Illinois Corporation Foreign Registration in Alabama

Alabama registers a corporation from Illinois as a foreign corporation on an online registration (no form number), with $184 in state fees. Alabama may ask for Illinois's Certificate of Good Standing ($25). We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Entities Division using your Illinois records and act as your registered agent there for the first year.

Illinois and Alabama side by side

	Illinois formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	Illinois 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	Illinois: online as an instant PDF, printed from the receipt page or sent by email link	Filed online with Alabama
Office	Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services, Limited Liability Division	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	ilsos.gov	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	Annual Report (Form BCA 14.05), $75, every year	Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), fee set by the state, every year
Due	Before the first day of the entity's anniversary month each year
Agent	Your Illinois registered agent	Our Alabama registered agent

How Illinois companies register with Alabama

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

Your Illinois name and Alabama's rules

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

Agents: Alabama and Illinois

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

Staying in good standing in Illinois and Alabama

Illinois wants the Annual Report (Form BCA 14.05) every year ($75); Alabama wants the Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT) every year. Both states' filings stay current side by side.

LLC or corporation, Illinois to Alabama

An LLC formed in Illinois files its own registration with Alabama ($184 in state fees, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). After that come Illinois's Limited Liability Company Annual Report (Form LLC-50.1) ($75) and Alabama's Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report. See the LLC filing.

Common questions: Illinois to Alabama

Does my Illinois company need to register in Alabama?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

How much does the Alabama registration cost?

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

What are the yearly costs for Illinois and Alabama?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), Illinois's report ($75) and Alabama's report (fee set by the state).

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

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

Will Alabama accept my Illinois name?

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

Can I form a new Alabama corporation instead?

Yes, but Illinois keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files Alabama's Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), and the original keeps Illinois's Annual Report (Form BCA 14.05).

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

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

Official sources

People also search

Corporation into Alabama, by home state (48)

Illinois into other states (42)

The same move for an LLC