The Maine LLC annual report is the yearly filing that keeps an LLC in good standing with the Secretary of State. As of 2026, the fee is $85 domestic and $150 foreign, due June 1. A 2025 Maine LLC formation means a June 2026 first filing.
Does Maine Require an Annual Report for LLCs?
Yes. Every domestic LLC and every foreign LLC authorized to conduct business in Maine must deliver an Annual Report to the Maine Secretary of State each year under 31 M.R.S. §1665.
The filing authority is the Bureau of Corporations, Elections, and Commissions, specifically the Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions.
No automatic exemption exists based on entity size, revenue, or member count. A dormant LLC still owes the annual report unless it has formally obtained a Certificate of Excuse from the Secretary of State. That excuse applies only while the LLC has in fact ceased transacting business and is not carrying unpaid annual report fees or penalties.
A foreign LLC that hasn't transacted business in Maine for six months still owes a report until it formally cancels its qualification.
For the broader picture of recurring Maine obligations, our Maine LLC compliance hub lays out every yearly filing in one place.
Maine LLC Annual Report Deadline (June 1, Every Year)
Maine doesn't use anniversary dates. The June 1 deadline is fixed for every LLC, regardless of when the entity was formed or qualified.
The filing window opens January 1 and closes June 1 each year under 31 M.R.S. §1665(3). That gives owners a five-month runway. First-time filers wait until the calendar year after formation; the first report is never due in the formation year itself.
| Formation or qualification year | First Annual Report due |
|---|---|
| 2024 | June 1, 2025 |
| 2025 | June 1, 2026 |
| 2026 | June 1, 2027 |
Forming on December 28, 2025 buys almost six months before any report is due. For a full picture of how fast Maine processes formation versus when the first report kicks in, see our Maine LLC formation timeline guide.
How Do I Find My Maine LLC's Charter Number?
Every Maine LLC receives a Charter Number at formation. The Annual Reports Online portal uses this number to pull the entity record and pre-fill last year's data.
Owners can find the Charter Number on the Certificate of Formation acknowledgement, on past annual report receipts, or by searching Maine's Corporate Search system. Our Maine business entity search walkthrough covers the lookup step by step.
Maine LLC Annual Report Fee: $85 Domestic, $150 Foreign
The 2026 fee structure comes from 31 M.R.S. §1680: $85 for a domestic LLC, $150 for a foreign LLC, and a $50 late filing penalty.
The fee hasn't shifted for 2024, 2025, or 2026. The Maine Secretary of State's October 2025 scam warning repeats the same $85 and $150 figures, which lines up with the controlling statute.
| Filing type | Domestic LLC | Foreign LLC |
|---|---|---|
| Original Annual Report | $85 | $150 |
| Amended Annual Report | $85 | $150 |
| Late penalty (added) | $50 | $50 |
Maine does not tier the fee by revenue, asset value, or member count. A solo LLC pays the same $85 annual report fee as a larger domestic LLC.
For the full breakdown of what setting up a Maine LLC costs end to end, our Maine LLC cost guide maps every line item.
Filing the Maine LLC Annual Report: Online Portal and Paper Steps
The Maine Secretary of State's Filing an Annual Report page is the safest starting point because it links to both online filing and paper annual reports.
Online filing is the faster route because the state portal issues an acknowledgement after submission. Paper filings follow the Secretary of State's posted corporate filing processing time, currently 35 to 40 business days.
Filing Online via Maine Annual Reports Online
The official filing portal is Annual Reports Online, hosted by Maine.gov. The online system processes Form MLLC-13 in six concrete steps.
Here's the actual flow from login to confirmation:
- Enter the Charter Number on the portal home page; the system pulls last year's filing data
- Verify registered agent information (commercial or noncommercial)
- Confirm or update the principal office address
- Complete the “brief statement of character of business in Maine” field
- Update member, manager, or other authorized person details
- Sign as an authorized signer, choose payment, and print the acknowledgement screen
Accepted payment methods include Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and the InforME subscriber account. One quirk to watch: Maine doesn't email the receipt automatically. Printing the acknowledgement screen at the end of the session is the only way to keep a copy.
Filing by Mail with a Preprinted Paper Form
Paper filing exists for owners who prefer mail or who can't access the online system. The state generates a customized preprinted form from the same portal that serves online filings.
