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Filing MapperRoutes through every state's LLC paperwork, priced leg by leg.

Foreign LLC guide · Maine

Maine Foreign LLC Route (2026): Entry Fees and the 3 Best Registration Services

Plotting a foreign LLC registration in Maine for 2026, the route we recommend runs Mainstay Filing ($199), Maine Registered Agent.co ($199) and ME Registered Agent.org ($199). An LLC from elsewhere pays $250 to enter Maine and $150 at every report checkpoint, which puts the state 35th of 50.

Surveyed by the Filing Mapper team

The Maine route in figures

35th

along the 50-state route, foreign LLC tolls

Fewer miles, smaller toll, side by side with other states. Open the 50-state route map

Entry fee for outside LLCs
$250
Measured against maine.gov, October 2026
Checkpoint report
$150
Annual report for a foreign LLC
Home-state clearance
90 days
Oldest clearance accepted
State toll, three years
$550
Entry, then checkpoints two and three

Route services for Maine

Read the method for all five criteria; the two heaviest are three-year cost and how many steps the fare covers.

1. Mainstay Filing: best for one fare wherever the next state is

Stop one$199 to enter, $149 each year after

Begin at Mainstay Filing, since $199 above the state toll, registered agent duty free in year one, then $149 a year.

An owner pays $100 more than at Maine Registered Agent.co across three years and has fewer checkpoints to handle.

After the free first lap, agent duty costs $149 a year in any state.

The fare covers

  • The registration drafted and filed by Mainstay
  • No charge for registered agent duty while year one lasts
  • One fare, any state

On the plus side

  • The opening lap of agent service is free
  • Works for your next crossing too
  • $199 plus the state toll

On the minus side

  • A renewal $50 higher than Maine Registered Agent.co's
Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

2. Maine Registered Agent.co: best for adding only Maine

Built for Maine$199 to enter, $99 each year after

Farther along, Maine Registered Agent.co, where $199 plus the state toll, first agent lap included, then $99 a year for the agent.

The fare covers

  • Registration written and sent in
  • A year of agent service

On the plus side

  • A fare of $199
  • No agent fare in lap one
  • $99 yearly from lap two

On the minus side

  • Stops at the state line
Visit Maine Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

3. ME Registered Agent.org: best for crossing into Maine alone

Built for Maine$199 to enter, $99 each year after

Farther along, ME Registered Agent.org, where $199 plus the state toll, first agent lap included, then $99 a year for the agent.

Compared with Maine Registered Agent.co, the fares come out level.

The fare covers

  • Registration written and sent in
  • A year of agent service

On the plus side

  • No agent fare in lap one
  • $99 yearly from lap two
  • A fare of $199

On the minus side

  • Stops at the state line
Visit ME Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

3 services, side by side

StopProviderLeg oneLater legsProvider cost, three years
1Mainstay Filing$199$149/yr$497Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2Maine Registered Agent.co$199$99/yr$397Visit Maine Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3ME Registered Agent.org$199$99/yr$397Visit ME Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Each fare was read from the provider's own pages on November 12, 2026. Add the $250 entry toll to every row.

Entry and upkeep by year

The entry fee is $250, followed by the $150 report from year two, and each provider's fares are added.

3 years with Mainstay Filing: $1,047 in all, split $550 state and $497 provider.

Maine and the stops on either side of it

MileStateThree-year foreign LLC fees
34thVermont$495
35thAlaska$550
35thMaine$550
37thArkansas$570
38thKentucky$645

The entire route map is at Foreign LLC fees by state, lightest tolls first.

Crossing into Maine with an out-of-state LLC

The Maine Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions admits foreign LLCs on the Statement of Foreign Qualification to Conduct Activities (Form MLLC-12) and a $250 fee. Attach certificate of existence, issued inside the last 90 days.

It then keeps clearing the Annual report for a foreign LLC ($150), June 1.

Before sending the filing

  • Certificate of existence, not more than 90 days.
  • Registered home-state name and date of formation.
  • A registered agent with a street address here; every provider on this route can supply one.
  • Funds to cover the $250 official fee.

The price of not registering

The state's courts turn back a suit from an LLC that has not registered (31 MRSA 1629(1)).

How the Maine stops were ordered

Steps the service takes over settled first place in Maine; it carries 27% of the score, and the remaining criteria are three-year charge on the route, year-two price, fit with the state's route, fee line separation.

Reach across states counted for more than Maine Registered Agent.co's smaller renewal.

Maine FAQ

What does Maine toll a foreign LLC for entry?

$250 paid to the state. Our picks add $199.

Which form gets a foreign LLC into Maine?

