How long does it take to change a registered agent in Maine?

A statement changing your registered agent takes effect when the Maine Secretary of State files it. For the standard turnaround, check with the Secretary of State's Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions. If timing matters, the form's cover letter offers paid expedited service: next-business-day filing for an extra $50, or same-business-day filing for an extra $100. Until the change is filed, your previous agent remains the agent of record for service of process, so timing matters if that relationship has deteriorated. Keep the old agent in place until the new appointment is on file. To make the change, submit the Statement of Appointment or Change of Clerk or Registered Agent (Form CLK/RA 3) with your $35 filing fee to the Department of the Secretary of State, Corporations, UCC and Commissions, 101 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0101.

What does it cost to change a registered agent in Maine?

The filing fee to change a registered agent for a Maine LLC is $35, payable to the Maine Secretary of State. You submit it with the Statement of Appointment or Change of Clerk or Registered Agent (Form CLK/RA 3). Optional expedited service costs $50 more for next-business-day filing or $100 more for same-day filing. If you hire a commercial registered agent service, its annual charge is separate from the state fee. Your next step is to download Form CLK/RA 3 from maine.gov/sos, complete it with your new agent's information, and mail it with your payment to the Department of the Secretary of State, Corporations, UCC and Commissions, 101 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0101.

Can I be my own registered agent in Maine?

Yes, you can serve as your own registered agent in Maine if you maintain a physical Maine street address (not a PO Box) where you can receive legal documents during normal business hours. If you are forming the LLC, name yourself on the Certificate of Formation (Form MLLC-6), which costs $175. If the LLC already exists, file a Statement of Appointment or Change of Clerk or Registered Agent (Form CLK/RA 3) with the Maine Secretary of State; the fee is $35. However, this creates a significant practical burden: you'll personally receive all lawsuits, regulatory notices, and compliance documents at your home or business address, which becomes part of the public record. Many Maine LLC owners hire a professional registered agent to keep a home address out of the registered agent field and to reduce the risk of a missed document.

Will changing my registered agent affect my LLC's good standing in Maine?

No, changing your registered agent won't affect your LLC's good standing in Maine. What matters is that the change is reported: file a Statement of Appointment or Change of Clerk or Registered Agent (Form CLK/RA 3) with the Maine Secretary of State. The fee for an LLC is $35. Being without a registered agent, or not notifying the Secretary of State that your registered agent has changed, is a ground for administrative dissolution under the Maine Limited Liability Company Act. The Secretary of State first sends a notice, and the LLC is dissolved only if the problem is not corrected within 60 days after it. A dissolved LLC can apply for reinstatement within 6 years, at $150 for each ground for dissolution. To protect your standing, submit Form CLK/RA 3 as soon as your new agent agrees to serve.

Can I file the registered agent change online in Maine?

The Maine Secretary of State's "Change Clerk or Registered Agent" page provides a paper form, the Statement of Appointment or Change of Clerk or Registered Agent (Form CLK/RA 3). Mail it to the Department of the Secretary of State, Corporations, UCC and Commissions, 101 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0101, or send it by FedEx or UPS to 6 E. Chestnut Street, 5th Floor, Augusta, ME 04330. The fee for an LLC is $35, payable by check, money order or credit card. Check the Secretary of State's online services to see whether an electronic option is available for your LLC. If you need it filed quickly, expedited service costs $50 more for the next business day or $100 more for the same business day.

How to Change Your Registered Agent in Maine

Complete guide to updating your LLC's registered agent with the Maine Secretary of State

By Edmond Hui · Last updated: October 2026

Affiliate disclosure: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Get registered agent service from NorthwestRegistered agent service is $125/yr. The included first year applies only when you form a new LLC with them ($39 plus your state's filing fee), so it does not apply to an LLC you already have. Registered agent customers are enrolled by default in annual report filing at $100 plus state fees, charged automatically to your saved payment method and cancellable any time.

Not sure which service is right? Compare formation services →

Step diagram for changing an LLC's registered agent in Maine, showing the 6 filing steps required by the Maine Secretary of State. — The 6 steps to change your registered agent in Maine. Source: Maine Secretary of State.

