Maryland LLC Costs: What You'll Actually Pay

When people ask what a Maryland LLC costs, they usually mean the up-front price to form it. But the more useful way to think about it is in two buckets, because the recurring costs matter as much as the one-time ones.

One-time formation costs

These are the costs you pay once to bring the LLC into existence: the state fee to file your Articles of Organization with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation, plus any optional state add-ons you choose at formation, such as expedited processing. (Resident agent coverage isn't an add-on when you form with Mainstay. It's already part of the flat yearly service.) In Maryland the base fee is $100, and the $50 expedite is close to essential, as the processing section below explains.

Recurring annual costs

These are the costs of staying compliant year after year. The big one in Maryland is the annual report on Form 1, which doubles as the personal property return; every LLC files it with SDAT, and the fee is $300 a year. If you use a commercial resident agent service, that renews annually too. Budgeting only for formation and forgetting the recurring line is the most common planning mistake owners make.

To form your LLC, SDAT charges $100 to file the Articles of Organization (Corps. & Ass'ns 1-203). This is the mandatory, unavoidable cost of creating the entity. Everyone pays it, and it goes to the state, not to a filing service.

What the state fee covers

The filing fee covers SDAT's review and acceptance of your Articles of Organization, which is the document that legally creates your LLC. It does not cover expedited handling, a name reservation, a trade name registration, or a resident agent. Those sit outside the base charge. If you pay online through Maryland Business Express by card or PayPal, SDAT adds a 3% technology fee.

Where to confirm current amounts

The authoritative source is the fee schedule on Maryland Business Express. We pass state fees through without a markup.

This is where Maryland differs sharply from most states. The $100 base fee buys the slowest queue: SDAT reviews non-expedited filings during the second calendar month after submission, so a September filing is reviewed in November.

Your speed options

• Non-expedited ($100 total): reviewed in the second calendar month after you submit.
• Expedited (+$50, $150 total): initial review falls between 7 and 14 business days, and SDAT says expedited filings aren't reviewed before the 7th business day. On October 1, 2026, SDAT was reviewing expedited LLC Articles submitted September 16.
• Online rush (+$325): submitted before 2:30 p.m. on a business day, reviewed within three hours. Rush on paper (two hours) is $425.

For most owners the $50 expedite is the sensible default, since a two-month wait can stall a lease, a bank account, or a contract. Mainstay includes it in every Maryland formation, so it shows on your receipt as a state expedite fee.

This is the recurring cost that surprises out-of-state owners most, because it is larger than in most states. Every Maryland LLC files its annual report on Form 1 with SDAT by April 15 each year, and the fee is $300 (a family farm LLC pays $100). Filing online adds the 3% technology fee.

Why it is structured this way

Maryland combines what other states split into two things (the informational annual report and a personal property return) into a single yearly filing. The report keeps your entity active on the state's rolls, and the personal property component reports business personal property the company owns. SDAT notes that the fee is for the annual report only; there is no fee for the personal property return.

The MarylandSaves waiver

There is one meaningful exception. SDAT's MarylandSaves fee waiver can remove the $300 fee for qualifying businesses that participate in the state's retirement savings program. Read the rules closely: the 2026 waiver required an exemption awarded before December 31, 2025.

The cost of missing it

File late and you risk a late filing penalty. If the prior year's report still isn't filed by September 30, SDAT certifies the LLC on a list and then forfeits its right to do business in Maryland and its right to use its name. Reinstatement starts at $100 (+$50 expedited), on top of catching up, so treating the annual fee as non-negotiable is the smart approach.

Beyond the mandatory state fees, a few optional costs round out the picture. None of these are required to form the LLC, but most owners end up paying for at least one.

Resident agent service

If you live in Maryland and serve as your own resident agent, this costs nothing, but your address goes on the public record and legal papers come to you. If you use a commercial resident agent service, you pay an annual fee for the professional Maryland address, dependable receipt of documents, and the privacy of keeping your home address off the public SDAT record. Changing agents later costs $25 at SDAT. That renewal math belongs to standalone agent services; clients who form with Mainstay never see it, because agent coverage continues under the same yearly price that covers the filings.

Name reservation and trade names

If you want to lock in a name before filing, a name reservation with SDAT costs $25 and lasts only 30 days. If you plan to operate under a name other than your LLC's legal name, a trade name (DBA) registration is a separate filing with its own fee. Neither is required to form the LLC. They only apply if your situation calls for them.

Professional and licensing costs

Depending on your industry, you may need professional or occupational licenses, county business licenses, or local permits. These vary widely and are separate from your SDAT filings. Some businesses have none; regulated professions can have several. Factor them in based on what you actually do.

What we charge

The receipt card on this page shows exactly what Mainstay Filing charges, with the state's $100 filing fee and $50 expedite fee listed separately at cost. Our own charge is one flat yearly amount covering the formation work, the EIN application, the resident agent, and the annual report filing together, and we never bury markups in the state fee lines.