How long does it take to change a registered agent in Maryland?

SDAT's own instructions state that regular document processing time is 4 to 6 weeks, and that an expedited request will be handled within 7 business days. Documents filed online are treated as expedited and are also processed within 7 business days. SDAT publishes no faster tier for this filing. The change is not effective when you send it. Under Md. Corps. & Ass'ns § 4A-210(b)(3) it takes effect when the Department accepts the statement for record, so allow for the full window before relying on the new agent to receive service of process.

What does it cost to change a registered agent in Maryland?

$25. SDAT's fee schedule states the fee to file a notice of change of principal office, resident agent, or resident agent's address is $25.00 per limited liability company. Expedited handling adds $50. There is no fee for a resident agent to resign. If you hire a commercial resident agent service, its own annual charge is separate from the state fee and typically runs $50 to $300 a year.

Can I be my own registered agent in Maryland?

Yes. Maryland requires a resident agent to be an individual Maryland resident or a corporation with a Maryland address, available at a physical street address in the state during business hours. A P.O. box does not qualify. The practical cost is privacy and presence: the address is a public record in SDAT's business entity search, and you must be there to accept service of process. Missing a summons is how a default judgment happens. Maryland does not license or register agent service companies, so there is no state list to check one against.

Will changing my registered agent affect my LLC's good standing?

No. Filing the change correctly has no effect on good standing. What does threaten it is different. Under Md. Corps. & Ass'ns § 4A-911 the Department may forfeit an LLC's right to do business for unpaid taxes or for failure to file the Annual Report, not for a lapsed resident agent. There is no automatic administrative dissolution triggered by an agent vacancy, and no 30-day deadline to appoint a replacement. The one clock in the statute is § 4A-210(d)(2): where the LLC has only one resident agent, a resignation takes effect 10 days after it is filed. If your LLC has already been forfeited, the route back is the "Articles or Certificate of Reinstatement for an LLC, LLP, or LP", which costs $100 plus $50 to expedite.

Can I file the registered agent change online or must I mail it?

Either. Paper filing is accepted and the current SDAT form is a printable document whose own instructions give the mailing address. Online through Maryland Business Express is the faster route because SDAT treats online filings as expedited and processes them within 7 business days, against 4 to 6 weeks for regular paper handling. Mail to 700 East Pratt Street, Suite 2700, Baltimore, MD 21202, or deliver in person to 123 Market Place. The fee is $25 either way.

LLC Guide

How to Change Your Registered Agent in Maryland

Complete guide to updating your LLC's resident agent with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation. Maryland's statutes call it a resident agent, not a registered agent, and the two mean the same thing.

Last updated: August 2026

Read this guide for another state:

Affiliate disclosure: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Get registered agent service from NorthwestRegistered agent service is $125/yr. The included first year applies only when you form a new LLC with them ($39 plus your state's filing fee), so it does not apply to an LLC you already have. Registered agent customers are enrolled by default in annual report filing at $100 plus state fees, charged automatically to your saved payment method and cancellable any time.Get registered agent service from ZenBusinessRegistered agent service is $199/yr, their standard rate. The $99 first-year price applies only when you form a new LLC with them, so it does not apply to an LLC you already have.

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Step diagram for changing an LLC's registered agent in Maryland, showing the 5 filing steps required by the Secretary of State. — The 5 steps to change your registered agent in Maryland. Source: Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation.

How to File

1
Download the SDAT resolution form
Maryland has no numbered form for this. SDAT publishes a document titled "Resolution to Change Principal Office or Resident Agent" (rev. 8/2024) on its forms index at dat.maryland.gov/Pages/sdatforms.aspx. Do not use Articles of Amendment: those amend your Articles of Organization, cost $100, and are a different filing.
2
Complete it with the new agent's Maryland address
Enter your LLC's name and SDAT Department ID, then the new resident agent's name and Maryland street address. The address must be a physical location in Maryland, not a P.O. box.
3
Have the new agent sign it
Md. Corps. & Ass'ns § 4A-210(b)(1) requires a statement signed by a person authorized to act for the LLC and signed by the new resident agent as well. A statement missing the new agent's signature is not a valid filing.
4
File it with the $25 fee
SDAT's fee schedule states the fee to file a notice of change of principal office, resident agent, or resident agent's address is $25.00. There is no fee for a resident agent to resign. Add $50 for expedited handling. Mail to 700 East Pratt Street, Suite 2700, Baltimore, MD 21202, deliver in person to 123 Market Place, or file online through Maryland Business Express.
5
Update your internal records
The change takes effect when the Department accepts the statement for record (§ 4A-210(b)(3)), not on the day you send it. Once SDAT posts it, update your operating agreement and tell your bank, insurers and vendors.

Ready to file your annual report?

Go directly to the Maryland Secretary of State portal.

File at Maryland SOS →

When Should You Change Your Registered Agent?

