LLC Amendment and Legal-Name-Change Filing Requirements in Maine

At a glance

Requirements one by one

MLLC-9 amends; MLLC-6A restates

Under 31 M.R.S. § 1532, a certificate of formation may be amended or restated at any time. Form MLLC-9 is the certificate of amendment. It states the LLC's name, the filing date of the initial certificate, and the changes to the certificate as most recently amended or restated.

Form MLLC-6A is the restated certificate. A restatement may include amendments; each new change remains subject to the rules that would apply to a separately filed amendment. The restatement supersedes the original and prior amendments but preserves the original formation date.

The Act states no general deadline to amend when information changes. Correction, agent, and annual-report statutes create separate routes for their own data.

Legal-name changes use MLLC-9 and § 1508

MLLC-9's first article records the new name. Section 1508 requires an LLC designator and distinguishability from the listed entity, name-filing, and mark records. The Secretary of State may refuse an obscene, unlawfully promotional, falsely public-associated, or otherwise unlawful name.

The section provides written-undertaking, final-judgment, merger, reorganization, and asset-acquisition exceptions. An assumed name under § 1510 is a separate business-use name and does not change the registered legal name.

Approval depends on the agreement and the nature of the change

Section 1521 makes the LLC agreement control internal member-company relations unless a nonwaivable rule applies. When the agreement is silent, § 1556 assigns ordinary-course matters to a majority of members and outside-course acts to all members.

The Act does not create a separate vote solely labeled “certificate amendment.” Determine whether the agreement supplies the authority and, if it does not, whether the specific change is ordinary or outside the ordinary course. Do not treat the authorized filing signature as the approval itself.

An LLC-authorized person signs

31 M.R.S. § 1676 requires a person authorized by the LLC to sign a company record. An agent or attorney-in-fact may sign, and the power of attorney need not be provided to or filed with the Secretary of State.

MLLC-9 and MLLC-6A require an original signature, printed name and capacity, and date. Execution constitutes an oath or affirmation under the forms' stated false-swearing warning.

Amendment is $50 and restatement is $80

Section 1680 and the current forms set a $50 amendment fee and $80 restatement fee. The fillable PDFs are completed, printed, and mailed or delivered with the customer-contact cover letter. Current cover letters offer optional $50 next-business-day and $100 same-day expedited service.

Delay is available for up to 90 days

31 M.R.S. § 1674 makes the filing effective on the Secretary's filing endorsement unless it states a filing-day time or a delayed date and time. A delay cannot extend beyond the 90th day. A delayed date without a time takes effect at 12:01 a.m.

Current MLLC-9 and MLLC-6A have no dedicated delayed-effective-date field. Confirm the current exhibit or custom-filing procedure before relying on a delay. Section 1673 requires the prescribed information, form when mandated, legible presentation, delivery, and payment; the cover letter warns that an erroneous filing is returned.

Correction is broader than amendment but cannot be delayed

31 M.R.S. § 1675 and Form MLLC-17 permit correction when a filed record contained incorrect information, was defectively signed, later became inaccurate, or was filed erroneously. The statement identifies the record and filing date, explains the error or defective signature, and supplies the correction. It may also render an erroneously filed record ineffective.

A correction cannot state a delayed effective date. It generally relates back, but takes effect only when filed against a prior relying person who would be adversely affected by retroactivity. The fee is $50.

Agent, annual-report, and assumed-name routes remain separate

Title 5 § 108 lets an LLC change registered-agent information by a separate statement without member or governor approval, effective on filing. It also allows amendment of the prior agent filing as an alternative; MLLC-9 includes an agent-change section.

The annual report carries agent, principal-office, business, and one authorized person's information under 31 M.R.S. § 1665(1). 31 M.R.S. § 1666 permits an amended annual report through December 31 of that report year. Section 1510 requires a separate statement before the LLC transacts business under an assumed name; § 1680 sets the assumed-name fee at $125.

Keep the accepted and internal records aligned

The restated certificate becomes the operative public certificate while the original formation date remains unchanged. Save the accepted filing, current certificate, LLC agreement, approval record, and signing authority.

The Maine filing does not itself revise tax, license, bank, contract, property-title, trademark, assumed-name, or foreign-registration records.

What trips people up

Maine's form asks for an “authorized person,” but that answers only who signs the filing. Approval still comes from the LLC agreement and, when it is silent, the Act's ordinary-course and outside-course voting rules.

Common questions

Can a restatement make a new legal-name change?

Yes. Section 1532 permits restatement with amendment, and MLLC-6A includes a new-name field. The change remains subject to the same rules that would apply if it were made through a separate amendment.

Should a later-inaccurate filing use correction or amendment?

Section 1675 expressly permits correction when filed information later becomes inaccurate. A voluntary new legal name or other deliberate certificate change uses § 1532. The exact history and desired effective treatment determine which route fits.

Statutes and sources

• 31 M.R.S. §§ 1508, 1510, 1521, 1532, 1556, 1665–1666, and 1673–1680 — name, amendment, restatement, approval, signer, effect, correction, alternatives, and fees. Official Title 31 statutes (accessed August 21, 2026).
• 5 M.R.S. § 108 — agent-change statement and no-approval rule. Official section (accessed August 21, 2026).
• Maine Secretary of State — current LLC forms page, MLLC-9, MLLC-6A, and MLLC-17 (accessed August 21, 2026).