What Maryland offers instead
What creates it in Maryland
Md. Code, Corporations and Associations, Title 5, Subtitle 1, the Maryland Professional Service Corporation Act. Formation is under § 5-112, which requires the articles of incorporation to contain a statement that the corporation is a professional corporation and that its purpose is to render the professional services specified. Section 5-102 limits a professional corporation to a single profession, with stated exceptions for related professions.
What the name must contain
Md. Code, Corporations and Associations § 1-502(f)(1). The name must contain the word "chartered", the abbreviation "chtd.", the words "professional association", the abbreviation "P.A.", the words "professional corporation" or the abbreviation "P.C." Section 1-502(f)(2) allows a professional corporation to omit the designation if it registers its name under § 1-406 and uses the corporate name with only the permitted omissions.
Which occupations Maryland treats as professional
A general test with an illustrative list, not an enumerated roster. Md. Code, Corporations and Associations § 5-101 defines a professional service as a service that may lawfully be rendered only by a person licensed or otherwise authorized by a licensing unit in the State to render the service and that may not lawfully be rendered by a corporation under the Maryland General Corporation Law, and then gives a non-exhaustive list including architects, attorneys, certified public accountants, dentists, physicians, engineers, real estate brokers, veterinarians, psychologists and physical therapists. Section 5-105(a) adds that a domestic or foreign corporation may render professional services in the State only through individuals licensed or otherwise authorized in the State to render them.
Does the agent requirement differ from an ordinary Maryland LLC’s?
No. Maryland sets no separate agent requirement for a professional entity — it is the same requirement an ordinary Maryland LLC files under.
Maryland's term is resident agent, and the professional form does not change the requirement. A Maryland professional corporation names a resident agent in its articles of incorporation like any other Maryland corporation.
Why Maryland answers this way
Maryland has no professional limited liability company, and the evidence is threefold rather than an absence of search results. First, Md. Code, Corporations and Associations § 1-502 is the single name statute for every Maryland entity type and it has a subsection for each: (a) corporations, (b) limited liability companies, (c) limited liability partnerships, (d) limited partnerships, (e) limited liability limited partnerships, (f) professional corporations, (g) limited worker cooperative associations. There is no professional limited liability company subsection anywhere in it. Second, the Limited Liability Company Act at Title 4A contains no professional provisions: § 4A-201 lets a limited liability company conduct any lawful business, purpose, investment or activity except the business of acting as an insurer, and § 4A-208 simply points the name back to Title 1, Subtitle 5. Third, SDAT publishes one Articles of Organization for Limited Liability Company and no professional variant. Maryland's professional vehicle is the corporation under Title 5, Subtitle 1, and SDAT has no dedicated form for that either: it is filed as articles of incorporation containing the § 5-112 statements, which is why SDAT's Articles of Amendment form asks the filer to insert "Stock", "Close", "Nonstock" or "Professional" to say which kind of corporation is amending.
Verified against the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT), Charter Division (dat.maryland.gov/Pages/sdatforms.aspx) · Statute text: mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gca§ion=5-112 · Last updated September 2026. Maryland only — the rules in this cluster differ by jurisdiction, and this page speaks for no other.