Alabama

Foreign registration · no form number

Idaho Corporation Foreign Registration in Alabama

A corporation formed in Idaho that wants to do business in Alabama files an online registration (no form number), with $184 in state fees. Alabama may ask for Idaho's Certificate of Existence ($10). We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Entities Division using your Idaho records and act as your registered agent there for the first year.

Idaho vs Alabama: the paperwork

	Idaho formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	Idaho Certificate of Existence	Foreign Corporation Application for Registration (no form number)
State fee	$10	$184 at order (filing fee $150 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Idaho: online or by mail	Filed online with Alabama
Office	Idaho Secretary of State, Business Services	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	sosbiz.idaho.gov	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	Annual Report, no fee, every year	Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), fee set by the state, every year
Due	Last day of the entity's anniversary month
Agent	Your Idaho registered agent	Our Alabama registered agent

From Idaho to Alabama, step by step

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

Your Idaho name and Alabama's rules

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

Agents: Alabama and Idaho

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

Staying in good standing in Idaho and Alabama

Idaho wants the Annual Report every year (no fee); Alabama wants the Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT) every year. The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

LLC or corporation, Idaho to Alabama

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

Registering an Alabama company in Idaho

A corporation formed in Alabama that registers with Idaho files Idaho's registration (no form number) with $103.50 in state fees. See that filing.

Questions Idaho owners ask about Alabama

Does my Idaho company need to register in Alabama?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

How much does the Alabama registration cost?

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

What are the yearly costs for Idaho and Alabama?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), Idaho's report (no fee) and Alabama's report (fee set by the state).

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

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

Will Alabama accept my Idaho name?

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

Can I form a new Alabama corporation instead?

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

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

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

Official sources

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The same move for an LLC