Updated August 10, 2026. Quick answer. Forming an LLC in Maine costs $175 to file, and an ongoing report requirement ($85 (domestic LLC); $150 for a foreign LLC). Five-year total: At least $600 over five years — one or more components (commonly the franchise/minimum tax) is unverified, so treat this as a floor, not a total.
What it actually costs
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Formation filing fee | $175 |
| Annual/biennial report | $85 (domestic LLC); $150 for a foreign LLC |
| Franchise / minimum tax | none found in the sources searched |
| Publication requirement | No newspaper publication requirement was found. |
Five-year cost of ownership: At least $600 over five years — one or more components (commonly the franchise/minimum tax) is unverified, so treat this as a floor, not a total. Publication cost is excluded from this figure — it’s county-driven where it applies, not state-driven, so a single number would be wrong for most filers.
Expedited filing: $50 for 24-hour service; $100 for immediate service
The trap worth knowing before you file
Fee amounts are statutory. Agency confirmation of the $175 formation fee and form numbers: https://www.maine.gov/sos/corporations-commissions/i-need-a-business-form/limited-liability-company-forms ; June 1 deadline: https://www.maine.gov/sos/corporations-commissions/filing-an-annual-report ; expedited-service rule read via textutil from the Word document https://www.maine.gov/sos/sites/maine.gov.sos/files/content/assets/250c200-4.doc . Note that maine.gov’s older /sos/cec/corp/ URLs now 404 and redirect into the new /sos/corporations-commissions/ tree.
Source
31 M.R.S. § 1680 (filing and copying fees; penalties); 31 M.R.S. § 1665 (annual report). Read 2026-08-06 from statute. Formation-service sites were not used as a source for this figure.
Once the LLC exists, an operating agreement is what actually runs it
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If the LLC already exists somewhere else
Everything above prices forming a new Maine LLC. A company that already exists in another state does not have to be dissolved and re-formed: Maine takes it in as the same legal entity by the route its own code captions conversion, 31 M.R.S. Sec. 1645(1), read with Sec. 1502(14); mechanics at Sec. 1647, Sec. 1648, and the entity-law filing fee for it is $175 — a separate filing from the formation costs above. Going the other way, the same section carries the company back out to another US state. Either way the move needs both ends to allow it — the state being left as well as the state being joined — which is where most published advice goes wrong.
How to Move an LLC to Another State · LLC Domestication by State: All 51 Jurisdictions, With the Statute
What letting it lapse costs in Maine. The catch-up bill is only half the story — in Maine six years to reinstate, three years of name protection — a company can be fully entitled to return and find its name gone. The figures, and the statute they come from, are on reinstating a Maine LLC.
Maine LLC Annual Report: $85 Domestic vs. $150 Foreign and Up to $600 After Dissolution
Use these official filing checkpoints when reconciling the recurring-cost estimate on this page.
- Maine charges $85 for a domestic LLC annual report and $150 for a foreign LLC annual report.
- For administrative dissolution caused by failure to file, the reinstatement fee is $150 up to a $600 maximum.
- Failure to pay the annual-report late penalty carries a separate $150 reinstatement fee entry.
Match the entity’s formation or registration record, filing mode, and current status to the controlling rule before submitting; use the official filing authority for the current interface.
Compare LLC reporting systems across all jurisdictions, then verify this state’s rule in the official source.
Looking for the annual-report due date and fee instead? See Maine LLC annual report.
Related: Maine’s registered agent requirements, including who can serve and what happens if you don’t have one.
Related: Maine’s LLC Certificate of Good Standing cost, including who issues it and how fast you can get one.