The Massachusetts LLC Annual Report is a yearly filing with the Secretary of the Commonwealth's Corporations Division, due by the LLC's anniversary date. As of 2026, the fee is $500 ($520 online or by fax) for both domestic and foreign LLCs operating in the Commonwealth.
Does Massachusetts Require an Annual Report for LLCs?
Yes. Every Massachusetts LLC, domestic or foreign, must file an Annual Report with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division every year by the LLC's anniversary date under M.G.L. c. 156C, § 12 for domestic LLCs and M.G.L. c. 156C, § 48 for foreign LLCs.
The filing isn't optional and isn't activity-based. An LLC with zero revenue, no employees, and no operations still owes the Annual Report.
The form keeps the LLC's public record current with the Commonwealth. Every year after the Massachusetts LLC formation process wraps and the Certificate of Organization is on file, this report comes due on the same anniversary date.
One naming point upfront: the official Massachusetts term is Annual Report. A handful of legal blogs call it a “Statement of Information”, which is California's term for a different filing. The Massachusetts form, M.G.L. c. 156C § 12, and 950 CMR 112.14 all use Annual Report.
Massachusetts is one of the first states where I tell LLC owners to look past the formation fee and think about the recurring maintenance cost. The Annual Report is $500 every single year, and that is before the extra $20 online surcharge if you file electronically.
I have watched founders form an LLC in Boston on a Wednesday and realize by Friday that the same $500 cost will come back again at the anniversary mark. It is not a one-time startup expense. It becomes part of the company’s yearly compliance budget.
Massachusetts LLC Annual Report Deadline (Anniversary Date Rule)
The deadline is entity-specific: each LLC files by its own anniversary date.
| Entity type | Anniversary date is the date of | Regulation |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic LLC | The Secretary's original filing of the Certificate of Organization | 950 CMR 112.14 |
| Foreign LLC | The Secretary's filing of the Application for Registration | 950 CMR 112.27 |
Two LLCs formed in different months have different due dates. A November 2025 LLC sees its first Annual Report come due in November 2026, not at year-end.
Worth flagging: March 15 is the calendar-year corporation deadline and gets reposted across third-party blogs as if it covered LLCs. It doesn't. Set the recurring reminder the day the Certificate of Organization is accepted.
How to Find Your Massachusetts LLC's Filing Window
The fastest path is the Massachusetts Corporate Database at corp.sec.state.ma.us. Look up the entity by name or identification number; the detail page lists the original filing date for domestic LLCs or the registration date for foreign LLCs.
Our Massachusetts business entity search walkthrough explains what each status code means. If the entity status reads anything other than active, fix the underlying issue first. Submitting a new Annual Report on top of an unresolved flag won't help.
The Massachusetts LLC Annual Report Costs $500 (or $520 Filed Online)
The base filing fee is $500 for both domestic and foreign LLCs, confirmed by the Corporations Division fee schedule. Online and fax filings total $520 because the Corporations Division adds a $20 expedited cost on $500-subtotal electronic orders.
| Filing method | State fee | Expedited/electronic | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mail or walk-in | $500 | None | $500 |
| Online | $500 | $20 | $520 |
| Fax | $500 | $20 | $520 |
The fee is flat: it doesn't scale with revenue, members, employees, or assets. A single-member LLC with zero income owes the same $500 as a multi-member firm with millions in revenue.
This stacks on top of the Massachusetts LLC formation cost of $500 for the Certificate of Organization, which catches new owners who didn't price the recurring side.
One bill to watch: Senate Bill S.307 in the 194th General Court would reduce the fee to $250 for LLCs with 6 or fewer employees, with support from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce in 2025. At the date of this review, the Legislature lists S.307 as referred to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. It has not changed the current $500 Annual Report fee.
