Maryland Registered Agent Requirements

Every Maryland LLC and corporation must designate a registered agent, which Maryland statutes call a resident agent. The agent receives service of process, official state correspondence, and other legal documents at a Maryland street address. This page covers the statute behind the requirement, who may serve, the address rules, and how our $99 per year service satisfies all of it.

What the Maryland Statute Requires

The requirement for LLCs sits in Md. Code, Corps. & Ass'ns § 4A-210, which states that "Each limited liability company shall have: (1) A principal office in this State; and (2) A resident agent." Two things flow from that sentence: your entity keeps a principal office in Maryland, and it keeps an agent on record with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) at all times.

Who may serve is defined at § 1-101: an individual residing in Maryland, or a Maryland corporation, limited liability company, or limited partnership, with the designation filed with SDAT. The statute is the controlling text here; summaries you may run into elsewhere sometimes read narrower than the law actually is.

The Address Rule

The agent's address must be a physical street address in Maryland. PO boxes and virtual offices do not qualify, because the point of the role is that someone can be handed a lawsuit there during regular business hours. The name and address you list become part of your entity's public record with SDAT.

Can Your Company Act as Its Own Agent?

The statute lists the categories that qualify and leaves self-designation unaddressed, so Maryland law does not spell out whether an entity may simply name itself. The practical question for most owners is different anyway: listing your own home or office address places it in the public record, and someone has to be present during business hours year round. A professional agent solves both problems at once.

What Does a Registered Agent Do?

Your agent is the official contact point between your business and the state. Typical deliveries include:

• Service of process when the business is sued
• Notices and correspondence from SDAT
• Tax documents and compliance mailings
• Annual report reminders

When something arrives at our office, we scan it and upload it to your portal the same day, with an immediate email alert, so response windows stay intact.

Who Needs a Registered Agent in Maryland?

Any entity registered with SDAT maintains an agent, including LLCs, corporations, nonprofits, limited partnerships, and out-of-state entities qualified to do business in Maryland. The obligation runs continuously from formation until the entity is dissolved or withdrawn.

Why Use a Professional Service

Privacy. Our address appears on your filings, keeping your home or office out of SDAT's public database and cutting down on unsolicited mail.

Reliability. Our office is staffed Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm Eastern. Documents are scanned and uploaded the day they arrive.

Compliance support. Maryland's annual report, Form 1, is due to SDAT by April 15 each year with a $300 filing fee. We track the deadline and remind you ahead of time.

Flexibility. Move, travel, or change offices without touching your state filings. As long as we are your agent, the address on record stays valid.

Our Service: $99 per Year

• Physical registered office address in Maryland
• Same-day scanning of lawsuits and legal mail
• Compliance reminders for annual reports and deadlines
• Secure online document portal
• Privacy protection, with our address on public filings

No setup fees and no renewal increases. Just $99 annually.

Get Started

Visit our enrollment page to set up your registered agent service. Forming a new entity? List us on your formation documents. Switching agents? We provide the SDAT change form and walk you through it; the state charges $25 for the change filing.

Questions? Check our FAQ or contact us at support@mdregisteredagent.org.

Serving Businesses Across Maryland

Maryland registered agent requirements apply statewide — every LLC and corporation needs an agent with a physical Maryland address, regardless of where the business operates. We handle documents for businesses throughout the state:

Baltimore — Baltimore City; Maryland's largest city; port, healthcare, Johns Hopkins, and biotech.

Columbia — Howard County; master-planned city between Baltimore and DC; defense, tech, and finance.

Germantown — Montgomery County; biotech and government-contracting corridor in upper Montgomery County.

Silver Spring — Montgomery County; major DC-suburban business center with media and government agencies.

Waldorf — Charles County; Southern Maryland commercial and residential growth center.

Glen Burnie — Anne Arundel County; between Baltimore and Annapolis; healthcare and retail.

Ellicott City — Howard County; Baltimore metro historic town and commercial center.

Frederick — Frederick County; biosciences, healthcare, and government contracting hub.

Gaithersburg — Montgomery County; DC metro biotech and tech corridor.

Rockville — Montgomery County; Montgomery County seat; biotech, healthcare, and professional services.

Wherever your business operates in Maryland, our registered office address meets state requirements for receiving service of process and official correspondence.