instead?

Yes, but Maine keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files Delaware's Annual Franchise Tax Report ($50), and the original keeps Maine's Annual Report.

How do I withdraw from Delaware later?

Maine companies leave by filing a Certificate of Withdrawal of Foreign Corporation; until then, Delaware's report stays due alongside Maine's filings.

What does a Delaware company file to register in Maine?

It files Form MBCA-12 with $250 in state fees and a $50 required expedite.

Official sources

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The same move for an LLC