How much does it cost to reinstate a forfeited business in Maryland?

Reinstating a forfeited Maryland business typically costs $878 to $2,800 all-in. State fees are $100 for the reinstatement or revival filing plus $300 per missed Annual Report year, and our flat service fees are $575 for the filing work plus $200 when back reports are needed. Missed years, not paperwork, set your price.

Real all-in totals, by scenario

Most sites quote you the $100 state filing fee and stop there. That number is true and also useless, because almost nobody's total is $100. Here's what actual cases cost once every state fee, card charge, and service fee is counted:

State fees go directly to Maryland SDAT and we never mark them up. Every quote is confirmed in writing before you pay a dollar.

Where each dollar goes

The bill has exactly four possible parts, and you can check every state number against SDAT's own forfeiture FAQ:

1. Back Annual Reports: $300 per missed year. The Form 1 was due each April 15, and SDAT will not touch a reinstatement while any year is open. LLCs and stock corporations pay $300 per year; most nonprofits file free. Our back Annual Report service is a flat $200 no matter how many years piled up.
2. The reinstatement filing itself: $100. One state fee covers it: LLCs file the good standing restoration and corporations file Articles of Revival in Maryland. Our flat fee to prepare and file it is $575, which includes fixing a lapsed resident agent in the same filing.
3. Card processing: 3%. SDAT adds it to online payments. Small, but it's why our totals say "about."
4. Tax clearance, only if the Comptroller flagged you. A state tax balance blocks reinstatement until it's resolved, and balances sent to the Central Collection Unit carry added collection fees. This is the one open-ended cost, covered on our tax clearance and CCU page.

Why does the same filing cost one owner $878 and another $2,732?

Missed years, entity type, and tax holds. That's the whole list. A nonprofit forfeited for five years often pays about $878 because its back reports are free. A stock corporation forfeited since 2020 pays about $2,732 because each of those six Aprils costs $300. A landlord LLC that missed two reports lands near $1,496. The paperwork is nearly identical in every case; the calendar is what you're paying for. Waiting another year adds another $300, so the cheapest reinstatement you'll ever get is the one you file now.

Is the $425 expedite worth paying?

Only when a real deadline is chasing you. Standard SDAT processing runs about 7 business days once everything is filed, and if nothing is burning, save the $425. But when a title company flagged your entity a week before settlement, or a lender wants a certificate of good standing before closing, the expedite turns a clean case around in about 24 hours. We see it most with a forfeited LLC trying to sell property, where the expedite fee is a rounding error next to a collapsed closing date.

Can I do it myself and skip the service fees?

Yes, and for a simple case you might. If your LLC missed one report and has no tax hold, you can file the back Form 1 and the reinstatement yourself on Maryland Business Express and pay only state fees. Where owners get burned doing it alone: filing the reinstatement before every back year is accepted (SDAT rejects it), missing a Comptroller hold that surfaces after weeks of waiting, discovering the business name was taken during the forfeited years, and personal property returns that need amending. A rejected filing costs you the processing time twice, which is exactly what you don't have before a closing. Our fee buys the filing sequence done right the first time, same day, with a written 24-hour guarantee on expedited cases. Start by checking your status on SDAT's free lookup so you know which case you have.

Questions to ask anyone quoting you

Reinstatement pricing attracts padding because owners are usually in a hurry. Whoever you hire, ask these four:

1. Are state fees passed through at cost, or marked up? (Ours pass through untouched.)
2. Is the service fee flat, or does it grow per missed year?
3. Will you confirm the full total in writing before I pay anything?
4. What happens if SDAT rejects the filing or the timeline slips?

A quote that can't answer all four in plain numbers is a quote hiding something. SDAT itself warns owners about solicitation letters charging inflated fees for exactly these filings, which is why every price we charge is published on this site.

The bottom line on price

Reinstating a forfeited business in Maryland has a fixed state price and a flat service price. Budget about $878 to $1,500 for a typical nonprofit or lightly delinquent LLC, $2,000 to $2,800 when several years of reports are owed, and add about $438 if you need it done in 24 hours. New here and not sure what forfeiture even blocks? Our plain-English guide to a forfeited business in Maryland covers that. When you're ready for an exact number, send us the entity name and we'll pull the filing history and quote your real total the same day, in writing, before you pay anything.