Key Takeaways
- Maine recognizes the PLLC as a distinct entity type for licensed professionals (Maine LLC Act, Title 31, Ch. 21, Subchapter 5, §1560, importing the Professional Service Corporation Act (Title 13, Ch. 22-A, §§722 et seq.))
- Maine does not require licensing board pre-approval as a condition of filing
- Filing fee: $175
- Not independently confirmed by a standalone Maine PLLC provision, but because Maine imports its entire framework from the Professional Service Corporation Act, expect a similar "related professions" allowance to the one Maryland's Title 5 provides — confirm the specific combination with your licensing board before relying on it.
- LLC Attorney does not form PLLCs or other professional entities — this guide is educational; where your profession permits a standard LLC or corporation, LLC Attorney can form that
If you're a licensed professional in Maine — an attorney, physician, accountant, or similar occupation — Title 31, §1560 lets you form a genuine PLLC, but Maine's naming rules never require (or even offer) a distinct "PLLC" abbreviation the way most other states do.
This guide covers exactly how to form a Maine PLLC in 2026 — the state's open-ended profession list, the counterintuitive naming rules shared with Kansas, the $175 mail-only filing cost, and what liability protection a PLLC actually provides for negligent professional acts.
What Is a Maine PLLC?
A Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC) is a special LLC designation for licensed professionals — doctors, lawyers, accountants, and similar occupations. It works like a regular LLC, but ownership is restricted to people who hold the same professional license, and formation often requires sign-off from your licensing board before the state will accept your filing.
Yes. Maine recognizes the PLLC as a distinct entity type for licensed professionals (Maine LLC Act, Title 31, Ch. 21, Subchapter 5, §1560, importing the Professional Service Corporation Act (Title 13, Ch. 22-A, §§722 et seq.)).
Who Needs a PLLC in Maine?
Maine's list is open-ended by design: Title 13 §723(7) enumerates accountants, advanced practice registered nurses, attorneys, chiropractors, dentists, optometrists, osteopathic physicians, physicians and surgeons, physician associates, podiatrists, registered nurses, and veterinarians, plus a catch-all covering any other person Maine law requires to hold a professional license. That catch-all makes Maine's covered-profession list effectively self-updating, unlike Idaho's closed 19-profession list.
Because Maine's professional-entity framework is imported from its Professional Service Corporation Act's "qualified person" eligibility model, professions outside the enumerated list (or without a specific licensure requirement) typically use a plain LLC instead.
Do I Need Licensing Board Approval First?
Maine doesn't require a licensing board to certify or pre-approve anything before the Secretary of State accepts the filing. The imported Professional Service Corporation Act model centers on member-eligibility restrictions — Maine's "qualified person" framework — rather than a submitted board certificate, so you simply check the professional-LLC designation on your Certificate of Formation and list the licensed service being rendered.
Because there's no attached-certificate requirement, Maine's PLLC formation timeline is really just the standard Certificate of Formation timeline — but Maine doesn't accept online LLC filings, so budget for mail-based processing regardless of the professional designation.
How to Form a Maine PLLC
- Filing agency: Maine Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions
- Form: Certificate of Formation (Professional Limited Liability Company designation) (MLLC-6)
- Filing fee: $175
- Processing time: About 15-20 business days for standard mail-only filing — Maine doesn't accept online LLC filings
- Expedited option: 24-hour expedited service available for an added fee
- Name requirement: Genuinely unusual: Maine does NOT require a distinct "PLLC" abbreviation. Accepted designators are the standard "limited liability company," "limited company," "L.L.C.," "LLC," "L.C.," or "LC" — plus Maine explicitly permits unusual full-form variants like "Limited Liability Company, Chartered," "Limited Liability Company, Professional Association," and "Limited Liability Company, P.A.," all usable together with the plain "LLC" abbreviation.
Who Can Own a Maine PLLC?
All members must be a "qualified person" under the imported Professional Service Corporation Act framework — generally, someone licensed to render the professional service named in the Certificate of Formation. Maine also uniquely requires every LLC, including PLLCs, to have a written LLC Agreement.
