Best LLC services in Maine (2026)

How are Maine LLC services ordered, and what do they cost?

Providers appear in order of our rating, highest first. Where two share a rating, they keep our editorial order: Bizee (formerly Incfile) before ZenBusiness at 8.0, and BizFilings before Rocket Lawyer at 6.8.

The rating has three parts, customer satisfaction, services and dashboard, and plan value, and Maine's rules don't change any of them. What does change by state is the money. Each first-year figure adds the $175 Certificate of Formation fee to the compared plan, and each second-year figure adds the $85 annual report fee to the plan's renewal. How we rate gives the weights.^{2, 3}

Second year: the recurring Maine report fee as the state lists it (some states charge it every two years) plus the plan's renewal, if it renews. Registered agent renewals are extra unless the plan includes the agent for good.

Because Maine's recurring charge is a flat report fee, the second-year column has a figure for every provider, and that makes a split visible. Plans billed once, such as those from Bizee (formerly Incfile) and Inc Authority, show only the report fee in year two. LegalZoom shows the same, though its compared plan lists a monthly charge after a trial (see the notes below). Plans billed yearly keep charging: Tailor Brands Elite comes to $334, ZenBusiness Premium to $384 and doola Starter to $382. doola doesn't publish its renewal price, so its figure repeats the first-year plan price.

The second-year column still leaves things out. It has no agent renewal after a free period and no item that bills when a trial ends, both covered below. The ranking by cost across both years sorts every provider by plan cost alone.

Which Maine LLC service fits which need?

The picks below come from the facts each provider publishes, one category per line. Read the line for the need you have and skip the rest.

• Lowest first-year total in Maine: Inc Authority, Free LLC, $175 with the state fee.
• Lowest two-year total in Maine: Inc Authority, Free LLC, $260 over two years with state fees. Full list
• Fastest filing: Tailor Brands, 1 business day stated on Elite. Full list
• Best for first-time founders: Tailor Brands, all three supports included in a plan (annual report filing, coaching, AI guidance). Full list
• Best all-in-one platform: Tailor Brands, sells 9 of the 10 business service types we track, with an online dashboard. Full list
• Best for non-U.S. founders: Tailor Brands, highest-rated provider whose own pages say it serves founders outside the U.S. Full list

Each line is decided by the published fact it names. First-time founder support counts an annual report filed for you, business coaching and AI guidance; the all-in-one count is the business service types a provider sells nationally.

Lowest cost in the first and second year

Inc Authority Free LLC totals $175 in year one and $85 in year two, which is what Maine charges anyone who files. The plan includes a registered agent for the first year, and after that the agent bills $249/year. Add that and the second year looks very different. Northwest Registered Agent is next on the first-year total at $214, and its agent renews at $125/yr. The Inc Authority profile and Northwest's pricing list what each charges later.^{4, 5}

Fastest stated filing

Tailor Brands and ZenBusiness state 1 business day on their compared plans, and Inc Authority states 24 hours. In Maine those times are short next to the state's own queue of 40 to 55 business days. Paying the state $50 for next-day review or $100 for same-day review, per entity, is what shortens that part. Bizee (formerly Incfile) lists Expedited Filing in its compared plan without saying whether that means the Maine fee. The fastest stated filing list has the full order.^{1, 3, 6}

First-time founders

Our count here is three supports: an annual report filed for you, coaching from a person, and AI guidance. Tailor Brands includes all three supports: mandatory report filing on Essential and Elite, its Business Coaching Program, and the Navi AI assistant ("Every plan comes with Navi built in"). ZenBusiness includes all three supports: report filing on Pro and Premium (state-required annual reports), Personal Velo AI guidance, and a one-on-one consultation on Premium only. doola includes two of the three supports, with Annual State Report Filing on its higher plans and the AI Co-Founder assistant. Since Maine has a true annual report with the Maine Department of the Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, UCC, and Commissions, a plan that files reports has a real filing to do here every year. The first-time founders list covers every provider.^{7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13}

All-in-one platform

We track 10 types of business service. Tailor Brands and LegalZoom each sell 9, and Bizee (formerly Incfile) and ZenBusiness each sell 7. The count covers what each sells at any price, not what a plan includes. See the all-in-one list.

