Maryland LLC Reinstatement: from forfeited to good standing.

Your Maryland LLC is showing "Forfeited" or "Not in Good Standing" on the SDAT website, and something urgent needs it fixed: a loan closing, a contract, a bank account, a license renewal. We reinstate forfeited Maryland LLCs every week. Back annual reports filed, Articles of Reinstatement submitted, and confirmation in your inbox, with a 24-hour expedited option when the deadline is real.

Why your Maryland LLC was forfeited

Maryland requires every LLC to file an Annual Report (Form 1) with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation by April 15 each year, with a $300 filing fee. Miss it and the LLC first drops to "not in good standing"; keep missing it and SDAT forfeits the charter, usually in the fall of the following year. Forfeiture isn't a fine you can ignore: a forfeited LLC legally cannot enter contracts, bring a lawsuit, or hold itself out as an LLC, and its name loses protection against being claimed by someone else.

The good news: forfeiture is reversible, and for most LLCs the process is entirely administrative. No court, no lawyer required. Just the right filings, in the right order.

The two-step path back

Step 1: File every delinquent Annual Report

SDAT will not accept a reinstatement filing while any Annual Report year is outstanding. We pull your LLC's exact filing history from SDAT, identify every missed year, and prepare and file all of them at once. State fees are $300 per year, paid directly to Maryland; we never mark them up.

Step 2: File Articles of Reinstatement

Once the reports clear, we file the Articles of Reinstatement ($100 state fee) that formally restores the LLC's charter. If your resident agent has resigned or moved, we update that in the same filing at no extra service charge. When SDAT processes it, your LLC is active again (same name, same EIN, same history) and we send you the SDAT record showing good standing.

Standard vs. 24-hour expedited

Standard SDAT processing takes roughly 7 business days once filings are submitted. When you're up against a closing date, SDAT offers expedited handling for an additional $425. On a clean case we file same-day and your LLC is typically back in good standing within 24 hours. Most clients don't need it; when you do, it's the difference between making the settlement table and not.

What can complicate it (and how we handle each)

• Maryland tax debt: if the Comptroller placed a hold, tax clearance is required before SDAT will reinstate. We coordinate the clearance; see our tax clearance & CCU service.
• CCU collections: penalties referred to the Central Collection Unit (which adds its own collection fee) must be resolved; we coordinate payoff and deliver proof to SDAT.
• Name taken while forfeited: if another entity claimed your LLC name during forfeiture, the reinstatement includes adopting a modified name; we check name availability before filing so there are no surprises.
• No resident agent: updated as part of the reinstatement filing, no extra service fee.

Frequently asked questions