Hawaii Corporation Foreign Registration in Alabama

Alabama registers a corporation from Hawaii as a foreign corporation on an online registration (no form number), with $184 in state fees. Alabama may ask for Hawaii's Good Standing Certificate ($5). We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Entities Division from your Hawaii records, then serve as your registered agent there for year one.

Hawaii vs Alabama: the paperwork

	Hawaii formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	Hawaii Good Standing Certificate	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	Hawaii: online	Filed online with Alabama
Office	Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Business Registration Division	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	cca.hawaii.gov	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	Annual Report, $15, every year	Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), fee set by the state, every year
Due	Last day of the quarter in which the corporation was incorporated
Agent	Your Hawaii registered agent	Our Alabama registered agent

From Hawaii to Alabama, step by step

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

Your Hawaii name and Alabama's rules

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

Your Alabama agent and the Hawaii one

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

Staying in good standing in Hawaii and Alabama

Hawaii wants the Annual Report every year ($15); Alabama wants the Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT) every year. Both states' filings stay current side by side.

LLC or corporation, Hawaii to Alabama

An LLC formed in Hawaii files its own registration with Alabama ($184 in state fees, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). After that come Hawaii's Domestic Limited Liability Company Annual Report (Form C5) ($12.50) and Alabama's Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report. See the LLC filing.

Questions Hawaii owners ask about Alabama

Does my Hawaii company need to register in Alabama?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

How much does the Alabama registration cost?

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

What are the yearly costs for Hawaii and Alabama?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), Hawaii's report ($15) and Alabama's report (fee set by the state).

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

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

Will Alabama accept my Hawaii name?

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

Can I form a new Alabama corporation instead?

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

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

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

Official sources

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The same move for an LLC