Alabama Foreign Registration / Cost
The price of registering a foreign LLC in Alabama
The Alabama state fee is $150 for an LLC, and the same $150 for a corporation, nonprofit, limited partnership or LLP. The name reservation that must be attached adds $25. We add $199 for preparing and filing the package. This page lists each Alabama charge and then prices the first year.
Alabama filing fees for a foreign entity
| Filing | Form | State fee |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign LLC registration | Foreign LLC Application for Registration | $150 |
| Foreign business or nonprofit corporation | Foreign Corporation Application for Registration | $150 |
| Foreign limited partnership | Foreign Limited Partnership (LP) Statement of Authority | $150 |
| Foreign LLP | Statement of Authority for Foreign Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) | $150 |
| Name reservation, paper request | Name reservation request form for foreign entities | $25 |
| Amendment to registration | Foreign LLC Amendment to Registration | $100 |
| Change of registered agent or office | Change of Registered Agent or Registered Office by Entity | $100 |
| Certificate of withdrawal | Foreign LLC Certificate of Withdrawal | $100 |
Other charges that can appear
| Charge | When it applies | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Late filing fee | For each year of delinquency, when business ran past 90 days before registering | $150 |
| Credit card convenience fee | On a paper card payment: 3 percent of the charge plus a flat amount | $2 |
| Dishonored check | If the check bounces, the filing leaves the index | $30 |
| Alabama certificate of existence | Only if you need Alabama's own certificate for another state | $25 |
| Copies of filed documents | Per page | $2 |
| Certification of a document | For each document | $10 |
What the state fee covers
The $150 registration fee pays for filing the application. The name reservation is billed separately. Nothing in the state fee covers a registered agent, which you arrange with an Alabama agent. The Alabama LLC and corporation forms do not ask for a home-state certificate, so that cost does not arise.
The state also posts a convenience charge on card payments made with the paper slip: 3 percent of the total plus $2. On a $150 filing that comes to $156.50 for the registration alone. Paying by check or money order, payable to the Alabama Secretary of State, avoids the charge. A check that bounces costs $30 and removes the filing from the index.
Worked totals
| Case | What is included | State total |
|---|---|---|
| New LLC, on time | Registration $150 plus reservation $25 | $175 |
| Two years late | Registration plus two late filing fees of $150 each | $450 |
| Three years late | Registration plus three late filing fees of $150 each | $600 |
| LLC that later withdraws | Registration, reservation and the $100 certificate of withdrawal | $275 |
These are state charges only. Add our fee for the filing work and anything you pay a registered agent.
Your first-year costs after registering
Alabama does not charge LLCs an annual report fee at the Secretary of State. The recurring cost is the Department of Revenue's business privilege tax. For recent taxable years, an entity whose calculated tax is $100 or less is exempt from the tax and need not file. Above that, the rate runs from 25 cents to one dollar and 75 cents for each thousand dollars of net worth in Alabama, with a maximum of $15,000. A corporation also owes a $10 annual report fee that the Department collects on the Secretary of State's behalf. Due dates are on the yearly tax page.
The other first-year line is the registered agent. Alabama needs a real agent at a physical office, and its fee is separate from anything the state charges. The registered agent page explains the rules, and a change later costs $100.
What our charge includes
For $199 we reserve the name, complete the application, and file two originals with a return envelope. We handle the resolution for a fictitious name when one is needed, add the registered agent details. Nothing in the service changes what the state charges.
Paying Alabama, step by step
Reserve the name
Pay $25 with the reservation request, by check, money order or card.
Pay the registration fee
Send $150 with the two originals, one check for each filing.
Include a return envelope
Without a self-addressed stamped envelope you receive no receipt.
Plan the tax return
Check whether your calculated tax is above $100.
Registered agent: first year included, then $149 a year
$199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Alabama cost questions
Is the Alabama fee the same for corporations?
Yes. A corporation, nonprofit, limited partnership and LLP each pay $150 on their own forms.
Does the name reservation cost extra?
Yes, $25 on the paper request, and it has to be attached to the application.
What is the late filing fee?
$150 for each year of delinquency, when the entity transacted business for more than 90 days before registering.
Do I pay a yearly fee to the Secretary of State?
An LLC does not. A corporation owes a $10 annual report fee, which the Revenue Department collects for the state.
What does it cost to leave Alabama?
The certificate of withdrawal is $100, and you need a compliance certificate from the Department of Revenue first.
Can I pay by card?
Yes. On the paper slip the state adds 3 percent plus $2.
Our charge and the state fee, itemized
Register in Alabama
+ $150 state fee
- The Alabama name reservation, requested first so its certificate can travel with the filing
- The Foreign LLC Application for Registration or the Foreign Corporation Application for Registration, completed and signed for you
- An Alabama registered agent and office: ours, or the one you keep
- Submission to the Secretary of State and the filed registration sent back to you
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
$199
Alabama
Start my Alabama registrationCheckout lists our charge and the Alabama fee on separate lines before you pay. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Where these facts come from
- Alabama Secretary of State, LLC filings
- Alabama Secretary of State fee schedule
- Alabama Secretary of State, Foreign LLC Application for Registration (form PDF)
- Alabama Secretary of State, Foreign Corporation (business or nonprofit) Application for Registration (form PDF)
- Alabama Secretary of State, foreign corporations
- Name reservation request form for foreign entities
- Alabama Secretary of State, Foreign LP Statement of Authority (form PDF)
- Alabama Secretary of State, Statement of Authority for Foreign LLP (form PDF)
- Alabama Secretary of State, Foreign LLC Amendment to Registration (form PDF)
- Alabama Secretary of State, Change of Registered Agent or Registered Office by Entity (form PDF)
- Alabama Secretary of State, Foreign LLC Certificate of Withdrawal (form PDF)
- Code of Alabama, section 10A-1-7.23
- Alabama Secretary of State, Application for Certificate of Existence
- Alabama Department of Revenue, who files the business privilege tax return
- Alabama Department of Revenue, business privilege tax
Doing business in Alabama from another state?
Order online and we reserve the name, prepare the application and file it in Montgomery.