Registered Agents Maryland.us

Agent rules · MD

Maryland registered agent requirements

Every Maryland LLC and corporation must keep a resident agent (Maryland's term for a registered agent) on file. Below: eligibility, the address rule and how to make a change, each tied to its source.

Updated October 29, 2026 · Resident Agent rules

Short answer

Maryland law sets who can be a resident agent and requires an in-state street address[2]. Serving personally is open to any owner who lives in Maryland and has a qualifying address. Replacing the agent is a $25 filing[3].

Mainstay Filing charges $149 a year to act as the resident agent in Maryland, and files the $25 change when you switch[1].

Legal term
Resident agent
Resident Agent required
Yes
Change fee
$25
Change form
Resolution to Change Principal Office or Resident Agent
Mainstay Filing
$149 a year

Updated October 29, 2026. Rules from the statute and state forms; fees from official sources; prices from providers' own pages.

01Who qualifies

Maryland's rule is in Md. Code, Corps. & Ass'ns § 1-101(x)[2].

A Maryland resident, or a Maryland corporation, LLC or limited partnership.

Serving personally is open to any owner who lives in Maryland and has a qualifying address. Most companies choose between someone they know in Maryland and a commercial agent service.

02Changing a Maryland resident agent

Maryland charges $25 for this change[3]. The document is the Resolution to Change Principal Office or Resident Agent[4].

In short: pick a qualifying replacement, file the form with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation, Charter Division, pay the fee, and confirm the change shows in the state's records.

The 50-state median for this filing is $15. For Maryland's $25, 30 states charge less and 11 charge more.

Owners moving to Mainstay Filing do not file this themselves: Mainstay files the Resolution to Change Principal Office or Resident Agent and adds Maryland's $25 fee at cost[1].

03Where the agent must be

The statute and the state's forms set this out. The address has to be a Maryland address on file with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation; P.O. boxes are not accepted. The LLC also keeps a principal office in Maryland.[2]

The agent's name and address is part of the public record for the company, so whatever is listed appears in the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT)'s records.

04Agent service prices in Maryland

Naming yourself or a colleague costs nothing beyond the state's filing fees. Mainstay Filing charges $149 a year, and the same at renewal[1]; that covers its Maryland address on the public record, same-day scans of papers served, compliance reminders and the first three government mailings a year.

Other services' prices for Maryland were read from their own pages on October 20, 2026, 6 in all. Year one cost $99 to $596 and renewal $125 to $596. In Maryland, 2 of them raise the price after year one, so the renewal figure is the one to compare.

05Context: new businesses in Maryland

75.5%open after 1 year[5]
50.1%open after 5 years
16.16new applications per 1,000 residents, 2025[6]

A resident agent has to stay on record for as long as the company exists. By the Bureau of Labor Statistics' count, 50.1% of business locations that opened in Maryland between April 2019 and March 2020 were still operating in March 2025.

06Questions

Can I be my own resident agent in Maryland?

Serving personally is open to any owner who lives in Maryland and has a qualifying address.

Can a Maryland resident agent use a P.O. box?

The address has to be a Maryland address on file with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation; P.O. boxes are not accepted. The LLC also keeps a principal office in Maryland.[2]

What does a Maryland resident agent service cost?

Mainstay Filing offers it for $149 a year, with no increase at renewal[1]. Other services' published Maryland prices ran $99 to $596 for the first year on October 20, 2026.

How much does it cost to change the resident agent in Maryland?

$25, paid to the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation, Charter Division[3].

Sources

  1. Mainstay Filing pricing, registered agent and FAQ pages. Updated October 29, 2026.
  2. Md. Code, Corporations & Associations sec. 4A-210 (principal office and resident agent required; change procedure) with 'resident agent' defined at sec. 1-101(x). mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gca&section=4A-210. Updated October 29, 2026.
  3. Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation, Charter Division: Resolution to Change Principal Office or Resident Agent fee. dat.maryland.gov/businesses/Documents/FEES.pdf. Updated October 29, 2026.
  4. Resolution to Change Principal Office or Resident Agent. dat.maryland.gov/Documents/Accessible%20Documents/Charter%20-%20Make%20Changes%20to%20an%2. Updated October 29, 2026.
  5. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics, Establishment Age and Survival, Table 7 (data through March 2025). www.bls.gov/bdm/bdmage.htm. Updated October 29, 2026.
  6. U.S. Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (state annual and monthly series). www.census.gov/econ/bfs/index.html. Updated October 29, 2026.