Alabama

Foreign registration · no form number

Iowa Corporation Foreign Registration in Alabama

Alabama registers a corporation from Iowa as a foreign corporation on an online registration (no form number), with $184 in state fees. Alabama may ask for Iowa's Certificate of Existence ($5). We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Entities Division using your Iowa records and act as your registered agent there for the first year.

Iowa vs Alabama: the paperwork

	Iowa formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	Iowa Certificate of Existence	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	Iowa: online as a printable PDF right after payment	Filed online with Alabama
Office	Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	sos.iowa.gov	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	Biennial Report, $60, every two years	Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), fee set by the state, every year
Due	April 1 of even-numbered years
Agent	Your Iowa registered agent	Our Alabama registered agent

How Iowa companies register with Alabama

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

Your Iowa name and Alabama's rules

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

Your Alabama agent and the Iowa one

Iowa and Alabama both call it a registered agent. Your current registered agent stays for Iowa; ours takes Alabama's papers and notices.

Staying in good standing in Iowa and Alabama

Iowa wants the Biennial Report every two years ($60); Alabama wants the Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT) every year. The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

LLC or corporation, Iowa to Alabama

An LLC formed in Iowa files its own registration with Alabama ($184 in state fees, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). After that come Iowa's Biennial Report ($30) and Alabama's Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report. See the LLC filing.

The other way: Alabama into Iowa

A corporation formed in Alabama that registers with Iowa files Form 635_0110A with $100 in state fees. See that filing.

Common questions: Iowa to Alabama

Does my Iowa company need to register in Alabama?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

How much does the Alabama registration cost?

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

What are the yearly costs for Iowa and Alabama?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), Iowa's report ($60, every two years) and Alabama's report (fee set by the state).

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

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

Will Alabama accept my Iowa name?

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

Can I form a new Alabama corporation instead?

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

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

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

Official sources

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The same move for an LLC