Maryland requires every LLC and corporation to keep a registered agent with a Maryland street address. You can be your own agent (an individual residing in Maryland, or a Maryland corporation, limited liability company, or..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide). Changing your agent costs $25 for an LLC and $25 for a corporation. The Annual Report / Personal Property Return (Form 1) is due April 15. If you have no agent: Failure to file the Annual Report / Personal Property Return results in an estimated assessment at twice the estimated value of the entity's personal property, and 'failure to file this report will result in forfeiture of the Maryland charter or the right to do business in Maryland.' Businesses that have not filed Articles of Dissolution, an Application for Termination, a Certificate of Cancellation or a Withdrawal Notice remain legally active until they do so, or until their charter (domestic) or authority to do business (foreign) is forfeited. Hiring an agent costs $125 to $249 a year at renewal on the providers' own sites, read 2026-09-28; first-year offers run lower.
How to change your registered agent in Maryland
- Choose the new agent. Name yourself if you meet the rule in the facts table, or hire a service from the price table below; they give you their Maryland street address to put on the form.
- Or file the paper form. Resolution to Change Principal Office or Resident Agent, from the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT). Mail it to: State Department of Assessments & Taxation, 700 East Pratt Street, Suite 2700, Baltimore, MD 21202. Open the Maryland filing office Direct PDF
- Pay the fee. Changing your agent costs $25 for an LLC and $25 for a corporation. Keep the confirmation; the new agent is effective when the state records it.
What a registered agent costs in Maryland
Yearly fee from each provider's own site on the date shown: what a new customer pays the first year, and what it renews at. Sorted by renewal price, because that is what you pay every year after. Links marked "affiliate link" pay us a commission; the other names link straight to the provider, listed on the same terms. Best is not always the one we earn from, and we say which is which.
| Provider | First year | Renews at | Terms, our dated note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Registered Agentaffiliate link | $125 | $125 | Same price every year, per its page; $100 a year per state for five or more states Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
| Bizeeaffiliate link | $149 | $149 | 149 per year standalone or on renewal; first year free only with a Bizee formation Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
| Harbor Complianceaffiliate link | $99 | $159 | Renews at 159 per year after the first; 3 years paid up front cost 297 Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
| ZenBusiness | $99 | $199 | Renews at 199 per year Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
| Registered Agents Inc | $200 | $200 | 200 a year, annual report filing included, per its page Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
| LegalZoom | $249 | $249 | Auto-renews; renewal rate subject to change, per its page Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
What switching to the cheapest renewal saves
| If you renew with | Renews at | Saved per year | Over 3 years | First year, after the $25 fee | Break-even |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LegalZoom | $249 | $124 | $372 | $99 | month 3 |
| Registered Agents Inc | $200 | $75 | $225 | $50 | month 4 |
| ZenBusiness | $199 | $74 | $222 | $49 | month 5 |
| Harbor Compliance | $159 | $34 | $102 | $9 | month 9 |
| Bizee | $149 | $24 | $72 | $0 | month 13 |
Compared with Northwest Registered Agent at $125 a year, prices read 2026-09-28. Switching costs the state change fee shown above, once.
Three-year totals and every price change we have seen: the cost page.
Type your current renewal price to see the saving, what the state fee leaves the first year, and the break-even month.
Switch to Northwest Registered Agent, $125 a year Affiliate link, same price as on their site.
Advertising disclosure. Some provider names on this page are links to that provider's site through an affiliate network. If you buy through one of those links we may earn a commission. The price you pay does not change. Links to providers we have no agreement with go straight to their site; every provider is ranked by the same rules. Disclosed under the US FTC Endorsement Guides and the Norwegian Marketing Control Act. A Northwest Registered Agent affiliate.
