How to Start an LLC in Maryland: Filing, EIN, and Annual Report

To start an LLC in Maryland, you file Articles of Organization with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT), pay a $100 filing fee, and name a Maryland resident agent to accept legal papers for the company.¹² Once SDAT accepts the filing, the LLC legally exists. From there you’ll need an EIN, an operating agreement, any licenses your business type requires, and a plan for the $300 annual report that comes due every April 15.

Pick a Name That Meets Maryland’s Rules

Your LLC’s name has to include one of these designators: “Limited Liability Company,” “LLC,” “L.L.C.,” “L.C.,” or “LC.”³ It also has to be distinguishable from every other entity already on file with SDAT, including corporations, partnerships, and other LLCs.⁴

Run any name you’re considering through the Maryland Business Express name search before you get attached to it.⁵ If the name is available but you’re not ready to file, you can reserve it through the same portal so no one else registers it while you finish your paperwork.

Appoint a Resident Agent and a Principal Office

Every Maryland LLC needs a resident agent: a person or business entity with a physical Maryland address who can accept lawsuits, subpoenas, and official notices during business hours.⁶ A member, manager, or employee who lives in Maryland can serve, or you can hire a commercial resident agent service, which typically runs $100 to $300 per year. One catch: the LLC cannot be its own resident agent. It has to be a separate person or entity.

The LLC also needs a principal office in Maryland, which is where the company keeps its records and where members can inspect them.⁶ The principal office and the resident agent’s address don’t have to match. Confirm your agent has agreed to serve before you submit anything, because the resident agent has to sign or consent to the appointment on the formation document.

File the Articles of Organization With SDAT

The Articles of Organization is the document that actually creates the LLC. Maryland requires three things on it: the LLC’s name, the Maryland principal office address along with the resident agent’s name and address, and any additional provisions the members want (such as limits on members’ authority to act for the company).¹ You can state a purpose, but Maryland lets it be as broad as “any lawful business activity.”

Filing Online

Maryland Business Express is the fastest route. Create an account, follow the prompts to enter the LLC’s information, and pay the $100 statutory fee.⁷² The portal may add a technology surcharge. Online filings are processed faster than mail, and same-day processing is available for an additional fee.

Filing by Mail

Mail the completed and signed Articles with a check or money order for $100 to:

State Department of Assessments and Taxation
Charter Division
700 East Pratt Street, Suite 2700
Baltimore, Maryland 21202⁷

Standard mail processing takes several weeks. An additional $50 fee gets your documents expedited.² When SDAT finishes processing, you receive a certified copy of the articles. That document proves the LLC exists, and banks, landlords, and business partners will ask to see it, so keep it somewhere you can find it.

Get an EIN From the IRS

Once SDAT confirms your formation, apply for an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. The EIN is a nine-digit federal tax ID for the business, and you need it to open a business bank account, hire employees, and file federal taxes.⁸ The application is free, and filing online through the IRS website gives you the number immediately. Form the LLC with the state first; the IRS may delay the EIN if the entity doesn’t yet show up in state records.

Write an Operating Agreement

Maryland does not require you to file an operating agreement with the state, but the statute specifically recognizes it as the governing document for the LLC’s internal affairs.⁹ A good agreement addresses how the business is managed, how profits and losses are split, what happens when a member leaves, and whether non-members can be given management authority.

Skipping this step is one of the most common mistakes new owners make, especially in multi-member LLCs. Without a written agreement, disputes default to the statutory rules in the Maryland LLC Act, which may not reflect what the members actually intended. Even single-member LLCs benefit from having one, because it reinforces the separation between owner and business if your liability protection is ever challenged in court.

