Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth — contact & fees
Updated August 2026
Quick Answer
The Massachusetts Corporations Division within the Secretary of the Commonwealth's office registers all entity types, processes annual reports, and issues certificates of good standing. The division maintains offices in Boston at One Ashburton Place. Online filing requires a registered account; searching is public without login.
Open Official Massachusetts Corporations Division Portal ↗Office contact
- Address
- One Ashburton Place, 17th Floor, Boston, MA 02108
- Phone
- (617) 727-9640
- Toll-free phone
- 1-800-392-6090
- corpinfo@sec.state.ma.us
- Filing Room hours
- Monday – Friday, 8:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Public Room & Phone Room hours
- Monday – Friday, 8:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- Online filing portal
- corp.sec.state.ma.us — Login & File
- Corporations Division homepage
- sec.state.ma.us — Corporations
Entity formation and filing fees
Massachusetts LLC formation and annual report fees are among the highest in the country — both $500. Corporation fees scale by authorized shares. Verify current amounts at the live fee page before filing.
LLC — Certificate of Organization (formation)
- Fee
- $500
LLC — Annual Report
- Fee
- $500
LLC — Certificate of Good Standing
- Fee
- $25
LLC — Certificate of Existence
- Fee
- $12
Profit Corporation — Articles of Organization (minimum, up to 275,000 shares)
- Fee
- $275
Profit Corporation — Annual Report (electronic)
- Fee
- $100
Profit Corporation — Annual Report (paper / late)
- Fee
- $125 / $150
Profit Corporation — Certificate of Good Standing
- Fee
- $12
Foreign Corporation — Registration
- Fee
- $400
Nonprofit Corporation — Articles of Organization
- Fee
- $35
Nonprofit Corporation — Annual Report
- Fee
- $15
Name Reservation (all entity types, 60 days)
- Fee
- $30
Corporation formation fees above $275 scale with authorized shares: an additional $100 is charged per each additional 100,000 authorized shares above 275,000. LLCs and annual reports for LLCs both cost $500 — an unusually high rate compared to most states.
UCC filing, notary, and apostille services
The Secretary of the Commonwealth also runs UCC filing, notary recordkeeping, and document authentication:
- UCC search and filing — $20 to file an initial financing statement (up to 2 debtor names, $20 per additional name); a UCC-11 information request/search costs $10.
- Notary public commissions — appointed by the Governor with the Executive Council's consent; the Secretary of the Commonwealth administers records for a $60 fee.
- Apostilles and authentications — $6 per document, through the Commissions Section.
Source: Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Corporations, Commissions, and UCC pages (sec.state.ma.us).
Key Massachusetts state licensing agencies
Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR)
- What it covers
- State tax registration, sales and use tax, withholding tax, MassTaxConnect business accounts
- Website
- mass.gov/dor
Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR)
- What it covers
- Professional and occupational licensing — contractors, home improvement, real estate, insurance
- Website
- mass.gov/ocabr
Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA)
- What it covers
- Employer unemployment insurance registration, wage reporting
- Website
- mass.gov/dua
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to form and maintain an LLC in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts LLC fees are among the highest in the country — $500 to file the Certificate of Organization and another $500 for the annual report, an unusually high recurring rate compared to most states.
How much does it cost to incorporate a company with a lot of authorized shares in Massachusetts?
The base Articles of Organization fee is $275 for up to 275,000 authorized shares. Above that, an additional $100 is charged for each additional 100,000 authorized shares, so the fee scales up with a corporation's share count.
How much does it cost to form a nonprofit in Massachusetts?
A Massachusetts nonprofit corporation's Articles of Organization cost $35 to file, with a $15 annual report fee — both well below the fees for LLCs and for-profit corporations.