How to File

1
Get Form CLK/RA 3
Download the Statement of Appointment or Change of Clerk or Registered Agent (Form CLK/RA 3) from the Maine Secretary of State's "Change Clerk or Registered Agent" page at maine.gov/sos. The same form is used to appoint a new agent or to update the current agent's name or address.
2
Complete the form with accurate information
Enter your LLC's exact name as it appears on the Secretary of State's records and the name of the current registered agent. Then give either the new noncommercial agent's name and Maine street address (not a P.O. box) or the new commercial registered agent's name and CRA public number. A person authorized by the LLC signs the form.
3
Get consent from your new registered agent
The form states that the new agent has consented to serve, so confirm with your new agent before you file. If you hire a commercial registered agent, ask for its CRA public number.
4
Pay the required filing fee
The fee for an LLC is $35. Pay by check or money order payable to the Maine Secretary of State, or by credit card using the Secretary of State's credit card voucher.
5
Submit the form to the Maine Secretary of State
Mail the completed form and fee to: Department of the Secretary of State, Corporations, UCC and Commissions, 101 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0101. Optional expedited service costs $50 more for next-business-day filing or $100 more for same-day filing. The change takes effect when the Secretary of State files it.
6
Update your records and notify relevant parties
Once approved, update your LLC's internal records, notify your bank, insurance company, and any other parties that may need your current registered agent information.

Need the Maine Secretary of State?

Go directly to the Maine Secretary of State website.

File with the Maine Secretary of State →

When Should You Change Your Registered Agent?

Your current registered agent is no longer available or reliable
You're moving your business to a different Maine address
You want to switch from self-service to a professional registered agent service
Your registered agent has increased their fees or changed their service terms

Hiring a service is optional. You can name yourself or another individual with a street address in Maine, and the FAQ below gives Maine's own rule.

Registered agent services for Maine LLCs, by renewal price

Affiliate disclosure: Northwest Registered Agent, Bizee, ZenBusiness and LegalZoom pay us a commission if you sign up through our link, at no extra cost to you. We list only the registered agent services we have an affiliate relationship with, so this is not a survey of the whole market.

This table is not scored. The four are listed cheapest annual renewal first, and the rows below it say which one fits which situation. The scored ranking, and the formula behind it, is on the formation services review, which orders them on three-year cost, BBB rating and Trustpilot score.

Service	With formation, year 1	Annual renewal	BBB	Trustpilot	Privacy
Northwest Registered Agent	Included with $39 formation	$125/yr	A	4.1/5 (297)	Says it does not sell your information; runs its own servers
Bizee	Free year one (some visitors are being shown shorter free periods, so confirm at checkout)	$149/yr	C (unaccredited)	4.8/5 (26,100+)	No data-sharing commitment
ZenBusiness	$99, not included in any plan	$199/yr	A	4.8/5 (32,500+)	Partial
LegalZoom	Not included, $249 extra	$249/yr	A+	4.6/5 (32,900+)	Partial

Note: Bizee holds a C rating from the BBB and is not accredited. BBB's profile carries a live alert describing a pattern of complaints about unexpected charges, difficulty canceling and filing delays, and Bizee has posted a response to it. We flag this so you can make an informed choice.

Prices are each provider's standard published rates; year-one pricing applies when you form your LLC through the same service. BBB and Trustpilot figures as recorded September 15, 2026, not re-checked since, and both sources update continuously. These are the dates the figures were last written to our dataset, which is the most we can show: they are not verification dates. See how we evaluate these companies in our full formation services review →

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state publishes about filing deadlines, fees, and the consequences of missing them, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you what your own company owes: the date turns on when and where you formed, states change these rules between our reviews, and in several states an entity-level tax falls due in a year when no report does. Confirm your own dates with the filing office named on this page before you rely on one here, because missing a deadline can cost the company its good standing or, in many states, its existence.

