Office of the Secretary of State Customer Service Overview

The Office of the Secretary of State’s mission is to provide the constituents of Maryland with information and services relating to the constitutional, statutory, and regulatory responsibilities assigned to the Office of the Secretary of State, and to promote Maryland’s expanding role in international affairs by representing the Executive Department and the State of Maryland in diplomatic and related duties.

The Office of the Secretary of State services over 13,335 Maryland non-profit organizations, more than 81,000 notary publics, and certifies and authenticates over 44,000 documents a year.

The Office of the Secretary of State’s Customer Service Promise describes our approach. Customer Service activities include:

  1. Improve the tracking, responsiveness, and resolution time of all electronic, telephone, written, and iin person correspondence. For example, we will acknowledge all email inquiries and return all phone calls within 24 hours of receipt.
  2. Ensure state employees and managers continue to improve customer service skills through formal training classes and informal coaching on best practices in customer service.
  3. Improve the processing times of agency services to help citizens and businesses accomplish their transactions with the state. We are committed to stay current on all Charity and Notary applications.
  4. Leverage and upgrade technology at the Office of the Secretary of State so that citizens and businesses can utilize self-service, as appropriate.
  5. Update online publications, forms, FAQs, and pertinent information on our website so that citizens and businesses can find relevant information quickly and accurately.
  6. Use social media to help get the word out about services, events, and news to provide citizens and businesses with information important to them.
  7. A three question Customer Experience Survey is available on our website for citizens and businesses to provide feedback. Results are used to make improvements to services.

In addition to these core customer service-related activities, we will also analyze our business hours in order to better align them to customer needs, ensure literature is up-to-date, and conduct staff meetings to discuss progress on achieving customer service goals. We will also continue to recognize top performers in our agency for professionalism and courtesy, responsiveness in resolving a customer’s needs, and for innovations that improve customer service.

We will monitor the execution of the aforementioned activities, measure performance, and analyze the results in order to continuously improve customer service.

We are committed to providing Maryland citizens, businesses, stakeholders, and other customers with the best customer service. For more information, please visit our website at http://sos.maryland.gov.

Click here for our three question Customer Experience Survey.

The Customer Service Promise
The State of Maryland pledges to provide constituents, businesses, customers, and stakeholders with services in the following manner:
  • Friendly and Courteous: We will be helpful and supportive and have a positive attitude and passion for what we do.
  • Timely and Responsive: We will be ​proactive, take initiative, and anticipate your needs.
  • ​Accurate and Consistent: We will always aim for 100% accuracy, and be consistent in how we interpret a​nd implement state policies and procedures.
  • Accessible and Convenient: ​We will continue to simplify and improve access to information and resources.
  • Truthful and Transparent: We will advance a culture of honesty, clarity and trust.

Tell us about your experience with the Secretary of State's Office. Click here to complete a three question customer experience survey.​

Human Trafficking GET HELP

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Customer Service Promise

The State of Maryland pledges to provide constituents, businesses, customers, and stakeholders with friendly and courteous, timely and responsive, accurate and consistent, accessible and convenient, and truthful and transparent services.

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Help Stop Fraud in State Government

The Maryland General Assembly’s Office of Legislative Audits operates a toll-free fraud hotline to receive allegations of fraud and/or abuse of State government resources. Information reported to the hotline in the past has helped to eliminate certain fraudulent activities and protect State resources.

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