Generate the form using the Charter Number. Sign the printed copy and write the Charter Number on the check or money order. Mail the packet to the address that prints on the form itself.
The address on the generated form is entity-specific. Don't substitute a general Secretary of State mailing address. Paper processing runs roughly 35 to 40 business days, compared to the immediate online acknowledgement.
Amending the Report After Filing (MLLC-13A)
Post-filing corrections go through Form MLLC-13A, the Amended Annual Report. Filing fees match the original ($85 domestic, $150 foreign), and the amendment window runs until December 31 of the same filing year under 31 M.R.S. §1666.
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Northwest’s Maine Registered Agent service gives your LLC a reliable state contact for official notices and helps keep registered agent information organized before filing the Annual Report.
The 5 Statutory Fields Required on the Maine LLC Annual Report
The statute that creates the annual report obligation also dictates exactly what goes in it. 31 M.R.S. §1665(1) lists five required fields. Anything beyond these is operational, not statutory.
Before opening the portal, owners need:
- The LLC's full legal name as registered with the Secretary of State
- Registered agent information required by 5 M.R.S. §105 (commercial agent name, or noncommercial agent name and address)
- The principal office address of the LLC
- A brief statement of the character of the business actually engaged in Maine
- The name and address of at least one member, manager, or other authorized person
The information must be current as of the date the annual report is delivered to the Secretary of State. Do not copy last year's report mechanically if the registered agent, principal office, or authorized person details have changed.
Registered agent updates can technically be made on the annual report, but Maine officially uses Form CLKRA-3 for formal changes at a $35 filing fee. For a real switch, the CLKRA-3 route is cleaner. Owners shopping for an agent should review our breakdown of the best registered agent options in Maine before swapping providers.
Member and manager details should match internal records. The operating agreement is the authoritative source for membership interests and management authority; the annual report is just the public-facing snapshot. Our Maine LLC operating agreement template helps clean up the internal side first.
Maine's $50 Late Penalty and the 60-Day Dissolution Notice
Late filing triggers a flat $50 penalty under 31 M.R.S. §1680(10), added to the regular fee. The broader failure-to-file framework sits in §1667. No percentage scaling, no per-day accrual.
| Entity type | Annual fee | Late penalty | Total if late |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic LLC | $85 | $50 | $135 |
| Foreign LLC | $150 | $50 | $200 |
The bigger risk isn't the penalty. It's what comes after. If the report stays unfiled, the Secretary of State can move to administratively dissolve a domestic LLC under 31 M.R.S. §1592 or revoke a foreign LLC's authority under §1625 and §1626.
Dissolution doesn't happen on June 2. Maine uses a notice procedure: the state issues written notice of grounds for dissolution, and the LLC has 60 days after the notice is issued and perfected to correct the issue. Notice is perfected five days after mailing to the registered agent.
The catch: several competitor pages summarize this as “dissolution 65 days after June 1” or “dissolution by August 5.” That shorthand misses the actual mechanism.
Late filers who respond within the cure window pay the fee plus penalty and avoid dissolution entirely. Late filers who ignore the notice lose their LLC.
Once dissolved, a Maine LLC continues to exist for winding up purposes, can defend lawsuits, and keeps the validity of its prior contracts. It can't transact new business under the LLC name. The name itself stays protected in the Secretary of State's records for three years.
Reinstating or Reviving a Maine LLC After Dissolution
Maine distinguishes reinstatement from revival. A domestic LLC administratively dissolved under §1592 may apply for reinstatement within 6 years under §1593. If reinstatement is accepted, it relates back to the effective date of administrative dissolution, and the LLC resumes business as if the dissolution had not occurred.
The reinstatement fee structure sits in 31 M.R.S. §1680(17), which charges $150 for each ground of failure (annual report failure, late penalty failure, registered agent failure, false information) and caps the annual-report-failure portion at $600 regardless of how many years are owed.
The Certificate of Revival is a separate mechanism filed on Form MLLC-REVIVE for $150 under 31 M.R.S. §1604. It applies after the certificate of formation has been cancelled, typically because the 6-year reinstatement window under §1593 has passed. Before filing anything, owners should check the entity's status in Maine records or contact the Secretary of State to confirm whether reinstatement or revival applies.
