Maine: Domestic LLC Formation Filing Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law and filing record

Maine forms an ordinary domestic LLC under the Maine Limited Liability Company
Act, named in 31 M.R.S. § 1501, through a Certificate of Formation, current
Secretary of State Form MLLC-6. Section 1531 makes the public certificate only
one part of formation: an LLC agreement and at least one member must also exist.

Organizer and signature

One or more authorized persons execute the certificate, and at least one signs
it under § 1676. Maine does not require that signer to be a member. An agent,
including an attorney-in-fact, may sign without filing the power of attorney.

Current MLLC-6 requires an original written signature, date, and the printed
name and title of the authorized person. Execution constitutes an oath or
affirmation under the penalties of false swearing.

Required entity and purpose terms

The name must be distinguishable and contain “limited liability company,”
“limited company,” “L.L.C.,” “LLC,” “L.C.,” or “LC” under § 1508. The ordinary
certificate has no purpose or duration field.

MLLC-6 also displays optional low-profit and professional-LLC boxes. Those are
special-status elections, not requirements for the ordinary LLC covered here.

Addresses and service fields

The certificate includes the registered-agent information incorporated from 5
M.R.S. § 105. A commercial agent is identified by name and CRA public number.
A noncommercial agent is identified by name, Maine physical location rather
than a P.O. box, and a different mailing address if any. Appointment affirms
the named agent's consent.

The ordinary certificate does not request a principal-office address or an
authorized person's address.

Management and owner disclosure

Maine requires no member-versus-manager election and no public manager, member,
owner, percentage, or control-person list in MLLC-6. The Act requires at least
one member and an LLC agreement to exist under § 1531, but neither condition
adds owner identity to the formation certificate.

Optional and restricted provisions

The members may include other matters in the certificate. MLLC-6 provides an
optional attached exhibit for a statement of authority or other member-selected
matter. Under § 1673, a filing otherwise is limited to information authorized
by law, and the form's low-profit and professional designations are outside this
ordinary-LLC row.

Filing method, fee, and attachments

The current public route is paper Form MLLC-6: complete the fillable PDF, print
it, and mail or deliver it with the $175 fee. The packet includes a customer-
contact cover letter and offers optional next-business-day service for $50 or
same-business-day service for $100.

No substantive attachment is required for an ordinary LLC unless the filer
chooses to add a statement of authority or other permitted matter. Section
§ 1680 sets the $175 certificate fee and makes the filing ineffective until the
fee is paid.

Formation and effective date

Under § 1531 and § 1674, the LLC forms when the Secretary of State files the
certificate or at the later date or time stated in it, assuming substantial
compliance with the formation conditions. A delayed date is capped at 90 days.
If the filing gives a delayed date without a time, effectiveness is at 12:01
a.m. on the earlier of that date or day 90.

What trips people up

Maine's public certificate is minimal, but formation is not only a filing
event. Section 1531 separately requires an LLC agreement and one or more
members. Those conditions do not require public owner disclosure on MLLC-6.

The current Secretary of State services page does not list online initial
formation. It directs users to complete, print, and mail the fillable form;
online annual-report and search services are separate.

There is no formation publication or one-time initial report. Under § 1665,
the first recurring annual report is filed from January 1 through June 1 of the
year after formation. The current statutory annual-report fee is $85.

Common questions

Does the certificate list the owners or managers?

No. Maine requires an LLC agreement and at least one member, but MLLC-6 does
not request their names, addresses, percentages, or a management election.

Must the authorized person be a member?

No. Sections 1531 and 1676 use “authorized person,” and the latter permits an
agent or attorney-in-fact to sign without filing the power of attorney.

Can the certificate take effect later?

Yes. MLLC-6 has a later-effective-date field, and § 1674 caps the delay at 90
days.

Statutes and sources

• 31 M.R.S. §§ 1501, 1508, 1531, 1665, 1673–1674, 1676, and 1680 — Act
  name, entity name, minimal certificate, separate agreement/member conditions,
  filing format and delivery, signature, $175 fee, formation time, 90-day delay,
  and first annual-report window. Official Maine Revisor pages, accessed July
  29, 2026.
• 5 M.R.S. § 105 — registered-agent information and consent affirmation.
  https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/5/title5sec105.html (accessed July
  29, 2026).
• Maine Secretary of State LLC forms page and Form MLLC-6 — current paper
  route, public fields, authorized-person execution, oath, customer-contact
  cover letter, $175 fee, optional authority exhibit, and expedite choices.
  https://www.maine.gov/sos/corporations-commissions/i-need-a-business-form/limited-liability-company-forms
  and https://www.maine.gov/sos/sites/maine.gov.sos/files/inline-files/mllc6.pdf
  (accessed July 29, 2026).