Alabama

Foreign registration · no form number

Alabama Corporation Foreign Registration in Delaware

To do business in Delaware, a corporation formed in Alabama registers there on a registration (no form number), with $245 in state fees. Delaware may ask for Alabama's Certificate of Existence ($25). We file it with the Department of State, Division of Corporations using your Alabama records and act as your registered agent there for the first year.

What Alabama and Delaware each ask for

	Alabama formed here	Delaware registering here
Document	Alabama Certificate of Existence	Qualification Certificate of a Foreign Corporation (no form number)
State fee	$25	$245 at order
How it is handled	Alabama: online as an instant printable certificate with a seal and authentication number	Filed with Delaware
Paid expedite		24-hour $50, same-day $100, 2-hour $500, 1-hour $1,000
Office	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division	Delaware Department of State, Division of Corporations
Official page	sos.alabama.gov	corp.delaware.gov
Yearly filing	Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), fee set by the state, every year	Foreign Corporation Annual Report, $125, every year
Due		June 30
Agent	Your Alabama registered agent	Our Delaware registered agent

From Alabama to Delaware, step by step

We prepare and file the registration
It lists us as your Delaware registered agent, next to your Alabama name and formation date. If Delaware wants the Alabama certificate, it is ordered first. Once Delaware approves it, the Alabama company can do business there.

Will your Alabama name work for Delaware?

Delaware can hold a name for 120 days for $75 before you file.

Your Delaware agent and the Alabama one

Alabama and Delaware both call it a registered agent. Delaware papers come to us; Alabama's agent is unchanged.

Yearly filings: Delaware and Alabama

Alabama wants the Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT) every year; Delaware wants the Foreign Corporation Annual Report every year ($125). The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

LLC or corporation, Alabama to Delaware

An LLC formed in Alabama files its own registration with Delaware ($200 in state fees, plus the Certificate of Existence ($25)). After that come Alabama's Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report and Delaware's Annual LLC Tax ($300). See the LLC filing.

Registering a Delaware company in Alabama

A corporation formed in Delaware that registers with Alabama files Alabama's registration (no form number) with $184 in state fees. See that filing.

Questions Alabama owners ask about Delaware

Does my Alabama company need to register in Delaware?

Yes, once an Alabama business operates there; Delaware registers it as a foreign corporation.

Is this a certificate of authority?

Delaware calls it qualification for Alabama corporations; other states say certificate of authority.

How much does it cost to register an Alabama corporation in Delaware?

$444 at checkout; Delaware may also want Alabama's Certificate of Existence, at extra cost.

What are the yearly costs for Alabama and Delaware?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), Alabama's report (fee set by the state) and Delaware's report ($125).

Does Delaware require a registered agent?

Yes: the Alabama registered agent stays, and ours covers Delaware for year one, with a street address there.

Can I form a new Delaware corporation instead?

Yes, but Alabama keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files Delaware's Annual Franchise Tax Report ($50), and the original keeps Alabama's Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT).

How do I withdraw from Delaware later?

Alabama companies leave by filing a Certificate of Withdrawal of Foreign Corporation; until then, Delaware's report stays due alongside Alabama's filings.

What does a Delaware company file to register in Alabama?

It files Alabama's registration with $184 in state fees.

Official sources

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