Maryland registered agent requirements
Check Maryland’s rules for receiving legal notices and keeping the public contact record current. The local role may be called a registered agent, resident agent, statutory agent, or agent for service of process.
Open official agency forms and instructions ↗Who can serve in Maryland?
A Maryland resident agent must be an adult Maryland resident, a Maryland corporation, or a Maryland LLC authorized to serve, with a physical Maryland resident office and consent to appointment. The resident-agent name and address are public. A P.O. box alone is insufficient. The agent receives process and official notices and must remain current while the entity is active or qualified.
Maryland agent changes: forms and fees
Maryland's Notice of Change of Name or Address of Resident Agent is generally $25.00 domestic, with $50.00 expedited service shown in the SDAT schedule; many foreign or charter transactions can be $100.00. Use https://egov.maryland.gov/businessexpress/entitysearch and the SDAT forms page. The new agent must qualify, consent, and maintain a Maryland physical address.
Resignation, notice, and effective dates
A Maryland resident agent resigns under the applicable SDAT statement and statutory notice/effective-date process; the entity must appoint a successor. The current schedule shows change/resident-agent filing charges generally at $25.00 domestic and $50.00 expedited, but the live form controls resignation pricing. Leaving the position vacant can cause forfeiture, failed service, and reinstatement costs.
Consequences of a missing agent or address
An entity without a qualified Maryland resident agent or address can miss process, lose the right to do business, suffer default judgments, be forfeited or revoked, and incur back-report, tax, and reinstatement costs. Substitute service on SDAT may exist only under limited statute and does not replace the continuing resident-agent appointment.
Confirm the change reached the public record
Keep the accepted filing and confirm the agent or service address shown for the business. Arrange forwarding of legal notices during the change, and check which contact information will be public before supplying a home address.
Look up the Maryland entity record →