The cost of a Maryland LLC starts at $100 to file the Articles of Organization, but the realistic first-year outlay is at least $450 once you add the state’s $300 annual report fee, and it climbs from there if you file online, hire a resident agent, or pay for faster processing. Depending on your choices, expect somewhere between about $450 and well over $1,000 in year one.
What It Costs to File the Articles of Organization
The base filing fee with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) is $100, whether you file by mail, in person, or through the Baltimore dropbox. Online filings through Maryland Business Express are automatically treated as expedited, so the practical minimum online is $150. A 3% technology fee also applies to portal payments.
Processing speed is where the price moves:
- Standard mail or dropbox: $100, six to eight weeks.
- Expedited (online, or by request on paper): $150 total, seven to fourteen business days.
- Same-day online: $425 total ($100 base plus a $325 rush fee), submitted by 2:30 p.m.
- Same-day paper (dropbox or in person): $525 total, with dropbox submissions due by 10:00 a.m.
In-person same-day filings require an appointment through SDAT’s TeleGov system, and approved same-day filings are available for pickup by 3:45 p.m.
The $300 Annual Report
Every Maryland LLC, domestic or foreign, owes a $300 annual report fee. The report is filed on Form 1, the combined Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return, due to SDAT by April 15. A free 60-day extension to June 15 is available if you request it on or before the original deadline.
The annual report portion applies to every LLC. The personal property section must also be completed if the LLC owns, leases, or uses tangible personal property in Maryland with a total original cost of $20,000 or more, or if it holds a trader’s license. Below that threshold, answering “No” to the relevant questions satisfies the requirement.
Miss the deadline and SDAT adds penalties that grow with time, interest at 2% of the initial penalty every 30 days, and eventually estimated assessments and forfeiture of the LLC’s charter if the filing never happens.
When the $300 Can Be Waived
LLCs that enroll in MarylandSaves, the state’s retirement savings program, can have the $300 fee waived. The waiver also applies to businesses that certify they already offer employees a qualifying alternative plan, such as a 401(k), 403(b), or SIMPLE IRA; those businesses must complete a waiver form each year. The waiver is generally not relevant to single-member LLCs or LLCs with no employees. SDAT does not decide eligibility — it implements decisions made by MarylandSaves.
Resident Agent Fees
Maryland requires every LLC to maintain a resident agent (what other states call a registered agent) to receive legal papers. The agent must be an adult Maryland citizen, a Maryland corporation, a Maryland LLC, or a Maryland limited partnership. An LLC cannot serve as its own resident agent.
If a member lives in Maryland and is willing to take the role, there is no separate cost. Owners who want privacy or don’t have a Maryland address usually hire a commercial service, which typically runs about $99 to $250 per year, with some providers charging more. Several formation companies bundle the first year of agent service into their packages.
Other SDAT Fees You May Encounter
Depending on what your LLC does, you may pay for one or more of these filings:
- Name reservation: $25 to hold a proposed name for 30 days, plus an optional $20 for expedited processing.
- Trade name (DBA) registration: $25, effective for five years. Expedited processing adds $50.
- Articles of Amendment: $100, plus $50 for expedited processing.
- Change of resident agent or principal office: $25.
- Certificate of Status (good standing): $20, with another $20 for expedited service. Often required for loans and license renewals.
- Certified copy of a filing: $20.
- Articles of Cancellation: $0 for standard processing, $50 expedited, $325 for rush online.
- Foreign LLC registration: $100, plus a $200 penalty if the LLC was already doing business in Maryland before registering.
- Reinstatement after forfeiture: $100 base, plus all delinquent annual report fees, penalties, and any outstanding personal property taxes and clearance certificates.
Costs That Are Free or Optional
An Employer Identification Number from the IRS is free. The online application issues the number immediately on approval, and the IRS warns against sites that charge for it. Maryland Business Express recommends obtaining your SDAT identification number before applying for an EIN, and keeping the business name, address, and structure consistent across filings.
Maryland does not require a written operating agreement, and nothing about it gets filed with SDAT, so the state cost is zero. If you hire an attorney to draft one, a single-member agreement can start around $500 as a flat fee, while multi-member agreements billed hourly commonly run from about $1,500 to $4,000 depending on complexity.
Local Business Licenses
Local licensing is separate from SDAT and depends on what you sell and where. Maryland’s Comptroller requires a trader’s license for businesses selling goods, with fees scaled to inventory value: starting at $15 for inventory under $1,000 and reaching $800 for inventory above $750,000, with higher rates in Baltimore City. Restaurant licenses start at $10 and construction licenses at $15. All licenses carry an additional $2 issuing fee and run from May 1 through April 30. To confirm what applies, contact the local Clerk of the Circuit Court or the State License Bureau at 410-260-6240.
First-Year Totals
A straightforward Maryland LLC filed online with no extras comes to about $450 in year one: $150 for the Articles of Organization (with the automatic online expedited fee) plus $300 for the annual report. Add a commercial resident agent and the total runs roughly $550 to $700. An attorney-drafted operating agreement, a trade name, or same-day processing can push it above $1,000. After year one, the main recurring cost is the $300 annual report every April, or $0 if the LLC qualifies for the MarylandSaves waiver.