California Corporation Foreign Registration in Alabama

A corporation formed in California that wants to do business in Alabama files an online registration (no form number), with $184 in state fees. Alabama may ask for California's Certificate of Status ($5). We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Entities Division using your California records and act as your registered agent there for the first year.

California vs Alabama: the paperwork

	California formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	California Certificate of Status	Foreign Corporation Application for Registration (no form number)
State fee	$5	$184 at order (filing fee $150 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	California: online as a PDF within minutes, or on paper by mail or drop-off in Sacramento	Filed online with Alabama
Office	California Secretary of State, Business Entities	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	Statement of Information (Form SI-550), $25, every year	Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), fee set by the state, every year
Due	Last day of the corporation's registration-anniversary month, annually
Agent	Your California agent for service of process	Our Alabama registered agent

How California companies register with Alabama

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

Your California name and Alabama's rules

If another Alabama company uses the California name, an alternate name is allowed. Alabama can hold a name for $25 before you file.

Your Alabama agent and the California one

Alabama calls it a registered agent; California says agent for service of process. Alabama papers come to us; California's agent is unchanged.

Staying in good standing in California and Alabama

California wants the Statement of Information (Form SI-550) every year ($25); Alabama wants the Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT) every year. Both states' filings stay current side by side.

LLC or corporation, California to Alabama

An LLC formed in California files its own registration with Alabama ($184 in state fees, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). After that come California's Statement of Information (Form LLC-12) ($20) and Alabama's Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report. See the LLC filing.

Registering an Alabama company in California

A corporation formed in Alabama that registers with California files Form S&DC-S/N with $100 in state fees. See that filing.

Questions California owners ask about Alabama

Does my California company need to register in Alabama?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

How much does the Alabama registration cost?

$383 at checkout; Alabama may also want California's Certificate of Status, at extra cost.

What are the yearly costs for California and Alabama?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), California's report ($25) and Alabama's report (fee set by the state).

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

Yes: the California agent for service of process stays, and ours covers Alabama for year one, with a street address there.

Will Alabama accept my California name?

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

Can I form a new Alabama corporation instead?

Yes, but California keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files Alabama's Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), and the original keeps California's Statement of Information (Form SI-550).

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

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

Official sources

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The same move for an LLC