Agent included, and for how long

When a Maine LLC names a noncommercial agent, the filing gives that agent's address in the state, and the statute asks for "An actual street address or rural route box number in this State" (5 M.R.S. § 104 and § 105). Owners outside Maine need someone there to fill the role or a commercial agent.¹⁴

• Bizee (formerly Incfile) includes it for the first year, then charges $149/year.¹⁵
• doola lists Registered Agent Service in Starter, a plan billed yearly.¹⁶
• Northwest Registered Agent: free for the first year, then $125/yr.⁵
• BizFilings: 3 months free, then $220/yr.^{17, 18}

Tailor Brands sells the agent on its own at $199/year, and ZenBusiness gives 50% off the first year ($99) with formation. The plans with an agent included are gathered on one list.^{19, 20}

EIN and non-U.S. founders

LegalZoom lists EIN (federal tax ID) in Managed Service, ZenBusiness lists EIN in Premium, and doola lists Employer Identification Number (EIN) in Starter. For owners abroad, Tailor Brands links a sign-up flow for non-US citizens from its formation page, doola says it can help a non-resident without a US SSN, and Northwest Registered Agent charges $200 for an EIN without a Social Security number. The non-U.S. founders list and the EIN included list go further.^{11, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24}

What does Maine charge no matter who files?

Maine charges $175 for the Certificate of Formation and $85 for each annual report, whoever prepares the paperwork. No plan we compare includes the formation fee in its price.^{2, 3}

• Formation filing fee: $175
• Faster state processing: 24-hour (next business day) $50; immediate (same business day) $100 per entity
• Recurring report: due June 1 each year, $85
• Optional name reservation: $20

The expedite fee is the cost most worth weighing here. Maine takes formation filings by mail; its forms page tells filers to "complete on-screen, print and mail to our office together with the proper filing fee." Its standard review of 40 to 55 business days is slow next to a provider's stated turnaround. A service that submits in a day still waits in the state's queue unless the expedite fee is paid. Ask any provider whether its rush option includes the Maine fee or only its own preparation.^{1, 3}

The report never goes away, either. Per the state, the first report is due the year after formation. Each one is due by June 1 each year. A late report adds $50 to the $85 fee, and an LLC that never files it, or doesn't pay the late fee, can be dissolved. Every report also lists the principal office address and the name/address of at least one member, manager or other authorized person, so someone tied to the company is named on it each year.^{1, 2, 25, 26}

Who files the Maine report, and what bills later?

Several providers will file the Maine annual report for you, but the plan, the price and who pays the state fee differ by provider.

Tailor Brands includes mandatory report filing on Essential and Elite, and ZenBusiness includes filing of state-required annual reports on Pro and Premium. Neither page says whether the $85 state fee is paid for you. Northwest Registered Agent charges $100 + state fees per filing, and its page tells agent customers "you'll automatically be enrolled in our renewal service." doola files reports on its higher plans, with state fees paid by customer. LegalZoom lists a single report filing at $99 + state filing fees.^{2, 7, 10, 12, 27, 28}

Trials are the other thing to track. Tailor Brands Elite has a bookkeeping trial that bills $39/month afterwards, and LegalZoom lists that, on Managed Service, the Business Advisor Plan auto-renews at $49/mo after 30 days. Neither charge is in the table. The LegalZoom pricing page and the Tailor Brands profile show what each tier bills after its trial.^{21, 29}

Is filing a Maine LLC yourself enough?

It can be, since the state's part is one mail-in form. You fill in Form MLLC-6 on screen, print it and mail it with the $175 fee, adding the state's expedite fee if you want faster review.^{1, 3}

A service adds preparation, its own speed claim and sometimes an agent, EIN or report filing.

Doing it alone also means acting as your own agent or hiring one. A noncommercial agent needs a street address or rural route box in Maine, and that address goes on the filing. You also track the June report yourself. The Maine formation guide walks through every form, and the cost calculator shows what a plan adds in each year.