Should I register my Etsy shop as a 'business' or an 'individual' if I have a Maine LLC?

If you have an EIN and file taxes as a business entity (not a disregarded entity), register as a business. Etsy then verifies the entity name and EIN against IRS records, so the name has to match your Maine Certificate of Formation. A single-member Maine LLC taxed as a disregarded entity can register as an individual and provide an SSN or ITIN.

What happens if I do not complete Etsy's seller verification?

Etsy withholds payouts until verification is complete, whichever state the shop's LLC comes from. If you miss the deadline shown in your Shop Manager dashboard, you have 90 days before the shop may be closed.

What does the Maine LLC itself cost before I can start selling through Etsy?

Maine charges $175 to file a Certificate of Formation, and that is the state's fee to create the LLC. Maine publishes a turnaround of 40-55 business days. Etsy charges nothing for verification itself, so the $175 filing fee and Maine's ongoing obligations are the real cost of getting verified as a Maine entity.

I do not live in Maine. Can I still use a Maine LLC on Etsy?

Etsy does not check where you live, only that the Maine entity is validly registered and that the details you enter match Maine's record. The catch is not Etsy, it is the state you actually operate from: states require an out-of-state LLC to register as a foreign LLC before it transacts business there, which is a second filing and a second fee on top of Maine's $175. Forming in Maine while working somewhere else usually means paying both states, not one.

Do I need a Maine sales-tax permit before my first sale through Etsy?

Not for your Etsy orders themselves. Maine charges a 5.5% state rate and, like every sales-tax state, has a marketplace-facilitator law that makes Etsy collect and remit it for you. You need your own Maine registration once you also sell off-marketplace and either have physical presence in Maine or cross its remote-seller threshold of $100,000 in sales in the previous or current calendar year (no transaction-count threshold).

Etsy asks for "Articles of Organization". Maine gave me a Certificate of Formation. Which do I upload?

Upload the Certificate of Formation. Maine does not issue a document called Articles of Organization; the Certificate of Formation is the same instrument under the name Maine uses for it, and it is what Etsy means by a formation or business-registration document.

Marketplace Verification

How to pass Etsy verification with a Maine LLC

What Etsy asks for at signup, and which Maine LLC documents satisfy each requirement.

By Edmond Hui · Last updated: August 4, 2026

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.

A Maine LLC is generally eligible for Etsy verification — you will need to provide your Certificate of Formation, EIN, beneficial-owner ID, and a valid US business address. Nothing about forming in Maine blocks approval, and nothing about it guarantees approval either: the final call is Etsy's.

Etsy requires sellers using Etsy Payments to complete identity and tax verification before receiving payouts. For a Maine LLC registered as a business (not a disregarded entity), Etsy collects the entity name as it appears on your Certificate of Formation, the legal address, the EIN or other taxpayer number, and verifies this information against the IRS database. Etsy also requires a government photo ID and selfie via its identity-verification partner Persona, plus a bank account linked to receive Etsy Payments disbursements.

In Maine the entity behind that check is an LLC created by filing a Certificate of Formation, which costs $175. Maine publishes a turnaround of 40-55 business days. Because Maine names a member or manager on a routine public filing, the owner name Etsy asks you to confirm is already a matter of public record.

Maine has 8,623 solo retail trade businesses with no employees, averaging $60,645 in annual receipts (U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics (NES), 2023).

Not legal advice: Verification requirements change, and so do Maine's filing fees and forms. Confirm current platform rules with Etsy, and current filing rules with the Maine filing office, before you file. Etsy's requirements were last reviewed 2026-07-21, and Maine's figures on this page come from its own published schedule.

What Etsy requires, and how a Maine LLC meets each

Requirement	How your Maine LLC satisfies it
LLC entity name verified against IRS	Use the exact LLC name as Maine recorded it on your Certificate of Formation; it must match your bank account holder name.
Employer Identification Number (EIN)	Provide your federal EIN (free from the IRS; non-US founders without an SSN must apply via Form SS-4 by fax or phone rather than the online tool) — independent of Maine.
Taxpayer information and IRS verification	Complete the tax interview. A Maine LLC owned by US persons typically submits a W-9 using its EIN; non-US owners of a disregarded-entity Maine LLC generally use a W-8 form instead.
Government photo ID and selfie (via Persona)	Provide a government ID for each beneficial owner named in your Maine filings. Maine names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so at least one name already matches state records.
Bank account for Etsy Payments disbursements	Link a US business bank account opened with your EIN and your Maine Certificate of Formation.