Filing the Massachusetts LLC Annual Report Online, by Mail, or by Fax
Online filing keeps the submission and payment in one flow. Before opening the portal, have these ready:
Filing Online via the Corporations Online Filing System
The state portal is at corp.sec.state.ma.us. The official Online Filing Help page confirms the system pre-fills existing LLC data, runs 24 hours a day, and uses the same fields as the paper form. Have these ready before logging in:
- Customer ID Number (CID) and PIN issued by the Corporations Division (request from corpcid@sec.state.ma.us if not on file)
- A browser with 128-bit encryption, JavaScript enabled, and per-session cookies allowed
- A Visa or Mastercard for the $520 charge
- Updated principal office, manager, and signatory data
Submit, accept, pay, and save the acknowledgment screen. That's the only state-issued confirmation, so don't close the tab early. If something fails validation, the filing lands in the rejected queue with a rejection sheet attached.
Filing by Mail or Walk-In
Paper filings use the official PDFs, available from the Secretary's LLC pages.
- Domestic form: Limited Liability Company Annual Report (file c156c512cdllcannual.pdf)
- Foreign form: Foreign Limited Liability Company Annual Report (c156cfllcannual.pdf)
- Address: Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division, One Ashburton Place, Room 1717, Boston, MA 02108-1512
- Fee: $500, no $20 expedited charge
The trade-off is speed. Paper queues run slower than online, and Massachusetts doesn't post a public timeline.
Filing by Fax
Fax filings use the state's Fax Voucher Coversheet process linked from the LLC pages. Cost mirrors online at $520, since the expedited/electronic fee applies on a $500 subtotal.
Here is the Massachusetts trap I see surprise owners every year: the Annual Report can update almost any piece of the LLC’s public record, but it cannot change the resident agent or the resident agent’s office address.
950 CMR 112.14 is explicit about that exclusion. I have seen filings accepted, the owner walks away thinking the resident agent change is logged, and 6 months later a service of process gets delivered to the old address.
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What the Massachusetts LLC Annual Report Form Actually Asks For
You won't catch a missing field until you're halfway through the online flow. Before opening the form, gather the information below.
The official Annual Report asks for:
- Federal Identification Number (FEIN), also called the Federal Employer Identification Number
- Exact name of the LLC, plus the name as amended if it has changed
- Location of the principal office
- For domestic LLCs, the Massachusetts records office: the street address in the Commonwealth where LLC records are maintained
- Name and street address of the resident agent in Massachusetts
- General character of the business
- Latest date of dissolution, if specified
- Name and business address of each manager, if any
- Name and business address of each authorized signatory (required when the LLC has no managers)
- Real property authority: people authorized to execute, acknowledge, deliver, and record instruments affecting real property
- Contact phone and email
- Signature of at least one authorized signatory
A note on terminology: Massachusetts calls the LLC's registered agent a resident agent in both the statute and the form. National service providers say “registered agent” out of habit, but the official forms use “resident agent”. Either term is understood in practice, and our best Massachusetts registered agent review walks through providers who handle Massachusetts filings reliably.
The real property authority field is the one competitor pages don't cover. For real-estate holding LLCs, this is where Massachusetts records who can sign deeds, mortgages, and recordable instruments on the LLC's behalf. The Annual Report and the Massachusetts LLC operating agreement should not contradict each other on who can sign those instruments. If that authority changes, review both documents before filing.
Foreign LLCs use the Foreign Limited Liability Company Annual Report. It swaps the records-office field for a home jurisdiction and date of organization, plus a Massachusetts principal office line if there's one.
Massachusetts Has No LLC Late Fee, but Two Missed Years Trigger Dissolution Under § 70
The biggest SERP myth: the $25 late fee circulating on a dozen Massachusetts pages is the corporation late fee. The official Massachusetts LLC fee schedule, M.G.L. c. 156C § 12, and 950 CMR 112.14 don't list a separate monetary penalty for late LLC Annual Reports.
Missing the deadline still has teeth. Under M.G.L. c. 156C § 70 and 950 CMR 112.20, the Corporations Division can administratively dissolve a domestic LLC that fails to file the Annual Report for 2 consecutive years. The Division sends written notice and gives a 90-day cure period before acting. Foreign LLCs face administrative revocation under M.G.L. c. 156C § 72 through the same process.
An administratively dissolved LLC continues to exist, but only for winding up and liquidation. New business activity during that period can create legal and contractual risk until reinstatement, especially for contracts signed while the entity is not in good standing. For a material contract or liability question, counsel should review the facts before the LLC acts.