Not independently confirmed by a standalone Maine PLLC provision, but because Maine imports its entire framework from the Professional Service Corporation Act, expect a similar "related professions" allowance to the one Maryland's Title 5 provides — confirm the specific combination with your licensing board before relying on it.
What Liability Protection Does a PLLC Actually Provide?
A PLLC protects you from business debts and from a co-owner's malpractice — but it never shields you from your own malpractice. If you personally provide negligent professional services, you remain personally liable for that regardless of the entity structure.
A Maine PLLC shields members from each other's malpractice and from ordinary business debts, but never from a member's own negligent professional acts — that liability follows the individual professional regardless of the entity wrapper.
Maine doesn't impose a blanket statutory malpractice-insurance mandate tied to PLLC formation itself. Individual boards for the enumerated professions may separately require coverage as a condition of licensure, independent of the Secretary of State filing.
How Is a Maine PLLC Taxed?
By default, a PLLC is taxed exactly like a regular LLC — pass-through to the owners' personal returns, with the option to elect S-corp or C-corp taxation if that fits your situation better. The professional designation changes ownership eligibility and licensing oversight, not the default federal tax treatment.
Maine has a graduated personal income tax (up to roughly 7.15%, among the higher marginal rates in this comparison), so a Maine PLLC's pass-through profit is taxed at that rate at the state level, on top of federal income and self-employment tax.
Maine PLLCs file an annual report with the Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions ($85 fee for domestic entities, $150 for entities not organized in Maine), due by June 1 each year.
How to Set Up Your Maine PLLC Step by Step
If You Do It Yourself
Step 1 — Confirm you need a PLLC (not a plain LLC) for your profession.
Maine's list is open-ended by design: Title 13 §723(7) enumerates accountants, advanced practice registered nurses, attorneys, chiropractors, dentists, optometrists, osteopathic physicians, physicians and surgeons, physician associates, podiatrists, registered nurses, and veterinarians, plus a catch-all covering any other person Maine law requires to hold a professional license. That catch-all makes Maine's covered-profession list effectively self-updating, unlike Idaho's closed 19-profession list.
Step 2 — Get licensing board sign-off if required.
Maine doesn't require a licensing board to certify or pre-approve anything before the Secretary of State accepts the filing. The imported Professional Service Corporation Act model centers on member-eligibility restrictions — Maine's "qualified person" framework — rather than a submitted board certificate, so you simply check the professional-LLC designation on your Certificate of Formation and list the licensed service being rendered. Because there's no attached-certificate requirement, Maine's PLLC formation timeline is really just the standard Certificate of Formation timeline — but Maine doesn't accept online LLC filings, so budget for mail-based processing regardless of the professional designation.
Step 3 — File your formation documents.
File the Certificate of Formation (Professional Limited Liability Company designation) with Maine Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions, $175.
Step 4 — Appoint a registered agent.
Maine calls this role a "Registered Agent" — required at formation.
Step 5 — Confirm ownership eligibility for every member.
All members must be a "qualified person" under the imported Professional Service Corporation Act framework — generally, someone licensed to render the professional service named in the Certificate of Formation. Maine also uniquely requires every LLC, including PLLCs, to have a written LLC Agreement.
Step 6 — Address malpractice insurance requirements.
Maine doesn't impose a blanket statutory malpractice-insurance mandate tied to PLLC formation itself. Individual boards for the enumerated professions may separately require coverage as a condition of licensure, independent of the Secretary of State filing.
Step 7 — Handle ongoing state compliance.
Maine PLLCs file an annual report with the Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions ($85 fee for domestic entities, $150 for entities not organized in Maine), due by June 1 each year. Maine has a graduated personal income tax (up to roughly 7.15%, among the higher marginal rates in this comparison), so a Maine PLLC's pass-through profit is taxed at that rate at the state level, on top of federal income and self-employment tax.
Step 8 — Watch for Maine-specific PLLC traps.
