7 items, in order: certificate of formation (llc) and the annual report, statement of intention to transact business under an assumed name (dba), employer identification number (ein), sales tax and income tax withholding registration, municipal business licenses and zoning approval, construction permits and certificate of occupancy, and 1 more.
How to open a business in Maine
7 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them, each with the agency, the fee and the official page.
What licenses do you need to open a business in Maine? 7, in the order to get them
These are the steps every business in Maine takes. A license specific to your kind of business comes from the agency that regulates it; if one of the twenty named businesses is close to yours, its page lists those too.
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 21, 2026.
Step 1 of 4Set up the business. Now: Certificate of formation (LLC) and the annual report
0 of 7 items done. Each step opens when the one before it is complete. Progress stays on this device. Log in to save it to your account and pick it up anywhere.
Set up the business0 of 3
The certificate names a registered agent with a Maine street address. The first annual report is due the June 1 after the year the LLC was formed. The Secretary of State still takes most LLC filings on paper, so allow its posted processing time before you need the filed copy for the bank or a license.
- Fee
- Premium only
- Renewal
- Premium only
- Official page
- maine.gov
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
Approve the spaceOpens after step 2
Before the first hireOpens after step 3
Then pick the place
- The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the businesses already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
- The full reportWhether the rules allow a business at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
Have an address in mind?
Check the address freeNo account. The business check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
31 M.R.S. 1680 (limited liability company filing fees); Secretary of State LLC forms; Secretary of State form MLLC-5 (statement of intention to transact business under an assumed or fictitious name); IRS EIN page; Maine Revenue Services business guide (December 2025); Maine Tax Portal registration; 30-A M.R.S. 3811 and 3812 (innkeepers and tavernkeepers; the victualer license was repealed by P.L. 1997, c. 446); municipal ordinances; 25 M.R.S. 2357-A (certificate of occupancy); 25 M.R.S. 2448 and 2450 (public building construction permits); municipal ordinances; Department of Labor 2026 unemployment contribution rate notice and employer FAQ; Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave employer pages (26 M.R.S. chapter 7, subchapter 7); DHHS new hire reporting FAQ; 39-A M.R.S. 401. Fees are as published by each agency on the date checked; cities add their own.