Maid Agency Fees in Malaysia (2026): The Government Cap and the Real Published Prices

If you have searched for a maid agency Malaysia price list and ended up phoning agencies instead, there is a reason. We checked all 693 agency websites linked from the JTKSM register of licensed agencies, and only three stated a price for a full live-in placement. By the time we rechecked in September 2026, one of those had taken it down.

The government sets only one ceiling on what an agency can charge: the Immigration Department caps the enrolment cost of an Indonesian helper at RM15,000. It also fixes several costs around the placement, namely the personal bond, the revenue stamps, the minimum wage and the levy, which we set out below. The placement fee for a Filipino, Sri Lankan or Cambodian helper has no published cap, and agencies almost never publish it.

This guide shows you the few numbers that do exist in public: the capped fee, the costs fixed by nationality, the only itemised agency price list we could find, and how to check a quote before you pay a deposit.

How much is a maid agency fee in Malaysia?

For an Indonesian helper, the Immigration Department of Malaysia sets a maximum of RM15,000 for enrolment through an appointed Malaysia Recruitment Agency (MRA), plus a minimum wage of RM1,500 a month, according to its Foreign Domestic Helper page (checked 24 September 2026). For every other nationality, no published cap applies, so each agency sets its own price.

That cap exists because Indonesian recruitment runs through a government-to-government arrangement. Each placement pairs a Malaysian agency with an Indonesian placement agency, and the ceiling is part of that deal. It does not control prices across the industry, yet at least two ranking agency pages quote one range as if it covered every nationality.

So what does an uncapped placement actually cost? The only full, itemised public price list we found belongs to Nepturia, a Klang agency on the JTKSM register at our last snapshot. According to Nepturia’s own services page (checked 24 September 2026), a Full Placement for a Philippine helper costs RM18,500, and Direct Hire starts from RM9,500 depending on the helper’s nationality.

Read those as one named agency’s list price, not an average. No published cap applies to a Philippine placement, so a price above RM15,000 is allowed. If you are weighing Filipino maid agencies, RM18,500 is a useful reference point for your first quote, nothing more.

Which costs are set by the government?

The personal bond is a security deposit the Immigration Department of Malaysia requires from every employer, and its amount depends on the helper’s nationality, whichever agency you choose. According to the imi.gov.my Foreign Domestic Helper page (checked 24 September 2026), the bond ranges from RM250 for an Indonesian helper to RM1,500 for a Laotian or Vietnamese helper, each tied to a minimum household income.

The Immigration Department publishes the full table below. None of the competing guides we read reproduces it.

Source: Immigration Department of Malaysia, Foreign Domestic Helper (FDH) page, checked 24 September 2026.

Two small stamp duties sit alongside the bond. The same imi.gov.my page lists a RM10 revenue stamp for the Personal Bond and another RM10 for the Employment Agreement, which is prepared in two sets.

Look at the income column before you look at agencies. An Indonesian helper carries the lowest bond but the highest income requirement, at RM7,000. A Thai or Cambodian helper needs only RM3,000. If your household income decides the nationality for you, it also decides which agencies are relevant. Our list of Indonesian maid agencies covers the pathway with the RM15,000 cap, and our guide to hiring an Indonesian maid in Malaysia explains how that pathway works.

One government cost is missing from the table: the annual levy and visa fees. We could not confirm the current levy on a live official page when we wrote this, and the figures quoted on agency sites disagree with each other, so we are not printing one. The levy is set by the Immigration Department, not the agency. That gives you a useful test. Ask each agency to show the levy as its own line on the quote and tell you where the rate comes from. If two agencies quote you different levy figures for the same nationality, one of them is wrong.

What goes into a maid agency’s placement fee?

A placement fee is the agency’s own charge for sourcing a helper and getting her legally into your home, and in Malaysia it is the largest and least regulated part of the maid agency fee. Outside the RM15,000 Indonesian cap published by the Immigration Department, no official schedule governs it, so the only way to judge one is to see what it itemises.

Ask the agency to confirm which of these its fee covers:

• Recruitment in the source country: finding, interviewing and screening candidates, and whether a partner agency abroad does that work.
• Medical checks: which ones, and whether they happen before departure, on arrival or both.
• Visa and pass processing with the Immigration Department.
• Travel from the source country to Malaysia.

We are not attaching ringgit amounts to those lines, because nobody publishes them in a form we could verify. If a guide gives you precise sub-costs, check whose price list they came from.

Nepturia’s page is more useful for its structure than its totals. It sells Full Placement and Direct Hire as two separate services, so sourcing a helper is something you can choose not to buy. If you already have a helper in mind, perhaps a relative’s former helper or someone recommended by a friend, ask each agency whether it offers direct hire and exactly which lines that route leaves out compared with a full package.

