LLC Member Books, Records, and Information Demands in Maine
At a glance
| Governing law and requester | Maine LLC Act, 31 M.R.S. § 1558; member and dissociated member inspection, with agent/legal representative route; transferee alone has no § 1558 rights (§ 1558(1)–(5)). |
|---|---|
| Records the LLC keeps | § 1558 applies to records the LLC maintains; it states no separate mandatory retained-record list, period or storage office (§ 1558(1)–(2)). |
| Member access without demand | Member may inspect/copy any maintained record material to rights and duties under agreement or Act after 10-day recorded notice; § 1558 provides no separate automatic information delivery (§ 1558(1)). |
| Demand and inspection terms | 10 days’ notice in a record received by LLC; regular business hours at reasonable company-specified location; materiality to member rights/duties (§ 1558(1)). |
| Managers and former members | Dissociated member: 30-day recorded notice, good faith, membership-period records material to former rights/duties; agent or disabled individual’s legal representative may act; transferee alone excluded (§ 1558(2), (4)–(5)). |
| Response, copies and cost | 10- and 30-day periods are advance notice for inspection, not production deadlines; LLC may charge reasonable copying labor/material costs (§ 1558(1)–(3)). |
| Confidentiality and agreement | Agreement governs member/company relations unless statute controls; LLC may impose reasonable use/access conditions and withhold trade secrets or good-faith harmful or legally/contractually confidential information for reasonable period (§§ 1521(1)–(2), 1558(6)). |
| Court enforcement | § 1558 grants inspection/copying but states no special petition period, burden rule or fee award for refusal. |
| Scope and outcome limits | Materiality, good faith and reasonable conditions under § 1558 require facts; no discovery, valuation or specific outcome decided. |
Requirements one by one
Member and former-member inspection
Under 31 M.R.S. § 1558(1), a member may inspect and copy any company-maintained record material to the member’s rights and duties under the LLC agreement or Act. The member must give 10 days’ notice in a record received by the LLC. Inspection occurs during regular business hours at a reasonable location the LLC specifies. The section provides an inspection route for maintained records; it does not list categories the LLC must retain or require automatic delivery of separate information.
A dissociated member gets a narrower route under § 1558(2): 30 days’ notice in a record, good faith, and records from the membership period that were then material to that person’s rights and duties. The member or dissociated member can act through an agent or, for an individual under legal disability, a legal representative (§ 1558(4)). Section 1558(5) excludes a person solely as a transferee.
Costs, conditions and agreement
The LLC may charge reasonable copying costs limited to labor and material (§ 1558(3)). It may impose reasonable conditions on access and use, including confidentiality, nondisclosure and safeguarding duties. It may withhold trade secrets, information it believes in good faith would harm the LLC, or information that law or a third-party agreement requires it to keep confidential, for a period it considers reasonable (§ 1558(6)). The LLC agreement governs member/company relations unless a statutory exception applies (§ 1521(1)–(2)).
Common questions
Does a former member have to retain an economic interest? Section 1558(2) sets a good-faith, membership-period and materiality test for a dissociated member; it does not add a retained-interest condition.
Must the LLC create a requested record? Section 1558(1)–(2) grants inspection of records the company maintains. Whether another law or the LLC agreement requires a particular record is a separate question.
Statutes and sources
- 31 M.R.S. § 1521 — agreement scope and statutory defaults. Official Maine Revisor, accessed September 26, 2026.
- 31 M.R.S. § 1558 — member and dissociated-member inspection, costs and conditions. Official Maine Revisor, accessed September 26, 2026.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
What does Maine law mean for your facts?
You just read the general rule. Ask your own question and see which parts of current Maine law apply to your situation, with citations you can check.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Starts from the statutes this survey is built on
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace