Florida Corporation Foreign Registration in Alabama

To do business in Alabama, a corporation formed in Florida registers there on an online registration (no form number), with $184 in state fees. Alabama may ask for Florida's Certificate of Status ($8.75). We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Entities Division using your Florida records and act as your registered agent there for the first year.

What Florida and Alabama each ask for

	Florida formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	Florida Certificate of Status	Foreign Corporation Application for Registration (no form number)
State fee	$8.75	$184 at order (filing fee $150 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Florida: online, emailed as a PDF once payment goes through	Filed online with Alabama
Office	Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations (Sunbiz), Registration Section	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	dos.fl.gov	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	Annual Report, $150, every year	Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), fee set by the state, every year
Due	May 1
Agent	Your Florida registered agent	Our Alabama registered agent

From Florida to Alabama, step by step

We prepare and file the registration
It lists us as your Alabama registered agent, next to your Florida name and formation date. If Alabama wants the Florida certificate, it is ordered first. After approval, your Florida corporation is registered with Alabama.

Your Florida name and Alabama's rules

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

Agents: Alabama and Florida

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

Staying in good standing in Florida and Alabama

Florida wants the Annual Report every year ($150); Alabama wants the Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT) every year. The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

LLC or corporation, Florida to Alabama

An LLC formed in Florida files its own registration with Alabama ($184 in state fees, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). After that come Florida's Annual Report ($138.75) and Alabama's Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report. See the LLC filing.

The other way: Alabama into Florida

A corporation formed in Alabama that registers with Florida files Form CR2E007 with $70 in state fees. See that filing.

Questions Florida owners ask about Alabama

Does my Florida company need to register in Alabama?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

How much does the Alabama registration cost?

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

What are the yearly costs for Florida and Alabama?

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

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

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

Will Alabama accept my Florida name?

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

Can I form a new Alabama corporation instead?

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

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

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

Official sources

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The same move for an LLC