Your current registered agent is moving out of Maryland or closing their business
You're switching to a professional registered agent service for better reliability
Your registered agent is no longer responsive or providing adequate service
You need to update from a personal address to a business address for privacy

Hiring a service is optional. You can name yourself or another individual with a street address in Maryland, and the FAQ below gives Maryland's own rule.

Registered agent services for Maryland LLCs, by renewal price

Affiliate disclosure: Northwest Registered Agent, Bizee, ZenBusiness and LegalZoom pay us a commission if you sign up through our link, at no extra cost to you. We list only the registered agent services we have an affiliate relationship with, so this is not a survey of the whole market.

This table is not scored. The four are listed cheapest annual renewal first, and the rows below it say which one fits which situation. The scored ranking, and the formula behind it, is on the formation services review, which orders them on three-year cost, BBB rating and Trustpilot score.

Service	With formation, year 1	Annual renewal	BBB	Trustpilot	Privacy
Northwest Registered Agent	Included with $39 formation	$125/yr	A	4.1/5 (297)	Says it does not sell your information; runs its own servers
Bizee	Free year one	$149/yr	C (unaccredited)	4.8/5 (26,100+)	No data-sharing commitment
ZenBusiness	$99, not included in any plan	$199/yr	A	4.8/5 (32,500+)	Partial
LegalZoom	Not included, $249 extra	$249/yr	A+	4.6/5 (32,900+)	Partial

Note: Bizee holds a C rating from the BBB and is not accredited. BBB's profile carries a live alert describing a pattern of complaints about unexpected charges, difficulty canceling and filing delays, and Bizee has posted a response to it. We flag this so you can make an informed choice.

Prices are each provider's standard published rates; year-one pricing applies when you form your LLC through the same service. BBB and Trustpilot figures as recorded September 15, 2026, not re-checked since, and both sources update continuously. These are the dates the figures were last written to our dataset, which is the most we can show: they are not verification dates. See how we evaluate these companies in our full formation services review →

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state publishes about filing deadlines, fees, and the consequences of missing them, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you what your own company owes: the date turns on when and where you formed, states change these rules between our reviews, and in several states an entity-level tax falls due in a year when no report does. Confirm your own dates with the filing office named on this page before you rely on one here, because the penalty for missing a deadline can be administrative dissolution of the company.

Frequently Asked Questions

: SDAT's own instructions state that regular document processing time is 4 to 6 weeks, and that an expedited request will be handled within 7 business days. Documents filed online are treated as expedited and are also processed within 7 business days. SDAT publishes no faster tier for this filing. The change is not effective when you send it. Under Md. Corps. & Ass'ns § 4A-210(b)(3) it takes effect when the Department accepts the statement for record, so allow for the full window before relying on the new agent to receive service of process.
: $25. SDAT's fee schedule states the fee to file a notice of change of principal office, resident agent, or resident agent's address is $25.00 per limited liability company. Expedited handling adds $50. There is no fee for a resident agent to resign. If you hire a commercial resident agent service, its own annual charge is separate from the state fee and typically runs $50 to $300 a year.
: Yes. Maryland requires a resident agent to be an individual Maryland resident or a corporation with a Maryland address, available at a physical street address in the state during business hours. A P.O. box does not qualify. The practical cost is privacy and presence: the address is a public record in SDAT's business entity search, and you must be there to accept service of process. Missing a summons is how a default judgment happens. Maryland does not license or register agent service companies, so there is no state list to check one against.
: No. Filing the change correctly has no effect on good standing. What does threaten it is different. Under Md. Corps. & Ass'ns § 4A-911 the Department may forfeit an LLC's right to do business for unpaid taxes or for failure to file the Annual Report, not for a lapsed resident agent. There is no automatic administrative dissolution triggered by an agent vacancy, and no 30-day deadline to appoint a replacement. The one clock in the statute is § 4A-210(d)(2): where the LLC has only one resident agent, a resignation takes effect 10 days after it is filed. If your LLC has already been forfeited, the route back is the "Articles or Certificate of Reinstatement for an LLC, LLP, or LP", which costs $100 plus $50 to expedite.
: Either. Paper filing is accepted and the current SDAT form is a printable document whose own instructions give the mailing address. Online through Maryland Business Express is the faster route because SDAT treats online filings as expedited and processes them within 7 business days, against 4 to 6 weeks for regular paper handling. Mail to 700 East Pratt Street, Suite 2700, Baltimore, MD 21202, or deliver in person to 123 Market Place. The fee is $25 either way.

Sources

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Maryland sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.

dat.maryland.gov/businesses/Pages/default.aspxMaryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation: business entity filings
mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gtp&section=11-101&enactments=falseMaryland statute: Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return
mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gtp&section=14-704&enactments=falseMaryland statute: Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return
egov.maryland.gov/BusinessExpressMaryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation: file the Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return

Formation Services Compared

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How to File

Download the SDAT resolution form

Complete it with the new agent's Maryland address

Have the new agent sign it

File it with the $25 fee

Update your internal records

When Should You Change Your Registered Agent?

Registered agent services for Maryland LLCs, by renewal price

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

Need a Registered Agent in Maryland?

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