Registering Through The Maryland Business Express Website
The Maryland Business Express Website is one of the best resources to register the following.
- Your restaurant's legal business structure with Maryland’s State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT)
- Your restaurant's trade name (if necessary) with Maryland’s State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT)
- Your restaurant's business tax accounts (i.e. Combined Registration Application) with the Comptroller of Maryland
Below are 4 steps on how you can register these items in the most efficient manner.
Step 1If you do not already have a Maryland Business Express Account, you can create one here. Otherwise, sign in with your account credentials here.
Step 2Once you have an account and sign in, the website should direct you to the "Account Home" page where there are three tabs that are titled (from left to right).
- "Businesses Filings"
- "Personal Property Filings"
- "Document Orders"
Make sure the "Businesses Filings" tab is clicked. At this stage of starting a restaurant, you generally will not be using the "Personal Property Filings" or "Document Orders" tabs.
Step 3Click on "Business Entity Search" and determine if your business name is available in Maryland (if it is listed and active it is NOT available, otherwise it is). If you are planning on filing as a sole proprietorship and NOT planning on creating a fictitious name, you can skip this step.Once you confirm your business name is not listed and active, go back to the "Businesses Filings" tab in your "Account Home" page.
Step 4Click on "Create a New Business Filing" to begin the registration process. The information that is required will depend on what you are registering for. From here, you can register for:
- Your restaurant's legal business structure. For new restaurants, this will generally involve registering as either a "Sole Proprietorship", "Limited Liability Company", or "Non-Maryland Limited Liability Company" (i.e. LLC's not based in Maryland)
- Your restaurant's trade name. This may not be necessary and the only reason you would apply for this is if you already registered as a "Sole Proprietorship" and want to do business under a fictitious name
- Your restaurant's tax accounts. Listed as "Establish Tax Accounts - CRA" in the portal, this involves implementing the Combined Registration Application (CRA). In other words, you will be registering tax accounts for Sales and Use Tax, Employer Withholding Tax, Unemployment Insurance, Admissions and Amusement Tax, Tire Recycling Fee and Transient Vendor License with the Comptroller of Maryland. Note that registering your tax accounts should come AFTER registering your legal business structure and, if necessary, trade name
Registrations FeesThe Maryland Business Express Website requires a fee for registering your legal business structure and trade name, but not your tax accounts. For information on these fees, please refer to the fee schedule here.
Maryland Business Express DemoIf The Maryland Business Express Website is very new to you, a very good resource to use is their Demo. By using the demo, you can navigate the website without creating an account or signing in. This not only allows you to get accustomed to the user interface, but also enables you to find out all the pieces of information that are required for each registration without having to actually answer each question.
Thank you for signing up! One of our experts will reach out to you with more information regarding Full Access. In the meantime, please leverage our available demos and never hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Good luck with starting your business and we look forward to working with you.
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Good luck with starting your business and we look forward to working with you.
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