Arkansas Corporation Foreign Registration in Alabama

To do business in Alabama, a corporation formed in Arkansas registers there on an online registration (no form number), with $184 in state fees. Alabama may ask for Arkansas's Certificate of Good Standing ($25). We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Entities Division from your Arkansas records, then serve as your registered agent there for year one.

What Arkansas and Alabama each ask for

	Arkansas formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	Arkansas Certificate of Good Standing	Foreign Corporation Application for Registration (no form number)
State fee	$25	$184 at order (filing fee $150 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Arkansas: online, ready to print right after purchase	Filed online with Alabama
Office	Arkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	sos.arkansas.gov	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	Annual Corporation Franchise Tax Report, $150, every year	Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), fee set by the state, every year
Due	May 1
Agent	Your Arkansas registered agent	Our Alabama registered agent

How Arkansas companies register with Alabama

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

Your Arkansas name and Alabama's rules

If Alabama's records show it taken, you can use an alternate name for the Arkansas company. Alabama can hold a name for $25 before you file.

Your Alabama agent and the Arkansas one

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

Staying in good standing in Arkansas and Alabama

Arkansas wants the Annual Corporation Franchise Tax Report every year ($150); Alabama wants the Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT) every year. Both states' filings stay current side by side.

LLC or corporation, Arkansas to Alabama

An LLC formed in Arkansas files its own registration with Alabama ($184 in state fees, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). After that come Arkansas's Annual LLC Franchise Tax Report ($150) and Alabama's Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report. See the LLC filing.

Questions Arkansas owners ask about Alabama

Does my Arkansas company need to register in Alabama?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

Alabama calls it registration for Arkansas corporations; other states say certificate of authority.

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

$383 at checkout; Alabama may also want Arkansas's Certificate of Good Standing, at extra cost.

What are the yearly costs for Arkansas and Alabama?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), Arkansas's report ($150) and Alabama's report (fee set by the state).

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

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

Will Alabama accept my Arkansas name?

Yes, if no company there has it; if one does, it uses an alternate name there and keeps its Arkansas name at home.

Can I form a new Alabama corporation instead?

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

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

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

Official sources

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