Register Your Maryland Foreign Corporation
A Maryland foreign corporation is a corporation that does business both in the state it was originally formed in and Maryland. All foreign corporations must register with Maryland to legally conduct business. In order to register as a Maryland foreign corporation, you’ll have to file a Maryland Corporation Foreign Qualification Form with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation, Corporation Charter Division. This cost $100 to file. You’ll also need to attach a certificate of good standing from your home state.
You can follow our comprehensive guide below to register as a foreign corporation on your own. If you’d rather skip the headache, we can handle the paperwork for you.
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GET STARTEDHow to Register as a Foreign Corporation in Maryland
To legally register as a foreign corporation in Maryland, your business must go through a process known as foreign qualification. This tells Maryland that you are legally operating within its borders.
Foreign qualification is not the same as starting a new business in Maryland. Your business itself doesn’t change, but the range of your business expands to a new state. Some of the steps are similar to registering a new business, but there are less of them. For example, you don’t have to create bylaws.
Below you’ll find the steps for registering as a foreign corporation in Maryland.
1. Name Your Maryland Corporation
You must register your business name in Maryland. If it’s already registered in your home state, that’s great, but that doesn’t mean it’s available for you to use in Maryland. Conduct a free business name search to ensure your corporation’s name is available. If someone else in Maryland is already using it, you’ll have to come up with a new name, ideally one that is easy for customers to connect to your current name.
Not quite ready to register as a foreign business? You can still reserve your business name in Maryland for $25.
Want to make sure your business name is used only by you? Consider getting a federal trademark to secure the name in your industry.
2. Designate a Registered Agent
A Maryland registered agent is a person or business that accepts legal mail on behalf of your business. The registered agent must be physically located in Maryland during regular business hours. Since you have a different home state, it’s unlikely you can be your own registered agent.
At Northwest, we offer comprehensive registered agent service in every state. So no matter how many states you want to expand into, you can use just one registered agent for simplicity’s sake.
3. Start Your Business Identity
Once your business is legal in the new state, you’ll want to be ready to make sales. Forming your business identity, or the way you present yourself to your potential clients, can prepare customers for your upcoming products and services.
Maybe you’ve never started getting your business out there. Now’s a great chance to start a business website or get a custom business email address.
Maybe you already have a digital presence, but now you want to make it easier for out-of-state people to find you, and start building awareness and a trustworthy reputation in your new territory. Consider getting a phone service that has the local area code or a local business address to use on documents where possible. Either way, make sure your business has a way to market itself in the new state, especially if you are not opening a physical storefront.
4. Get Certificate of Good Standing
A certificate of good standing or existence shows that your corporation is meeting all the relevant requirements in your home state. This means you don’t have outstanding taxes due or are otherwise not in compliance. The process for receiving a certificate of good standing depends on your home state. In Maryland, the one you submit to the state must be dated within 60 days of registering.
5. Submit Maryland Corporation Foreign Qualification Form
Your certificate of good standing or existence must be submitted alongside your Maryland Corporation Foreign Qualification Form. It costs $100 to file, plus a 3% service fee if you file online.
Your form should include:
- The corporation’s name
- The state where the corporation was originally formed
- The corporation’s address
- Your Maryland registered agent’s name and address (Maryland calls this person a resident agent)
- Corporation’s principal Maryland address (optional)
- Check “yes” or “no” on a box asking if you’ve done business in the state prior to qualification. If you have, you’ll need to pay a $200 penalty.
- Signature of corporation’s president or vice president
- Signature of registered agent
You can file by mail, online, or by leaving your materials in a drop box. Standard processing time is up to 8 weeks if sent by mail. Standard filings submitted online will be reviewed during the second month after their submission. So if you file your paperwork online in August, it will be reviewed sometime in October.
By mail or in person:
State Department of Assessments and Taxation
Corporate Charter Division
301 W. Preston St. Room 801
Baltimore, MD 21201
Online:
Maryland Business Express
Yes, you can pay an extra $50 online for expedited 7 day processing.
You can also pay a $325 rush fee for three-hour processing if you file online before 2:30 p.m. on a weekday. Otherwise, you’re paying the $325 for it to get reviewed by the next business day. If you want to mail your filing and have it reviewed within two hours, the cost is $425, but due to mailing times, that will be slower than the online option.
6. File Maryland Reports and Taxes
Your foreign corporation will now have taxes and reports to file independent of the ones you file in your home state.
Annual Reports: Your Maryland annual report must be filed by June 17. It costs $300 to file.
Income Tax: The Maryland corporate income tax rate is 8.25%.
Property Taxes: Your business may need to file a Maryland Personal Property Tax return. Essentially, if your business owns, leases, or uses personal property in the state of Maryland or maintains a trader’s license with a local unit of government, you will be required to fill out the Personal Property Tax Return – Section 5 of the annual report.
Northwest Can Register Your Maryland Foreign Corporation
If doing things on your own sounds overwhelming, boring, or generally like not a good use of your time, we’re ready to help. Our foreign qualification package is $225 + state fees. This includes:
- Registering your business as a Maryland Foreign Corporation. We’ll file your paperwork and let you know when it’s approved.
- Serving as your business’ Maryland Registered Agent. We can be your RA in as many states as you want to expand into.
- Sending reminders for your Maryland annual report. We can even file this for you. We’ll send you a reminder about the report 90 days before they’re due, and you can either have us file for you or opt out of the service.
- Launching your business identity. We’ll get you a digital presence, including a business email address, phone service, and mail forwarding. Plus, we’ll put together a custom website with a domain, web hosting, and security in place. These will all be free for 90 days. After that, most services are $9/month.
Maryland Foreign Corporation FAQs
You need to go to Maryland’s Business Express to make changes, as Maryland does not have a paper form for that available.
There is no simple, concise rule about what counts as doing business in Maryland. That said, generally if you are providing services or products in exchange for money, that is conducting business.
Yes.
The President or Vice President of the corporation and the Registered Agent must sign the form.
There is an additional $5 filing fee to return a copy of your documents to you. If the $5 fee is not paid, they will assume you did not want the original documents returned. Images of all documents are available at no charge for viewing and printing within 7 business days on their website.
County filing or publication is not necessary for foreign corporations, unless specifically required by the county in which your registered agent resides
We can. Our foreign qualification package is $225 + state fees. You can also add additional services, like premium mail forwarding and a custom website our experts can help you make, for a free trial.