For LLCs that voluntarily ceased operations rather than slipped on filings, Maine offers a separate path: the Certificate of Excuse (MLLC-14, $40 fee). Excused entities skip annual reports while genuinely inactive, then file a Certificate of Resumption (MLLC-14A, $100) to come back online.
Maine Annual Report Scam Solicitations: What to Watch For
Maine has an unusually active scam-letter problem. The Maine Secretary of State published a scam warning for 2026 annual report solicitations, which makes this section worth sourcing directly in the body. In October 2025, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows warned about a company sending Maine businesses fake annual report solicitations charging $210 per filing.
The fake forms mimic an official state mailer but aren't authorized by Maine. The Maine SOS does not mail annual report forms or invoices. Email reminders go out as a courtesy from cec.corporations@informe.org when an email address is on file, but filing responsibility stays with the LLC.
Two rules cover most cases:
- File only at apps1.web.maine.gov or through the official preprinted paper form portal
- The 2026 fees are $85 domestic LLC, $35 nonprofit, $150 foreign LLC; anything outside those numbers is a red flag
Rudman Winchell, a Maine law firm, and WGME news have both covered the C.F.S. solicitation pattern in detail. A $210 mailer should not be treated as an official Maine invoice. Verify the filing through the Maine SOS annual report page or the official portal before paying anything.
Maine LLC Annual Report FAQ
The Maine SOS receives recurring questions on timing, penalties, and amendments. Below are the seven that come up most often, with answers tied to current statute and portal mechanics.
When is the first Maine LLC annual report due after forming?
The first report is due between January 1 and June 1 of the year after the calendar year of formation. A 2025 formation files by June 1, 2026. A 2026 formation files by June 1, 2027. There's no proration based on the actual day of formation within the year.
What happens if I miss the June 1 Maine annual report deadline?
The $50 late penalty applies as soon as June 2 rolls around. The LLC stays in good standing until the Secretary of State issues a notice of grounds for administrative dissolution and the 60-day cure period passes. Most LLCs that file late within a few weeks pay $135 total and move on.
Does Maine mail annual report reminders or forms?
No. The Maine Secretary of State explicitly states that it does not mail annual report forms. Email reminders go out as a courtesy from cec.corporations@informe.org if a valid email is on file. Any physical mailer claiming to be a Maine annual report invoice is almost certainly a misleading solicitation.
Can I change my registered agent on the Maine annual report?
The annual report requires current registered agent information, but Maine uses a separate process for formal changes through Form CLKRA-3 at a $35 filing fee. The cleaner path for a real change is the CLKRA-3, not the annual report.
Can I amend a Maine annual report after filing it?
Yes. Form MLLC-13A allows amendments until December 31 of the filing year under 31 M.R.S. §1666. The amended report carries the same fee as the original ($85 domestic, $150 foreign).
Is the Maine annual report the same as a Maine tax return?
No. The annual report is a Secretary of State compliance filing. Maine income tax filings go to Maine Revenue Services, and federal returns go to the IRS. Standard Maine LLCs do not owe state franchise tax; Maine franchise tax applies only to banks and financial institutions.
Do foreign LLCs pay the same Maine annual report fee as domestic LLCs?
No. Foreign LLCs pay $150 per year compared to $85 for domestic LLCs. The $50 late penalty is identical for both. Foreign LLCs that fail to file face authority revocation under 31 M.R.S. §1625 and §1626 rather than administrative dissolution.
- Maine SOS: Filing an Annual Report
- Maine Annual Reports Online portal
- 31 M.R.S. §1665: Annual report for Secretary of State
- 31 M.R.S. §1680: Filing and copying fees, penalties
- 31 M.R.S. §1592: Procedure for and effect of administrative dissolution
- 31 M.R.S. §1593: Reinstatement following administrative dissolution
- 31 M.R.S. §1604: Revival of LLC after dissolution
- Maine SOS October 2025 scam warning for 2026 annual reports
Looking for an overview? See Maine LLC Services
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Harbor Compliance helps Maine LLC owners stay ahead of the June 1 filing deadline, manage annual report requirements, and keep their business in good standing with the state.