Get the Licenses Your Business Needs

Forming the LLC gives you a legal entity. It does not give you permission to operate. Maryland requires most businesses that buy and resell goods to hold a Trader’s License, and certain professions, including real estate, insurance, home inspection, and auto repair, require occupational licenses administered through the Maryland Department of Labor.¹⁰

Counties and cities layer their own requirements on top. Contact your county’s office of inspections, licensing, or permits to see what applies locally. Maryland Business Express also has a guided tool that identifies license requirements based on business type and location.¹⁰

Understand How Your LLC Is Taxed

Federally, a single-member LLC is a disregarded entity by default, meaning you report the business’s income on your personal return like a sole proprietor.¹¹ A multi-member LLC defaults to partnership treatment, with profits and losses passing through to each member’s individual return.

At the state level, Maryland treats multi-member LLCs (and single-member LLCs with employees) as pass-through entities that must file Form 510 with the Comptroller of Maryland. Every pass-through entity must file this return, even if the LLC had no income or was inactive for the year.¹² Calendar-year filers are due by April 15.

If any members live outside Maryland, the LLC has to pay state income tax on those nonresident members’ shares of Maryland-source income when it files Form 510. The combined rate for nonresident individual members is 8% (5.75% state tax plus 2.25% special nonresident tax). For nonresident entity members, the rate is 8.25%.¹² This catches a lot of multi-member LLCs off guard, so plan for it if you have out-of-state owners.

File the Annual Report Every April 15

Every Maryland LLC has to file a Form 1 Annual Report with SDAT by April 15 each year, with a $300 filing fee.¹³ The report updates the state on your basic information and also serves as the Personal Property Tax Return. If your LLC owns, leases, or uses tangible personal property in Maryland with an original cost of $20,000 or more, you also have to complete the property sections.¹⁴

The easiest way to file is through Maryland Business Express, which walks you through the questions and figures out whether the Personal Property Tax Return applies.

Missing the deadline triggers penalties that grow the longer you wait, and if you don’t file at all, SDAT can forfeit your LLC’s charter. Forfeiture strips the LLC of its legal standing and its liability protection, which means members can become personally exposed to business debts.¹³ Getting the LLC reinstated requires filing every missed report, paying outstanding personal property taxes, obtaining a tax clearance certificate from the relevant county, and paying a $100 reinstatement fee ($150 expedited).¹⁵ File on time and this whole problem stays hypothetical.

Keep the Records Maryland Requires

Maryland law requires every LLC to keep certain records at its principal office, available for inspection by any member on reasonable written request. Those records include accurate information about the LLC’s business and financial condition, a copy of the Articles of Organization and operating agreement (plus any amendments), and a current list of all members’ names and addresses.¹⁶ Members can also request other information about the LLC’s affairs that reasonably relates to their membership interest.

Federal Beneficial Ownership Reporting

The Corporate Transparency Act originally required most LLCs to file a Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). As of March 2025, FinCEN issued an interim final rule exempting all domestic entities, including LLCs formed in any U.S. state, from this reporting requirement.¹⁷ FinCEN has said it intends to issue a revised final rule, so this could change. Check FinCEN’s website before you assume the exemption still applies when you form.

1
Maryland General Assembly. MD Code, Corps. and Assns 4A-204
2
Justia. Maryland Code Corporations and Associations Section 1-203
3
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Corporations and Associations Code Section 1-502 – Requirements
4
Legal Information Institute (LII) / Cornell Law School. Md. Code Regs. 18.04.02.02 – Entity Names
5
Maryland Business Express. Select a Business Name
6
Justia. Maryland Code Corporations and Associations 4A-210 – Principal Office and Resident Agent
7
Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. Articles of Organization
8
Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
9
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Corporations and Associations 4A-402 – Operating Agreement
10
Maryland Business Express. Obtain Licenses or Permits
11
eCFR. 26 CFR 301.7701-2 – Business Entities; Definitions
12
Maryland Comptroller. Maryland Form 510 Pass-Through Entity Income Tax Return Instructions
13
Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. Form 1 Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return
14
Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. Departmental Forms and Applications
15
Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. Articles or Certificate of Reinstatement
16
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Corporations and Associations – Section 4A-406
17
FinCEN.gov. Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting