Maryland corporation revival: restore your forfeited charter.
Your Maryland corporation is showing "Forfeited" or "Not in Good Standing" on the SDAT website, and something urgent needs it fixed: a loan closing, a state contract, a bank account, a license renewal. Maryland corporation revival is what we handle every week. Back annual reports filed, Articles of Revival submitted, and confirmation of your restored charter in your inbox, with a 24-hour expedited option when the deadline is real.
What are Articles of Revival in Maryland?
Articles of Revival is the SDAT filing that restores a forfeited domestic Maryland corporation's charter. The state fee is $100, the document is filed with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (online through Maryland Business Express or on paper), and SDAT will only accept it after every delinquent Annual Report is filed and any Comptroller tax hold is cleared. It applies to corporations only: a forfeited Maryland LLC files a different state document that restores good standing, and an out-of-state corporation that lost its Maryland authority re-qualifies rather than revives. Not sure which one you are? The free SDAT lookup shows your entity type and status in two minutes.
Why your Maryland corporation was forfeited
Maryland requires every corporation to file an Annual Report (Form 1) with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation by April 15 each year. Stock corporations pay a $300 filing fee; most nonstock and nonprofit corporations file the same report at no fee, but the filing itself is mandatory either way. Miss it and the corporation first drops to "not in good standing"; keep missing it and SDAT forfeits the charter. Forfeiture isn't a fine you can ignore: a forfeited corporation legally cannot enter contracts, bring a lawsuit, or protect its corporate name against being claimed by someone else.
The good news: forfeiture is reversible. For a domestic Maryland corporation the restoring filing is called Articles of Revival (LLCs use a different SDAT document), and for most corporations the entire process is administrative. No court, no lawyer required. Just the right filings, in the right order.
How we get your charter back to active status
We pull your corporation's exact filing history from SDAT and clear every missed Annual Report at once (state fees paid directly to Maryland, never marked up; most nonstock and nonprofit corporations file those back reports at no state fee at all), then file the Articles of Revival ($100 state fee) that formally restores the charter, updating your resident agent in the same filing if it's lapsed. When SDAT processes it, your corporation is active again (same charter, same name, same EIN) and we send you the record showing good standing.
Worked example: 6 missed years (stock corporation)
State fees go directly to Maryland SDAT. Fewer missed years = lower total; most nonstock/nonprofit corporations skip the $300-per-year report fees entirely. Optional 24-hour expedited processing: add $425 state fee (+3%). Exact quote confirmed in writing before you pay anything.
Stock vs. nonstock: what you'll actually owe
The single biggest cost variable in a corporation revival is entity type multiplied by missed years. A stock corporation owes $300 to the state for every delinquent Annual Report, so six missed years means $1,800 in state fees before the revival filing itself. A nonstock or nonprofit corporation with the same six missed years typically owes the state nothing for those reports. The catch-up filings still have to be prepared and submitted, but the state fee for most of them is zero. Our flat service fees are the same either way: $200 to prepare and file all back reports and $575 for the revival, so a typical nonprofit case comes in at a small fraction of the stock-corporation total above.
Standard vs. 24-hour expedited
Standard SDAT processing takes roughly 7 business days once filings are submitted. When you're up against a closing date, SDAT offers expedited handling for an additional $425 state fee (plus the 3% card charge). On a clean case we file same-day and your corporation is typically back in good standing within 24 hours. Most clients don't need it; when you do, it's the difference between making the settlement table and not.
What do Articles of Revival have to say?
Articles of Revival is a one page document, and SDAT's own revival guide for Maryland corporations spells out every statement it has to contain. Leave one out, or let it contradict the live SDAT record, and the filing comes back unrecorded. Here is what goes on the page, in the order SDAT reads it.
| Statement | What SDAT wants to see | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Name at forfeiture | The corporate name exactly as it appears on the forfeited record | A trade name or a slightly different spelling than the record |
| Name after revival | The same name, or a modified name if another entity took it while the charter was forfeited | Nobody checked availability, and the name is now taken |
| Principal office in Maryland | A current street address in the state | An address the corporation left years ago |
| Resident agent | A Maryland individual or company, with a signed consent to serve | The old agent resigned or died, and nobody named a new one |
| Officers and directors | Who authorized the revival and who is signing | Signatures from people no longer with the corporation |
| Affidavit | A sworn statement by a representative that the corporation has met its reporting and tax obligations | An unfiled Annual Report or an open Comptroller balance makes the affidavit untrue |
The affidavit is the line that matters most. SDAT will not accept Articles of Revival until every delinquent Annual Report is on file and any state tax hold is cleared, which is why the back reports always go in first.
How do I file Articles of Revival in Maryland, step by step?
File every missed Annual Report, clear any Comptroller hold, then submit the Articles of Revival with the $100 state fee through Maryland Business Express or on paper to SDAT in Baltimore. That is the whole sequence, and the order is not optional. Here is each step as it actually runs.
- Pull the SDAT record. Confirm the entity is a domestic corporation, read the forfeiture date, and count the missed Annual Report years. The free SDAT lookup shows all of it.
- File the back Annual Reports. One Form 1 per missed year, $300 each for a stock corporation and usually no state fee for a nonstock or nonprofit. SDAT holds the revival until these post.
- Clear any tax hold. If the Comptroller or the Central Collection Unit has a balance on the corporation, get the clearance before you file. Our tax clearance and CCU page covers how that runs.
- Check the name and the agent. Search the corporate name on Maryland Business Express and line up a resident agent who will sign the consent.
- Prepare the Articles and the affidavit. Every statement in the table above, signed by an officer, with the affidavit sworn before a notary.
- Submit and pay. Online through Maryland Business Express (fastest, with the 3% card charge) or by mail to SDAT's Charter Division. Standard processing runs about 7 business days; the expedited option described below is the same filing with a state surcharge for faster handling.
- Confirm good standing. When SDAT records the Articles, the public record flips to active. Pull the record, and order a certificate of status if a lender or title company asked for one.
Every state number above can be checked against SDAT's current charter fee list. Full worked totals by missed years and entity type are in our cost to reinstate a forfeited business in Maryland guide.
If I pick same day filing, when will SDAT show my corporation in good standing?
On a clean case filed same day with the expedited option, the public record usually flips within 24 hours, and the thing that decides it is not the clock but how clean the record is. Owners ask us to project the date to the day, and the honest answer has three parts.
- What "same day" means. The back reports and the Articles of Revival go to SDAT the day the engagement starts and the state fees are paid. That part is on us and it happens.
- What SDAT controls. Expedited handling moves the filing to the front of the Charter Division queue; it does not skip review. A corporation with its reports posted, no tax hold, a clean name, and a signed agent consent is the one that comes back next business day.
- What stretches it. A Comptroller balance, a name another entity took, or a signature SDAT questions turns a 24 hour case into a one or two week case, because each of those has to be cured before SDAT records anything. Those cases get a realistic schedule in writing before you pay.
So the projection depends on your record, and we can only give it after we have pulled it. Send the entity name through the online intake or call, and you get the real timeline for your corporation the same day, with the holds named if there are any.
What revival actually restores
Articles of Revival don't create a new company; they restore the one you already built. Your corporation comes back with the same charter, the same corporate name, and the same EIN. That continuity is the whole point: bank accounts, contracts, and licenses tied to your EIN pick back up without re-papering everything under a new entity. The one thing revival can't guarantee is the name. If another business claimed it while your charter was forfeited, the revival has to adopt a modified name, which is one more reason to move quickly.
Why SDAT rejects revival filings, and how we avoid it
Articles of Revival is a short document, but SDAT bounces it over small mistakes, and every rejection restarts the clock: a stale or resigned resident agent, a corporate name that no longer matches the live SDAT record, signatures from officers who are no longer reachable. We check the name and agent against SDAT's current record before submitting and line up every prerequisite so the filing goes through the first time.
What can complicate it (and how we handle each)
- Maryland tax debt: if tax is owed, the Comptroller's tax clearance is required before SDAT will process the revival. We coordinate the clearance; see our tax clearance & CCU service.
- CCU collections: balances referred to the Central Collection Unit must be resolved; we coordinate payoff and deliver proof to SDAT.
- Name taken while forfeited: if another entity claimed your corporate name during forfeiture, the revival includes adopting a modified name; we check name availability before filing so there are no surprises.
- No resident agent: updated as part of the revival filing, no extra service fee.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to revive a forfeited Maryland corporation?
State fees are $300 per missed Annual Report year for a stock corporation plus $100 for the Articles of Revival, paid directly to SDAT (3% card processing applies). Most nonstock and nonprofit corporations file the back reports at no state fee. Our service fees are a flat $200 for the back reports and $575 for the revival. A stock corporation with six missed years totals about $2,732 all-in.
Do Maryland LLCs also file Articles of Revival?
No. Maryland uses different filings for different entity types: a forfeited domestic corporation files Articles of Revival, while a forfeited domestic LLC files a separate SDAT document, the state filing that restores good standing. Both carry a $100 state fee and both restore the entity's charter; the paperwork just has to match your entity type or SDAT rejects the filing.
How long does Maryland corporation revival take?
About 7 business days standard once everything is filed, or typically within 24 hours with SDAT's $425 expedited option on a clean case.
Do nonprofit corporations have to pay $300 per missed year?
Usually not. Most nonstock and nonprofit corporations file the Annual Report at no state fee, so catching up costs far less than a stock corporation: typically just the $100 Articles of Revival state fee plus our flat service fees. Stock corporations pay $300 for each missed year.
Does revival restore my corporation's name and EIN?
Yes. Revival restores the same charter, the same corporate name, and the same EIN. It is the same corporation, not a new one. The one exception is the name: if another entity claimed it while you were forfeited, the revival must adopt a modified name, which is why acting quickly matters.
What if my corporation owes Maryland taxes?
If tax is owed, SDAT requires Comptroller tax clearance before it will process the revival. We coordinate the clearance as part of the engagement; these cases can run past the 24-hour timeline and we quote a realistic schedule up front.
Is Maryland corporation reinstatement the same as revival?
Search results use both phrases. Maryland's filing for corporations is Articles of Revival, and the result is the point: your corporation back in good standing.
Related services
- Forfeited business in Maryland: what the status means and costs by entity type
- Maryland LLC Good Standing: getting forfeited domestic LLCs back in good standing
- Foreign Corporation Re-Qualification: out-of-state corporations that lost Maryland authority
- Missed Annual Reports: Form 1 catch-up filings
- Tax Clearance & CCU Payoff: clearing state holds that block revival
- How to check if a business is forfeited in Maryland: the free SDAT lookup, explained