The most counterintuitive Maine rule, shared with Kansas, is that a genuine professional LLC here never needs to say "PLLC." Maine's accepted name designators are the same plain "LLC" family used by any ordinary LLC — plus it explicitly permits unusual full-form variants like "Limited Liability Company, Chartered" and "Limited Liability Company, P.A." Don't assume the entity name will (or must) signal the professional designation the way it does in most other states.
Where LLC Attorney Fits In
LLC Attorney doesn't form Maine PLLCs or other professional entities, and the filing steps above are for you or your attorney to complete. What we can do:
- Form a standard Maine LLC or corporation the same day where your profession permits one.
- Handle S-corp elections.
- Serve as your Registered Agent (registered agent).
- Connect you with flat-fee attorney consultations (no retainer) for licensing and ownership questions before you file.
When Should You Talk to an Attorney About Your Maine PLLC?
Talk to an attorney before forming your Maine PLLC if you're unsure whether your profession falls under the open-ended catch-all in Title 13 §723(7)(B), if you're drafting the LLC Agreement Maine requires of every LLC, or if you want to combine more than one licensed profession and need to confirm the imported Professional Service Corporation Act framework permits it.
Is Maine a State Where PLLC Formation Is More Complex?
Maine's complexity is almost entirely about naming, not process. It's a real PLLC in substance — Maine imports its entire professional-entity framework from the state's Professional Service Corporation Act — but despite that, Maine's LLC Act doesn't require or even offer a "PLLC" abbreviation. Filers used to putting "PLLC" on their entity name elsewhere often assume Maine works the same way and are surprised when the accepted designators are the same plain "LLC" family, plus unusual variants like "Chartered" or "P.A."
How LLC Attorney Can Help Maine Professionals
LLC Attorney doesn't form professional entities like PLLCs. This guide exists so professionals get the Maine rules right — here's what we do offer.
- Standard LLC or corporation formation in Maine, where your profession permits one — no markup on state fees.
- S-corp election handling when that fits your tax situation.
- Registered agent (Registered Agent) service in Maine.
- Access to professionally trained Business Success Advisors at no charge, plus flat-fee attorney consultations (no retainer) for licensing and ownership questions.
Need Help Starting Your Maine Business?
LLC Attorney doesn't form professional entities like PLLCs; if your profession allows a standard LLC or corporation in Maine, we can form it and serve as your registered agent; if you're unsure which entity your license requires, a flat-fee attorney consultation can settle it before you file. See our full pricing for all service tiers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Maine recognizes the PLLC through Title 31, §1560, which imports the state's Professional Service Corporation Act wholesale for LLCs — though Maine's naming rules never require a distinct "PLLC" abbreviation.
Maine's list is open-ended: Title 13 §723(7) names accountants, advanced practice registered nurses, attorneys, chiropractors, dentists, optometrists, osteopathic physicians, physicians and surgeons, physician associates, podiatrists, registered nurses, and veterinarians, plus a catch-all for any other profession Maine law requires to be licensed.
No. Maine doesn't require a licensing board to certify or pre-approve anything before the Secretary of State accepts the filing — you simply check the professional-LLC designation and list the licensed service on your Certificate of Formation.
The Maine PLLC filing fee is $175, filed by mail only since Maine doesn't accept online LLC filings.
All members must be a "qualified person" under the imported Professional Service Corporation Act framework — generally, someone licensed to render the professional service named in the filing.
Not independently confirmed by a standalone provision, but because Maine imports its framework from the Professional Service Corporation Act, a similar related-professions allowance likely applies — confirm the specific combination with your licensing board.
A Maine PLLC shields members from each other's malpractice and from ordinary business debts, but never from a member's own negligent professional acts — that liability always follows the individual professional.
Maine doesn't impose a blanket malpractice-insurance mandate tied to PLLC formation itself, though individual boards may separately require coverage as a condition of licensure.
No. LLC Attorney does not form PLLCs, professional corporations, or other license-restricted professional entities in Maine or anywhere else. We form standard LLCs and corporations (including S-corp elections), provide registered agent service, and offer flat-fee attorney consultations if you need help confirming which entity your license allows.