Why so few agencies publish their prices

Fewer than 1 in 200 licensed maid agencies in Malaysia publishes a placement price, according to a TopMaidAgency.my analysis of the JTKSM register. Of 693 unique agency websites linked from the register, a March 2026 scan found only 45 mentioning fees at all, and just 3 stating a price for a full live-in placement. By September 2026, one of those three had removed it.

We counted any page that named a price for a complete live-in placement.

Source: TopMaidAgency.my analysis of the JTKSM register (February 2026 snapshot, website scan 31 March 2026, published prices rechecked by hand 24 September 2026).

The removal matters as much as the count. Even the rare agencies that publish a price don’t keep it up.

JTKSM, the Ministry of Human Resources department that licenses private employment agencies under the Private Employment Agencies Act 1981, regulates who may place a helper. We found no requirement on the JTKSM page for agencies to publish their fees, so each one is free to quote case by case.

So stop hunting for a market rate. It does not exist in public, and the ranges quoted on agency sales pages carry no source. Your job is to get a written, itemised quote from each agency on your shortlist and compare them line by line.

Renewal and replacement costs

Renewal is a separate, smaller fee that recurs after the first year, and the placement fee does not cover it. The only published figures we found come from Nepturia’s services page (checked 24 September 2026), which lists Work Permit Renewal at RM1,500 to RM2,000 and Employment Contract Renewal at RM1,800 to RM2,500.

Treat those as one agency’s rates on one date, and expect your agency to charge more or less. What they do show is that the maid price you are quoted in Malaysia in year one is not the whole bill. Ask for the renewal fee in writing at the same time as the placement fee, so you can compare agencies on both.

Replacement is the other cost that rarely appears on a first quote. If a helper leaves early, what happens next depends entirely on your written contract, and we found no public replacement terms we could cite. Before you sign, ask each agency three things:

• Does it replace a helper free of charge within a set period, and how long is that period?
• Who pays the government lines, such as the bond, stamps and levy, for the replacement helper?
• Is any part of the placement fee refundable if no replacement is found?

For the mechanics of renewal, including the annual medical check and the permit process, see our guide to FOMEMA and maid permit renewal.

How to check a quote before you pay a deposit

Before paying any maid agency fee in Malaysia, run three checks: confirm the agency’s licence number on the JTKSM register, get a written quote that separates government lines from the agency’s own fee, and, for an Indonesian helper, confirm the enrolment total does not exceed the RM15,000 maximum set by the Immigration Department (imi.gov.my, checked 24 September 2026).

1. Check the licence first. Ask for the agency’s JTKSM licence number and confirm it appears on the register published by JTKSM, with a validity date you are comfortable with. Check which licence category the agency holds and ask whether it covers foreign domestic helper placement. An agency that hesitates over its licence number has answered your question.
2. Demand an itemised quote in writing. The government lines (personal bond, the two RM10 revenue stamps, the levy at whatever rate your agency confirms) should appear separately from the agency’s placement fee. If an agency will only give you one total, you cannot tell what you are paying the agency for.
3. Check the cap if your helper is Indonesian. The total enrolment cost for an Indonesian helper through an appointed Malaysia Recruitment Agency should not exceed RM15,000. If a quote goes over, ask the agency to explain which lines fall outside the enrolment cost, in writing. Ask too whether the bond and stamps sit inside the RM15,000 or on top of it.

An agency’s willingness to itemise is itself a signal. A licensed agency with nothing to hide can break its price down in an afternoon.

The licence check takes about two minutes on our directory. Every listing shows the agency’s licence number and category as it appeared on the JTKSM register at our last snapshot. If you are in the Klang Valley, compare licensed maid agencies in Kuala Lumpur side by side.

Maid agency fee FAQ

Is there a maximum maid agency fee in Malaysia?

Only for Indonesian helpers. The Immigration Department caps the enrolment cost through an appointed Malaysia Recruitment Agency at RM15,000 (imi.gov.my, checked 24 September 2026). For every other nationality, no published cap applies and each agency sets its own price.

Why do Filipino helpers cost more?

No published cap covers a Philippine placement, so agencies can charge above RM15,000. The one itemised public example we found, Nepturia’s services page, lists a Full Placement for a Philippine helper at RM18,500 (checked 24 September 2026). The personal bond is also higher, at RM750 against RM250 for an Indonesian helper, although the household income requirement is lower, at RM5,000 against RM7,000.

Is the agency fee refundable?

It depends entirely on your written contract with the agency. We found no public refund or replacement terms we could cite, so ask each agency to put its refund and replacement terms in writing before you pay a deposit.

How do I check a maid agency is licensed?

Ask for its JTKSM licence number and confirm it on the JTKSM register. Every listing on TopMaidAgency.my shows the licence number and category as they appeared on the register at our last snapshot.

A fair price starts with a licensed agency and a quote you can read line by line. Shortlist three, ask each for the same itemised breakdown, and compare licensed maid agencies in Kuala Lumpur side by side. If you would rather not phone around, use the free matching form at the top of this page and we will pass your request to up to three licensed agencies.