Reinstating a Massachusetts LLC: $100 Plus All Owed Annual Reports
Reinstatement is the path back once the Division has dissolved or revoked the LLC. The mechanics aren't complicated, but the price tag stacks fast.
- Domestic form: Limited Liability Company Application For Reinstatement Following Administrative Dissolution (M.G.L. c. 156C § 71, 950 CMR 112.21)
- Foreign form: Foreign Limited Liability Company Application For Reinstatement Following Administrative Revocation
- Fee: $100, plus every owed Annual Report for the missed years
- Foreign attachment: current certificate of legal existence or good standing from the home jurisdiction (sworn translation if not in English)
- Name check: the LLC name must still satisfy Chapter 156C § 3; if it doesn't, file a Certificate of Amendment at the same time
The LLC reinstatement materials under § 71 and 950 CMR 112.21 do not list a Massachusetts Department of Revenue tax clearance as a standard reinstatement requirement. That differs from the corporation track, but an LLC with open tax issues should still resolve them before treating the file as clean.
The reinstatement math in Massachusetts is brutal. If an LLC misses 2 Annual Reports, the back filings alone already cost $1,000. Add the $100 reinstatement fee, and the minimum catch-up cost becomes $1,100.
That $1,100 figure is only the floor. It does not include a possible Certificate of Amendment if the LLC name went stale, professional help, or the time spent untangling the file after the company falls out of good standing.
Massachusetts LLC Annual Report FAQs
The answers below track the Secretary's pages, the Massachusetts General Laws, and the 950 CMR 112 series.
Is the Massachusetts LLC Annual Report the same as a Statement of Information?
No. The official Massachusetts term is Annual Report, both on the form and in 950 CMR 112.14. “Statement of Information” is California's term for its biennial filing under Form LLC-12. A few legal blogs cross-apply the California phrase to Massachusetts, but the Commonwealth doesn't recognize it.
Why do some sources list the fee as $500 and others as $520?
Both are right. The $500 is the base statutory Annual Report fee. The $520 is the practical total when filing online or by fax, because the Corporations Division charges a $20 expedited cost on $500-subtotal orders submitted electronically. Mail or walk-in filings pay $500 even.
Can I update my resident agent through the Massachusetts Annual Report?
No. Under 950 CMR 112.14 (domestic) and 950 CMR 112.27 (foreign), changes to the resident agent or resident agent office require the separate Statement of Change of Resident Agent/Office. The Annual Report won't carry the update even if the field appears editable.
Does a foreign LLC registered in Massachusetts have to file an Annual Report?
Yes. Foreign LLCs file the Foreign Limited Liability Company Annual Report every year by the anniversary of the LLC's Massachusetts registration date, under M.G.L. c. 156C § 48. The $500 base fee applies, identical to domestic LLCs.
How do I find my Massachusetts LLC's anniversary date?
Search the Massachusetts Corporate Database at corp.sec.state.ma.us. The entity detail page lists the original Certificate of Organization filing date for domestic LLCs, or the registration date for foreign LLCs. That calendar date is the recurring annual deadline.
Does the Secretary of the Commonwealth send Annual Report reminders?
The Secretary doesn't guarantee a reminder. Some LLCs receive an emailed prompt or a mailed courtesy notice, others get nothing. The official LLC pages stop short of promising a reminder service, which is why calendar discipline matters more in Massachusetts than in states that mail a paper notice.
What happens if my Massachusetts LLC misses two consecutive Annual Reports?
Under M.G.L. c. 156C § 70, the Corporations Division can move to administratively dissolve the LLC after 2 consecutive years of missed filings. The Division sends written notice and gives a 90-day window to cure. After dissolution, the LLC can only wind up and liquidate, and reinstatement under § 71 costs $100 plus all back-owed Annual Reports.
- Secretary of the Commonwealth — Limited Liability Company Information
- M.G.L. c. 156C § 12 — Domestic LLC Annual Report
- M.G.L. c. 156C § 48 — Foreign LLC Annual Report
- M.G.L. c. 156C § 70 — Administrative Dissolution
- Mass.gov — 950 CMR 112.00 Limited Liability Companies
- Corporations Division Fee Schedule
Looking for an overview? See Massachusetts LLC Services
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