Maryland

Alabama

Foreign registration · no form number

Maryland Corporation Foreign Registration in Alabama

To do business in Alabama, a corporation formed in Maryland registers there on an online registration (no form number), with $184 in state fees. Alabama may ask for Maryland's Certificate of Status ($20). We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Entities Division using your Maryland records and act as your registered agent there for the first year.

What Maryland and Alabama each ask for

	Maryland formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	Maryland Certificate of Status	Foreign Corporation Application for Registration (no form number)
State fee	$20	$184 at order (filing fee $150 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Maryland: online through Maryland Business Express, emailed right away	Filed online with Alabama
Office	Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT), Charter Division	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	businessexpress.maryland.gov	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	Periodic report, $300, every year	Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), fee set by the state, every year
Due	April 15
Agent	Your Maryland resident agent	Our Alabama registered agent

From Maryland to Alabama, step by step

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

Your Maryland name and Alabama's rules

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

Agents: Alabama and Maryland

Alabama calls it a registered agent; Maryland says resident agent. Alabama papers come to us; Maryland's agent is unchanged.

Yearly filings: Alabama and Maryland

Maryland wants a periodic report every year ($300); Alabama wants the Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT) every year. The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

LLC or corporation, Maryland to Alabama

An LLC formed in Maryland files its own registration with Alabama ($184 in state fees, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). After that come Maryland's Business Entity Annual Report (Form 1) ($300) and Alabama's Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report. See the LLC filing.

Registering an Alabama company in Maryland

A corporation formed in Alabama that registers with Maryland files Maryland's registration (no form number) with $104.50 in state fees and a $50 required expedite. See that filing.

Common questions: Maryland to Alabama

Does my Maryland company need to register in Alabama?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

How much does the Alabama registration cost?

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

What are the yearly costs for Maryland and Alabama?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), Maryland's report ($300) and Alabama's report (fee set by the state).

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

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

Will Alabama accept my Maryland name?

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

Can I form a new Alabama corporation instead?

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

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

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

Official sources

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The same move for an LLC