Skip to content
LLC UnpackedEvery filing, unpacked: the fee, the form, the catch.

Unpacked · Maine

3 Best Foreign Registration Services in Maine (2026): What Is Inside Each

In Maine for 2026, unpack foreign registration services in this order: Maine Registered Agent.co ($199), Mainstay Filing ($199) and ME Registered Agent.org ($199). Every option pays the state $250, then services total $397 to $497 across three years.
Unpacked by the LLC Unpacked editorial team

Top layer

State fee to register
$250
Certificate packed in?
Yes, include it (90 days old at most)
Once registered
$150, Annual report for a foreign LLC
Top of the stack
Maine Registered Agent.co, Mainstay Filing then ME Registered Agent.org

Maine: ranked

The order follows our five layers: three-year cost first, then what the price covers.
Top of the stack

1. Maine Registered Agent.co: best for registering in a single place

$199 to register; agent renewal $99

What puts Maine Registered Agent.co first: $199 gets the registration filed, and the agent renews at $99.

Its three-year cost is below Mainstay Filing's, and cost is the heaviest layer.

Inside the price

  • Foreign filing handled
  • Agent included in year one

Inside, the good

  • $199 plus the state fee
  • A first year of agent service is inside
  • Agent renews at $99

Inside, the catch

  • Nothing outside this state
All fifty states

2. Mainstay Filing: best for adding state after state

$199 to register; agent renewal $149

What puts Mainstay Filing second: the price is $199 in every state, and the first registered agent year is inside it.

Maine Registered Agent.co totals $100 less across three years, enough to outrank it.

The registered agent is not charged in year one and costs $149 a year after that, in any state.

Inside the price

  • Out-of-state registration filed
  • Registered agent, not charged in year one
  • One fee, any state

Inside, the good

  • All fifty states
  • $199 to file
  • Agent costs nothing the first year

Inside, the catch

  • Maine Registered Agent.co renews its agent $50 lower
The Maine specialist

3. ME Registered Agent.org: best for one added state, no more

$199 to register; agent renewal $99

What puts ME Registered Agent.org third: $199 gets the registration filed, and the agent renews at $99.

Its prices match Maine Registered Agent.co exactly, so the order between them is close.

Inside the price

  • Foreign filing handled
  • Agent included in year one

Inside, the good

  • A first year of agent service is inside
  • $199 plus the state fee
  • Agent renews at $99

Inside, the catch

  • Nothing outside this state

Side by side

#PickYear oneEach year afterThree-year totalWhat is inside
1Maine Registered Agent.co$199$99/yr$397foreign filing handled; agent included in year oneSee Maine Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2Mainstay Filing$199$149/yr$497Out-of-state registration filed; registered agent, not charged in year one; one fee, any stateSee Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3ME Registered Agent.org$199$99/yr$397foreign filing handled; agent included in year oneSee ME Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Prices as of November 13, 2026. The state's own fees are in the checklist below.

Opened up, question by question

When must an out-of-state LLC register here?

Registration sits at the front of the line for an out-of-state LLC heading into Maine.

What an unregistered LLC can run into: Maine's courts stay closed to it as a plaintiff until it registers (31 MRSA 1629(1)).

peek at legislature.maine.gov, confirmed October 2026

What is inside the cost of registering?

Two parts: $250 to the state and $199 to a service.

By year three the state will have collected $550. peek at maine.gov, confirmed October 2026

Which form is inside the filing, and where does it go?

The Statement of Foreign Qualification to Conduct Activities (Form MLLC-12) is the filing, and the Maine Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions receives it.

Attach certificate of existence issued within the last 90 days.

Is there a filing that repeats?

Expect the Annual report for a foreign LLC ($150).

The state frames the deadline as June 1.

Why is the stack in this order?

Maine Registered Agent.co wins the total across three years layer, which counts 34%.

Two layers carry most of the weight, total across three years (34%) and what is inside the price (29%).

Open Maine Registered Agent.co instead of Mainstay Filing and keep $100 across three years.

How we open it up

What Maine requires to register

RequirementAmount or ruleOfficial source
Registration fee$250peek at maine.gov, confirmed October 2026
Good standing certificateYes, include it, 90 dayspeek at legislature.maine.gov, confirmed October 2026
Annual report for a foreign LLC$150peek at legislature.maine.gov, confirmed October 2026
What the state collects in three years$550The rows above, stacked
Last row = filing fee + two later reports + minimum tax, if the state has one. Variable costs are described in the text, not added.

Also worth asking

Do I still need an agent in my home state?

Most likely. Each state wants an agent of its own, and while a one-state service covers only one of them, Mainstay Filing covers every state.

What do the picks cost over three years?

Opened up over three years: Maine Registered Agent.co at $397, Mainstay Filing at $497, ME Registered Agent.org at $397, with state fees on top.

Are the fees official?

The state-side figures were taken from Maine's own publications, and the service prices from the price page each company posts. Dates for both appear on this page.

Does the law require one?

No law requires a service. It is a paid convenience.

Can I hire someone to register the LLC?

Each company here handles the filing itself. What differs between them is only the service fee, since the state charges the same.

Which foreign registration service should I open first in Maine?

Maine Registered Agent.co is on top: it charges $199 with first-year agent service inside, then $99 annually. Under it sit Mainstay Filing and ME Registered Agent.org.

What the page rests on

  1. Under Maine Secretary of State sits maine.gov, dated August 2026, as the original document
  2. Under Maine Secretary of State sits maine.gov, dated August 2026, as the original document
  3. Under Maine report due date sits maine.gov, dated August 2026, as the original document
  4. Under 31 M.R.S. sec. 1531 sits legislature.maine.gov, dated August 2026, as the original document
  5. Under Maine formation fee: Filing fee sits legislature.maine.gov, dated October 2026, as the original document
  6. Under Maine registered agent statute sits legislature.maine.gov, dated October 2026, as the original document
  7. Under Maine Secretary of State, foreign sits maine.gov, dated October 2026, as the original document
  8. Under Form MLLC-12 sits maine.gov, dated October 2026, as the original document
  9. Under 31 MRSA § 1622, foreign sits legislature.maine.gov, dated October 2026, as the original document
  10. Under 31 MRSA § 1623, activities sits legislature.maine.gov, dated October 2026, as the original document
  11. Under 31 MRSA § 1629, consequences sits legislature.maine.gov, dated October 2026, as the original document
  12. Maine Registered Agent.co pricing page, read November 13, 2026
  13. Mainstay Filing Maine service page, read November 13, 2026
  14. ME Registered Agent.org pricing page, read November 13, 2026