Maine-specific things to watch

Maine names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so Etsy's beneficial-owner check will line up with public state records — you still upload a government ID for each owner. (Maine is not a privacy state; formation and annual-report information is public.)
Maine issues a Certificate of Formation rather than "Articles of Organization." When Etsy asks for "formation documents," upload your Certificate of Formation.

Maine sales tax & nexus rules for Etsy sellers

Maine charges a 5.5% state sales-tax rate, and like every state with a sales tax it has a marketplace-facilitator law — Etsy collects and remits Maine sales tax on your marketplace orders for you. You still need your own Maine registration if you also sell off-marketplace (your own site, invoices) and either have physical presence in Maine — an in-state location, inventory, or employees — or cross the state's remote-seller economic-nexus threshold of $100,000 in sales in the previous or current calendar year (no transaction-count threshold).

Maine was one of the earliest states to enact economic nexus rules, doing so in January 2018. Maine has no local sales taxes — only the 5.5% statewide rate applies. The state taxes prepared food at a higher 8% rate and lodging at 9%. Registration is through the Maine Revenue Services portal. Note: Maine repealed its 200-transaction economic-nexus trigger (effective 2022); only the $100,000 sales threshold now applies.

How to verify your Maine LLC on Etsy

LLC entity name verified against IRS. Use the exact LLC name as Maine recorded it on your Certificate of Formation; it must match your bank account holder name.
Employer Identification Number (EIN). Provide your federal EIN (free from the IRS; non-US founders without an SSN must apply via Form SS-4 by fax or phone rather than the online tool) — independent of Maine.
Taxpayer information and IRS verification. Complete the tax interview. A Maine LLC owned by US persons typically submits a W-9 using its EIN; non-US owners of a disregarded-entity Maine LLC generally use a W-8 form instead.
Government photo ID and selfie (via Persona). Provide a government ID for each beneficial owner named in your Maine filings. Maine names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so at least one name already matches state records.
Bank account for Etsy Payments disbursements. Link a US business bank account opened with your EIN and your Maine Certificate of Formation.

Non-US founders with Maine LLCs

Non-US sellers can use Etsy Payments in supported countries, but a Maine LLC's seller account must be linked to a US bank account or an eligible payment method. Non-US beneficial owners of a Maine LLC must still complete identity verification via Persona with a valid government ID.

Frequently Asked Questions

: If you have an EIN and file taxes as a business entity (not a disregarded entity), register as a business. Etsy then verifies the entity name and EIN against IRS records, so the name has to match your Maine Certificate of Formation. A single-member Maine LLC taxed as a disregarded entity can register as an individual and provide an SSN or ITIN.
: Etsy withholds payouts until verification is complete, whichever state the shop's LLC comes from. If you miss the deadline shown in your Shop Manager dashboard, you have 90 days before the shop may be closed.
: Maine charges $175 to file a Certificate of Formation, and that is the state's fee to create the LLC. Maine publishes a turnaround of 40-55 business days. Etsy charges nothing for verification itself, so the $175 filing fee and Maine's ongoing obligations are the real cost of getting verified as a Maine entity.
: Etsy does not check where you live, only that the Maine entity is validly registered and that the details you enter match Maine's record. The catch is not Etsy, it is the state you actually operate from: states require an out-of-state LLC to register as a foreign LLC before it transacts business there, which is a second filing and a second fee on top of Maine's $175. Forming in Maine while working somewhere else usually means paying both states, not one.
: Not for your Etsy orders themselves. Maine charges a 5.5% state rate and, like every sales-tax state, has a marketplace-facilitator law that makes Etsy collect and remit it for you. You need your own Maine registration once you also sell off-marketplace and either have physical presence in Maine or cross its remote-seller threshold of $100,000 in sales in the previous or current calendar year (no transaction-count threshold).
: Upload the Certificate of Formation. Maine does not issue a document called Articles of Organization; the Certificate of Formation is the same instrument under the name Maine uses for it, and it is what Etsy means by a formation or business-registration document.