How to Reinstate a Maine LLC

Why Maine Would Dissolve an LLC

Maine may dissolve an LLC that does not pay fees or penalties when due, file its annual report, pay the annual report late penalty, keep a registered agent, or report a change or resignation of its registered agent. It may also dissolve an LLC whose member, manager or agent knowingly filed a materially false document.

The LLC has 60 days to fix the problem before it can be administratively dissolved. The 60 days are counted after the Secretary of State's notice is served (service is complete 5 days after mailing).

How Long You Have to Reinstate

Maine allows reinstatement for up to 6 years after the LLC is administratively dissolved.

If the LLC is not reinstated within 6 years, the Secretary of State cancels its certificate of formation, effective on the sixth anniversary of the dissolution.

How to File

You file an application for reinstatement with the Maine Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions.

What It Costs

The fee is $150 for each ground for dissolution. For unfiled annual reports the statute caps it at $600, regardless of the number of delinquent reports or the period of delinquency.

The application must state that each ground for dissolution did not exist or has been eliminated, so overdue annual reports, fees and penalties behind the dissolution must be cured first.

We have not confirmed whether Maine requires a tax clearance to reinstate; check with the Maine Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, UCC and Commissions.

Registered Agent Options

If your LLC's registered agent has changed, resigned or lapsed, ask the filing office named above whether Mainewants that updated as part of reinstatement. You do not have to buy a service for it: in most states the LLC's owner, or another individual who qualifies, may serve as its registered agent themselves, generally subject to that state's rules on keeping a street address in the state and being available there during normal business hours. A paid service is one option and not the only one. The Maine registered agent requirements set out what Maine itself asks.

What Reinstatement Does

Under Maine's law, a reinstated LLC continues as if it had never been administratively dissolved.

The name stays protected in the Secretary of State's records for 3 years after administrative dissolution, and the application must state that the name meets Maine's name requirements.

More for Maine LLCs

• Maine LLC annual report, to keep the LLC in good standing once it is reinstated.
• Maine annual report late fee, for what a late report costs before it comes to dissolution.
• Maine certificate of good standing, to prove the LLC is active again.
• How to dissolve an LLC in Maine, if you would rather close the LLC properly than reinstate it.
• Annual report deadline finder, to see when the next report is due.