Foreign registration · Form 40

Maine Corporation Foreign Registration in New Hampshire

To do business in New Hampshire, a corporation formed in Maine registers there on Form 40, with $102 in state fees. New Hampshire may ask for Maine's Certificate of Existence ($30). We file it with the Secretary of State, Corporation Division from your Maine records, then serve as your registered agent there for year one.

Maine and New Hampshire side by side

	Maine formed here	New Hampshire registering here
Document	Maine Certificate of Existence	Form 40, Application for Certificate of Authority for Profit Foreign Corporation
State fee	$30	$102 at order (filing fee $100 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Maine: online, downloaded from the company's information summary page	Filed with New Hampshire
Office	Maine Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions	New Hampshire Secretary of State, Corporation Division
Official page	apps3.web.maine.gov	sos.nh.gov
Yearly filing	Annual Report, $85, every year	Annual Report, $100, every year
Due	June 1	April 1
Late yearly filing	$50 late fee	$50 late fee
Agent	Your Maine registered agent	Our New Hampshire registered agent

How Maine companies register with New Hampshire

We prepare and file Form 40
It names us as your New Hampshire registered agent, with your Maine name and formation date. If New Hampshire wants the Maine certificate, it is ordered first. After approval, your Maine corporation is registered with New Hampshire.

Your Maine name and New Hampshire's rules

We search New Hampshire's records for Maine's name on file before anything is filed.

Agents: New Hampshire and Maine

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

Staying in good standing in Maine and New Hampshire

Each year your corporation files Maine's Annual Report ($85) and New Hampshire's Annual Report ($100). With our $149 registered agent renewal, Maine plus New Hampshire comes to $334 a year. Both states' filings stay current side by side.

LLC or corporation, Maine to New Hampshire

An LLC formed in Maine files Form FLLC-1 with New Hampshire ($102 in state fees, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). After that come Maine's Annual Report ($85) and New Hampshire's Annual Report ($100). See the LLC filing.

Registering a New Hampshire company in Maine

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

Questions Maine owners ask about New Hampshire

Does my Maine company need to register in New Hampshire?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

Yes: New Hampshire issues one to Maine corporations once the form is approved.

How much does the New Hampshire registration cost?

$301 at checkout; New Hampshire may also want Maine's Certificate of Existence, at extra cost.

What are the yearly costs for Maine and New Hampshire?

$334 a year: our $149 registered agent renewal, $85 to Maine and $100 to New Hampshire for the yearly reports.

What if I don't register with New Hampshire?

A Maine company cannot sue in court there until it registers.

Does New Hampshire require a registered agent?

Yes: the Maine registered agent stays, and ours covers New Hampshire for year one.

Can I form a new New Hampshire corporation instead?

Yes, but Maine keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files New Hampshire's Annual Report ($100), and the original keeps Maine's Annual Report.

How do I withdraw from New Hampshire later?

Maine companies leave by filing an Application for Certificate of Withdrawal of a For-Profit Foreign Corporation; until then, New Hampshire's report stays due alongside Maine's filings.

Official sources

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