Updated August 10, 2026. Quick answer. Forming an LLC in Maryland costs $100 standard (6-8 weeks); $150 expedited; $425 same-day online / $525 same-day paper to file, and an ongoing report requirement ($300). Five-year total: At least $1,600 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 | $100 standard (6-8 weeks); $150 expedited; $425 same-day online / $525 same-day paper |
| Annual/biennial report | $300 |
| Franchise / minimum tax | none found in the sources searched; the $300 annual report is the de facto equivalent |
| Publication requirement | No newspaper publication requirement was found. |
Five-year cost of ownership: At least $1,600 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: $150 total expedited (7-14 business days); same-day $425 online / $525 paper
The trap worth knowing before you file
AGENCY-vs-STATUTE DISCREPANCY WORTH PUBLISHING: § 1-203(b)(8) sets the same-day expedite surcharge as an ADDITIONAL $425, which reconciles with SDAT’s paper same-day price ($100 + $425 = $525) but not with its online same-day price, which the form presents as $425 in total rather than $525. The $150 expedited price on the form likewise reconciles with the statute’s ‘$50 additional’ ($100 + $50). Statute controls on the amounts; the form is what a filer is actually charged, and the two are quoted here so a reader can see the gap. Standard $100 formation fee and $300 annual report fee are identi
Source
Md. Code, Corporations and Associations § 1-203 (fees), § 1-203.2 (expedited processing). 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 Maryland LLC. A company that already exists in another state does not have to be dissolved and re-formed: Maryland takes it in as the same legal entity by the route its own code captions conversion, Md. Code Ann., Corps. & Ass’ns § 4A-1101(a)(7), (c), and the entity-law filing fee for it is $300 — a separate filing from the formation costs above. Going the other way, a Maryland LLC may leave for another US state under Md. Code Ann., Corps. & Ass’ns § 4A-1101(b). 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 Maryland. The catch-up bill is only half the story — in Maryland forfeiture is automatic and hearing-free, with a free 60-day self-cure; miss it and back taxes are owed “whether or not barred by limitations”. The figures, and the statute they come from, are on reinstating a Maryland LLC.
Maryland LLC Annual Report: $300 Standard vs. $100 Family Farm
Use these official filing checkpoints when reconciling the recurring-cost estimate on this page.
- Maryland lists a $300 annual-report fee for domestic and foreign LLCs except a family farm.
- The same fee table lists a family-farm annual report at $100.
- The family-farm classification therefore changes the filing amount and must be verified before payment.
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.
Moving an LLC you already own is a different question from what it costs to form a new one here: Maryland’s statute calls the mechanism conversion, at Md. Code Ann., Corps. & Ass’ns § 4A-1101(a)(7), (c). See how to move an LLC to Maryland.
Looking for the annual-report due date and fee instead? See Maryland LLC annual report.
Related: Maryland’s registered agent requirements, including who can serve and what happens if you don’t have one.
Related: Maryland’s LLC Certificate of Good Standing cost, including who issues it and how fast you can get one.