Secretary of State Maine

The Maine Secretary of State (SOS) is charged with carrying out various responsibilities of the Department. The officer is elected every two years by the State Legislature.

Shenna Bellows, who is in office now, is the first female SOS here. She has served since January 2021. The Officer performs a broad range of different functions. The Department has three divisions dealing with various matters.

The following divisions are operating:

• Bureau of Corporations, Elections, and Commissions

• Archives

• Bureau of Motor Vehicles

Their main goal is to ensure customer satisfaction. Moreover, the Department does its best to improve customer experience. In particular, there are over 20 online services. One of them is corporation filings. 

Reading this article, you will discover the ways to register a business in Maine.

Reserving a Business Name 

Before registering a company, you need to reserve a name. To explain, this move protects your business. It prevents other entrepreneurs from operating under the same name. 

To do so, you typically need to file for a reservation in due time. This is done with the Secretary of State Maine website.

The Bureau of Corporations provides all necessary forms. In addition, there are instructions on payment. First, you have to complete forms on-screen. The next step is to print and mail them to the office. The fee for an application is $20.

However, before that, it’s worth checking if your company’s name is unique. This ensures you are not duplicating others’ ideas.

Maine Secretary of State Business Search 

Once you have a name idea, start checking it via entity search. The search tool in the Interactive Corporate Services sections is easy to use. The results are limited to only 100 records.

You need to search by:  

• Keyword
• Charter Number

Charter Number 

LLC’s charter number is on the certificate of formation. It’s a unique identifier of each entity. It consists of 8 digits plus letters. For example, ND stands for domestic nonprofit corporations.

Search Results

Once the function is activated, a list of entities will appear. However, you can get more details by clicking on the information summary. In short, this provides more in-depth information.

Here you will find:

• charter number
• filing date and type
• status
• jurisdiction
• clerk/registered agent

A list of all filings is also available. Moreover, you can check all the documents, articles, or specific records. Each record costs $3.

Some images are not available to download. One must click “order from the bureau” to request the image. The time of processing is between 5 and 7 days.

Restrictions for LLC Names

Maine has some specific requirements. In particular, the company title must contain “limited liability company” or an LLC abbreviation. 

Secondly, there are some restricted words. For example, consisting of language that is obscene or promotes abusive activities. 

Finally, it should not be the same as another entity in the area.

Is a Registered Agent Required? 

A registered agent is an individual who serves as a contact person. A corporation must always have a clerk. Moreover, any changes have to be filed with the Office within 30 days of the change.

On the positive side, it is easy to create a listing using an online platform. This will cost $150 in addition to $5 as a processing fee. To use the platform, an applicant must have an InforMe account.

Keep in mind that an applying individual cannot have a listing with an active status. This means the person is not an acting commercial clerk with the SOS office.

Fees

The office offers to complete a credit card payment voucher. To begin with, it is mandatory for anyone who wishes to pay for services or filing fees. 

Fill in information about your credit card. In addition, a signature and contact information is necessary. Keep in mind that it has to be submitted with any request.

The complete directory is available on the website. The fees vary depending on the form you have to complete. The processing time for corporate filings is 20-25 days. 

Contact Information 

For questions related to services, the users contact the Department via Contact Form. The division dealing with commercial issues is located in Augusta.

Physical Address:  

111 Sewall St. 4th floor

Tel: 207-624-7736

Fax.: 207-287-5428