Maryland at a glance
Fees, forms and deadlines
| Item | Maryland |
|---|---|
| Filing office | Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) dat.maryland.gov/Source: dat.maryland.gov/businesses/Pages/default.aspx, read 2026-09-08 |
| Registered agent statute (LLC) | Md. Code, Corps. & Ass'ns § 4A-210 |
| Registered agent statute (corporation) | Md. Code, Corps. & Ass'ns § 2-108Source: law.justia.com/codes/maryland/corporations-and-associations/title-2/su (secondary source), read 2026-09-08 |
| Change of agent form | Resolution to Change Principal Office or Resident Agent (online filing available)Source: dat.maryland.gov/pages/sdatforms.aspx, read 2026-09-08 |
| Change of agent fee, LLC | $25Source: dat.maryland.gov/pages/sdatforms.aspx, read 2026-09-08 |
| Change of agent fee, corporation | $25Source: dat.maryland.gov/pages/sdatforms.aspx, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual report due | April 15 (Md. Code, Tax-Prop. Article annual filing requirement; a 60-day extension may be requested)Source: dat.maryland.gov/Documents/Accessible%20Documents/BPP%20-%20Annual%20R, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual report fee, LLC | $300Source: dat.maryland.gov/Documents/Accessible%20Documents/BPP%20-%20Annual%20R, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual report fee, corporation | $300Source: dat.maryland.gov/Documents/Accessible%20Documents/BPP%20-%20Annual%20R, read 2026-09-08 |
| Late fee | not confirmedSource: dat.maryland.gov/Documents/Accessible%20Documents/BPP%20-%20Annual%20R, read 2026-09-08 |
| No agent on file | Failure to file the Annual Report / Personal Property Return results in an estimated assessment at twice the estimated value of the entity's personal property, and 'failure to file this report will result in forfeiture of the Maryland charter or the right to do business in Maryland.' Businesses that have not filed Articles of Dissolution, an Application for Termination, a Certificate of Cancellation or a Withdrawal Notice remain legally active until they do so, or until their charter (domestic) or authority to do business (foreign) is forfeited. Md. Code, Tax-Prop. Article (forfeiture provisions triggered by failure to file the annual report/personal property return); exact section number not in cache. Declarations on the form are made 'pursuant to Tax-Property Article §1-201'.Source: dat.maryland.gov/Documents/Accessible%20Documents/BPP%20-%20Annual%20R, read 2026-09-08 |
| Be your own agent | You can be your own agent (an individual residing in Maryland, or a Maryland corporation, limited liability company, or..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide)Source: mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText, read 2026-09-29 |
What the statute says
Each Maryland corporation shall have a principal office in this State and a resident agent.
Md. Code, Corps. & Ass'ns § 2-108, read 2026-09-08
A registered agent is the person or company the state and the courts send legal papers to. In Maryland the statute calls this role the resident agent; it is the same thing as a registered agent. The agent must have a street address in Maryland, not a PO box, and be available during business hours.
Annual report and what happens without an agent
The Annual Report / Personal Property Return (Form 1) is due April 15. Fee: $300 for an LLC, $300 for a corporation. Late fee: not confirmed.
Without an agent on file: Failure to file the Annual Report / Personal Property Return results in an estimated assessment at twice the estimated value of the entity's personal property, and 'failure to file this report will result in forfeiture of the Maryland charter or the right to do business in Maryland.' Businesses that have not filed Articles of Dissolution, an Application for Termination, a Certificate of Cancellation or a Withdrawal Notice remain legally active until they do so, or until their charter (domestic) or authority to do business (foreign) is forfeited (Md. Code, Tax-Prop. Article (forfeiture provisions triggered by failure to file the annual report/personal property return); exact section number not in cache. Declarations on the form are made 'pursuant to Tax-Property Article §1-201'.).
Sources and dates
- https://dat.maryland.gov/businesses/Pages/default.aspx, read 2026-09-08
- https://law.justia.com/codes/maryland/corporations-and-associations/title-2/subtitle-1/section-2-108/, read 2026-09-08
- https://dat.maryland.gov/pages/sdatforms.aspx, read 2026-09-08
- https://dat.maryland.gov/Documents/Accessible%20Documents/BPP%20-%20Annual%20Reports%20and%20Returns/2026%20Filings%20-%20Form%201%20Business%20Entity%20Annual%20Report_0426-A.pdf, read 2026-09-08
- https://dat.maryland.gov/Documents/Accessible%20Documents/BPP%20-%20Annual%20Reports%20and%20Returns/2026%20Form%201%20Instructions%20%20FINAL_0416-A.pdf, read 2026-09-08
- https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gca§ion=1-101, read 2026-09-29
- https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/registered-agent, read 2026-09-28
- https://www.registeredagentsinc.com/registered-agent/, read 2026-09-28
- https://www.harborcompliance.com/registered-agent-service, read 2026-09-28
- https://bizee.com/business-management/registered-agent, read 2026-09-28
- https://www.zenbusiness.com/registered-agent-service/, read 2026-09-28
- https://www.legalzoom.com/business/business-operations/registered-agent-overview.html, read 2026-09-28
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