Read this guide for another state:

Frequently Asked Questions

: A statement changing your registered agent takes effect when the Maine Secretary of State files it. For the standard turnaround, check with the Secretary of State's Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions. If timing matters, the form's cover letter offers paid expedited service: next-business-day filing for an extra $50, or same-business-day filing for an extra $100. Until the change is filed, your previous agent remains the agent of record for service of process, so timing matters if that relationship has deteriorated. Keep the old agent in place until the new appointment is on file. To make the change, submit the Statement of Appointment or Change of Clerk or Registered Agent (Form CLK/RA 3) with your $35 filing fee to the Department of the Secretary of State, Corporations, UCC and Commissions, 101 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0101.
: The filing fee to change a registered agent for a Maine LLC is $35, payable to the Maine Secretary of State. You submit it with the Statement of Appointment or Change of Clerk or Registered Agent (Form CLK/RA 3). Optional expedited service costs $50 more for next-business-day filing or $100 more for same-day filing. If you hire a commercial registered agent service, its annual charge is separate from the state fee. Your next step is to download Form CLK/RA 3 from maine.gov/sos, complete it with your new agent's information, and mail it with your payment to the Department of the Secretary of State, Corporations, UCC and Commissions, 101 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0101.
: Yes, you can serve as your own registered agent in Maine if you maintain a physical Maine street address (not a PO Box) where you can receive legal documents during normal business hours. If you are forming the LLC, name yourself on the Certificate of Formation (Form MLLC-6), which costs $175. If the LLC already exists, file a Statement of Appointment or Change of Clerk or Registered Agent (Form CLK/RA 3) with the Maine Secretary of State; the fee is $35. However, this creates a significant practical burden: you'll personally receive all lawsuits, regulatory notices, and compliance documents at your home or business address, which becomes part of the public record. Many Maine LLC owners hire a professional registered agent to keep a home address out of the registered agent field and to reduce the risk of a missed document.
: No, changing your registered agent won't affect your LLC's good standing in Maine. What matters is that the change is reported: file a Statement of Appointment or Change of Clerk or Registered Agent (Form CLK/RA 3) with the Maine Secretary of State. The fee for an LLC is $35. Being without a registered agent, or not notifying the Secretary of State that your registered agent has changed, is a ground for administrative dissolution under the Maine Limited Liability Company Act. The Secretary of State first sends a notice, and the LLC is dissolved only if the problem is not corrected within 60 days after it. A dissolved LLC can apply for reinstatement within 6 years, at $150 for each ground for dissolution. To protect your standing, submit Form CLK/RA 3 as soon as your new agent agrees to serve.
: The Maine Secretary of State's "Change Clerk or Registered Agent" page provides a paper form, the Statement of Appointment or Change of Clerk or Registered Agent (Form CLK/RA 3). Mail it to the Department of the Secretary of State, Corporations, UCC and Commissions, 101 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0101, or send it by FedEx or UPS to 6 E. Chestnut Street, 5th Floor, Augusta, ME 04330. The fee for an LLC is $35, payable by check, money order or credit card. Check the Secretary of State's online services to see whether an electronic option is available for your LLC. If you need it filed quickly, expedited service costs $50 more for the next business day or $100 more for the same business day.

Sources

7 documents

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Maine sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so. Where we hold the citation but no stable public link, the citation is printed on its own rather than pointed at a guessed address.

Maine statute: 5 M.R.S. 105 and 108 (appointment and change of clerk or registered agent)
Maine statute: 31 M.R.S. 1591 to 1593 (administrative dissolution and reinstatement)
Maine Secretary of State: Statement of Appointment or Change of Clerk or Registered Agent, Form CLK/RA 3 (fee $35; expedite $50 or $100)
maine.gov/sos/corporations-commissions/corporations-business-servicesMaine Secretary of State: business entity filings
legislature.maine.gov/statutes/31/title31sec1665.htmlMaine statute: Annual Report
maine.gov/sos/corporations-commissions/incorporating-resources/corporations-commissions/filing-requirement-remindersMaine agency guidance: Annual Report
maine.gov/sos/corporations-commissions/filing-an-annual-reportMaine Secretary of State: file the Annual Report

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Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.

How we check facts

How to File

Get Form CLK/RA 3

Complete the form with accurate information

Get consent from your new registered agent

Pay the required filing fee

Submit the form to the Maine Secretary of State

Update your records and notify relevant parties