Foreign registration · no form number

Maine LLC Foreign Registration in Massachusetts

An LLC formed in Maine that wants to do business in Massachusetts files a paper registration (no form number), with $520 in state fees. Massachusetts also asks for Maine's Certificate of Existence ($30), no older than 90 days. We file it with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division from your Maine records, then serve as your resident agent there for year one.

Maine and Massachusetts side by side

	Maine formed here	Massachusetts registering here
Document	Maine Certificate of Existence	Foreign Limited Liability Company Application for Registration (no form number)
State fee	$30	$520 at order (filing fee $500 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Maine: online, downloaded from the company's information summary page	Filed on Massachusetts's paper form
Paid expedite		$20
Office	Maine Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions	Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division
Official page	apps3.web.maine.gov	sec.state.ma.us
Age rule	Dated when issued	Accepted if dated within 90 days
Yearly filing	Annual Report, $85, every year	Foreign Limited Liability Company Annual Report, $500, every year
Due	June 1	On or before the anniversary date of registration to do business in Massachusetts
Agent	Your Maine registered agent	Our Massachusetts resident agent

From Maine to Massachusetts, step by step

Order the Maine certificate
The Certificate of Existence ($30) is ordered from Maine separately; it is not part of our Massachusetts order. Massachusetts counts 90 days from the day Maine issues it, so the order goes in shortly before filing.
We prepare and file the registration
It names us as your Massachusetts resident agent, with your Maine name and formation date and the certificate attached. The Maine certificate comes first; then the Massachusetts filing goes in. Once Massachusetts approves it, the Maine company can do business there.

First-year cost, Maine to Massachusetts

Item	Amount
State fees, paid at order	$520
Certificate of Existence, paid to Maine	$30
Our service, with a year of Massachusetts resident agent service	$199
First-year total, Maine certificate included	$749

Massachusetts's paid expedite is optional and not in the total.

Your Maine name and Massachusetts's rules

Massachusetts can hold a name for $30 before you file.

Your Massachusetts agent and the Maine one

Massachusetts calls it a resident agent; Maine says registered agent. Your current registered agent stays for Maine; ours takes Massachusetts's papers and notices.

Staying in good standing in Maine and Massachusetts

Each year your LLC files Maine's Annual Report ($85) and Massachusetts's Foreign Limited Liability Company Annual Report ($500). With our $149 resident agent renewal, Maine plus Massachusetts comes to $734 a year. Both states' filings stay current side by side.

Registering a Massachusetts company in Maine

An LLC formed in Massachusetts that registers with Maine files Form MLLC-12 with $250 in state fees and a $50 required expedite, plus the Certificate of Good Standing ($25) dated within 90 days. See that filing.

Common questions: Maine to Massachusetts

Does my Maine company need to register in Massachusetts?

Yes, once a Maine business operates there; Massachusetts registers it as a foreign LLC.

How much does it cost to register a Maine LLC in Massachusetts?

$719 at checkout plus $30 to Maine for the Certificate of Existence, $749 in all (checkout is $520 in state fees plus our $199).

Do I need Maine's certificate of good standing?

Yes: Massachusetts wants Maine's Certificate of Existence ($30), no more than 90 days old at filing.

What are the yearly costs for Maine and Massachusetts?

$734 a year: our $149 resident agent renewal, $85 to Maine and $500 to Massachusetts for the yearly reports.

What if I don't register with Massachusetts?

A Maine company cannot sue in court there until it registers, and Massachusetts can add a civil penalty of up to $500.

Does Massachusetts require a registered agent?

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

Can I form a new Massachusetts LLC instead?

Yes, but Maine keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files Massachusetts's Limited Liability Company Annual Report ($520), and the original keeps Maine's Annual Report.

How do I withdraw from Massachusetts later?

Maine companies leave by filing a Certificate of Withdrawal ($100); until then, Massachusetts's report stays due alongside Maine's filings.

Official sources

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