A Commercial Clerk in Maine provides various services, such as accepting formal documents and correspondence from the ME Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions (BCEC).
Your corporation must have Maine Commercial Clerk services at all times. You appoint one when you first start your business. You can also replace your existing Commercial Clerk after formation, provided there is no period during which your business is without a Commercial Clerk.
Requirements for a Commercial Clerk in Maine
- Every corporation, domestic or foreign, must have a Commercial Clerk with a registered office within the State of Maine at all times.
- The Commercial Clerk can be a domestic or foreign (licensed to transact business in the state) artificial legal entity (corporation, LLC, LP or LLP) or a natural person.
- If the Commercial Clerk is a company, they must be authorized to conduct business in Maine.
- If the Commercial Clerk is a person, they must live in Maine.
- The Commercial Clerk must be available in person to sign for any correspondence during regular business hours.
- The Registered Office must be located in the state of Maine at a street address (a P.O. Box is not acceptable).
The address for your Commercial Clerk in Maine doesn't need to be the same as your business address. In fact, you can use a Maine virtual mailbox for your business address.
Important: A virtual mailbox is not a replacement for a Commercial Clerk. They perform two separate functions and per ME corporation law, you are required to have a Commercial Clerk.
What Maine Commercial Clerks Do
A Commercial Clerk’s primary function is to accept official correspondence and documentation, including but not limited to:
- State and federal government correspondence and notices
- Service of process notices (e.g., if your corporation is sued or required to appear in court)
- Correspondence from the ME Department of the Secretary of State, BCEC
- Tax forms and requests to complete permits, company filings and reports
Having a Commercial Clerk also allows you to prove to the state that your business exists.
Incfile Provides Free Maine Commercial Clerk Services for the First Year
Incfile provides complete Maine Commercial Clerk (Registered Agent) services for any corporation formed in the state. Even better, if you form your corporation through Incfile, your Commercial Clerk is completely free for the first year and only $119 a year after that.
Incfile is authorized to conduct business in Maine and able to legally act as your Commercial Clerk. Here’s what our Maine Commercial Clerk services include:
An always-available Commercial Clerk who can receive correspondence, documents and legal proceedings on your corporation's behalf
A digital dashboard where you can access, store and retrieve any information we’ve received for your business
Email notification whenever we receive documents for your business
Automatic forwarding of all legal correspondence, documentation and information directly to you
Appointing a Commercial Clerk for Your Corporation
When you're forming a Maine State corporation, you must appoint a Commercial Clerk at that time. You can change the clerk at any time after that. Here’s how.
Assign a Commercial Clerk When You Form Your Corporation
Your business needs to have a Commercial Clerk as soon as it’s formed. You can do this two ways:
When you create your business, you must include your Commercial Clerk's information in your Articles of Incorporation.
If you form your business through us, you’ll get our Commercial Clerk service free for one year. We’ll use the information you provide to complete and file your Articles of Incorporation for you.
Assign a New Commercial Clerk After Incorporation
You can also assign someone else as your new Commercial Clerk in Maine after you’ve incorporated. There are a couple of ways to do this.
Once you’ve chosen a new Commercial Clerk, you can complete the Statement of Change form available on the Department of the Secretary of State, BCEC website. Once you’ve filled it out, send it to the BCEC with a filing fee of $35 so they can update your records.
When you use our Commercial Clerk (Registered Agent) service, we take care of all the form filling and filing for you. We’ll collect the pertinent information about your business, complete the form and send it to the Maine BCEC on your behalf. We’ll notify you when we officially become your Registered Agent.
ME Commercial Clerk Search
In some situations, you may need to know the name of the Commercial Clerk that represents other ME corporations. You'll find this information in the state's Commercial Clerk list.
If you can’t find the Commercial Clerk information there, you can request it from the Department of the Secretary of State.
What Happens If You Don’t Have a Commercial Clerk?
If you don’t assign or provide a Commercial Clerk's details to the Department of the Secretary of State, BCEC, you may be subject to certain ramifications, including but not limited to:
- Getting sued or served and not knowing about it. You could lose to a default judgment in your absence if your corporation is sued and you don’t respond.
- Falling out of good standing with the ME Department of the Secretary of State. The state may revoke your right to do business if you don’t respond to certain correspondence (such as a request for your annual report).
- Losing your status as a corporation in the state. A Commercial Clerk is evidence to the state that your business exists. Without it, you could lose your business entity protections and your corporation may be dissolved.
Acting as Your Own Commercial Clerk
You can be the Commercial Clerk for your Maine corporation if you have a business office in the state. There can be some drawbacks to this approach:
- Someone must always be present during business hours at the Maine address to sign for important documents.
- The Commercial Clerk must have a physical street address in Maine. If you’re forming a corporation outside the state, you’ll need to use an in-state Commercial Clerk service.
- The Commercial Clerk’s name and address are part of the public record and available through the ME Department of the Secretary of State website. If you prefer to keep your name and address private, you should use a Commercial Clerk service.
- If you change your business address or move out of state, you need to file additional documentation with the Department of the Secretary of State for the new address. This won't be necessary if you use a Commercial Clerk service, making a move or address change much simpler.
Other Useful Resources
FAQs About Maine Commercial Clerks
Yes. All business entities are required to have a service of process agent (Commercial Clerk). This is mandated by the ME Department of the Secretary of State. You'll find more information above.
You must assign a Commercial Clerk when you form your business with the Department of the Secretary of State. You can change your clerk afterward by filing the correct form. If you form your business through Incfile, we’ll file all the necessary forms on your behalf. You'll find more information above.
Yes, but we don’t recommend it for the reasons listed above.
Yes. And if you use a company as your Commercial Clerk, that company must be legally able to conduct business in the state. You'll find more information above.
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