Entry is on the Statement of Foreign Qualification to Conduct Activities (Form MLLC-12), which goes to the Maine Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions.

Does the gate ask for clearance from the home state?

It does: certificate of existence, dated within 90 days of filing.

Is there a yearly checkpoint for a foreign LLC?

There is: the Annual report for a foreign LLC, which costs $150.

What happens when the LLC does business there without registering?

The state's courts turn back a suit from an LLC that has not registered (31 MRSA 1629(1)).

Does a foreign LLC need to carry a registered agent for Maine?

Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.

Which provider should take my foreign LLC across?

Start at Mainstay Filing: it files the Maine registration for $199 above the state's entry fee, and the first agent year rides along free. Further along, Maine Registered Agent.co and ME Registered Agent.org.

More from this state

Survey markers for this route

Survey marker
  1. Marker, via maine.gov: Maine Secretary of State, logged August 2026.
  2. Marker, via maine.gov: Maine Secretary of State, logged August 2026.
  3. Marker, via maine.gov: Maine report due date, logged August 2026.
  4. Marker, via legislature.maine.gov: 31 M.R.S. sec. 1531, logged August 2026.
  5. Marker, via legislature.maine.gov: Maine formation fee: Filing fee, official source, logged October 2026.
  6. Marker, via legislature.maine.gov: Maine registered agent statute, logged October 2026.
  7. Marker, via maine.gov: Maine Secretary of State, foreign entities, logged October 2026.
  8. Marker, via maine.gov: Form MLLC-12, logged October 2026.
  9. Marker, via legislature.maine.gov: 31 MRSA § 1622, foreign qualification, logged October 2026.
  10. Marker, via legislature.maine.gov: 31 MRSA § 1623, activities that do not, logged October 2026.
  11. Marker, via legislature.maine.gov: 31 MRSA § 1629, consequences of not qualifying, logged October 2026.
  12. Marker, via sos.vermont.gov: Vermont Secretary of State, foreign registration, logged October 2026.
  13. Marker, via sos.vermont.gov: Vermont Secretary of State, fees and statutes, logged October 2026.
  14. Marker, via legislature.vermont.gov: 11 V.S.A. § 4112, application for certificate of, logged October 2026.
  15. Marker, via legislature.vermont.gov: 11 V.S.A. § 4113, activities that are not, logged October 2026.
  16. Marker, via legislature.vermont.gov: 11 V.S.A. § 4033, annual report, logged October 2026.
  17. Marker, via commerce.alaska.gov: Form 08-0497, Certificate of Registration, logged October 2026.
  18. Marker, via akleg.gov: Alaska Statutes, AS 10.50.600 to 10.50.670, logged October 2026.
  19. Marker, via akleg.gov: Alaska Statutes, AS 10.50.675 to 10.50.720, logged October 2026.
  20. Marker, via akleg.gov: Alaska Statutes, AS 10.50.750 to 10.50.765, logged October 2026.
  21. Marker, via akleg.gov: Alaska Statutes, AS 43.70.020 to 43.70.030, logged October 2026.
  22. Marker, via sos.arkansas.gov: Arkansas Secretary of State, foreign LLC forms and, logged October 2026.
  23. Marker, via sos.arkansas.gov: Form FL-01, logged October 2026.
  24. Marker, via arkleg.state.ar.us: Act 1041 of 2021, Uniform LLC Act, logged October 2026.
  25. Marker, via sos.arkansas.gov: 2026 LLC franchise tax report and instructions, logged October 2026.
  26. Marker, via sos.arkansas.gov: Form FL-04, application for cancellation, logged October 2026.
  27. Marker, via sos.ky.gov: Kentucky Secretary of State, business filings, logged October 2026.
  28. Marker, via web.sos.ky.gov: Form FBE, Certificate of Authority, logged October 2026.
  29. Marker, via apps.legislature.ky.gov: KRS 14A.9-020, consequences of transacting business without authority, logged October 2026.
  30. Marker, via apps.legislature.ky.gov: KRS 14A.9-010, authority to transact business required, logged October 2026.
  31. Marker, via apps.legislature.ky.gov: KRS 14A.6-010, annual report, logged October 2026.
  32. Marker, via sos.ky.gov: Kentucky Secretary of State, fee schedule, logged October 2026.
  33. Marker, via revenue.ky.gov: Kentucky other cost: Limited Liability Entity Tax, official, logged October 2026.
  34. Mainstay Filing's Maine service page, as surveyed November 12, 2026
  35. Maine Registered Agent.co's pricing page, as surveyed November 12, 2026
  36. ME Registered Agent.org's pricing page, as surveyed November 12, 2026