Montana Corporation Foreign Registration in Alabama

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

Montana and Alabama side by side

	Montana formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	Montana 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	Montana: online	Filed online with Alabama
Office	Montana Secretary of State, Business Services	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	biz.sosmt.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	April 15
Agent	Your Montana registered agent	Our Alabama registered agent

How Montana companies register with Alabama

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

Will your Montana name work for Alabama?

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

Your Alabama agent and the Montana one

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

Staying in good standing in Montana and Alabama

Montana wants the Annual Report every year (no fee); Alabama wants the Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT) every year. Both states' filings stay current side by side.

LLC or corporation, Montana to Alabama

An LLC formed in Montana files its own registration with Alabama ($184 in state fees, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). After that come Montana's Annual Report ($20) and Alabama's Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report. See the LLC filing.

The other way: Alabama into Montana

A corporation formed in Alabama that registers with Montana files Montana's registration (no form number) with $70 in state fees. See that filing.

Questions Montana owners ask about Alabama

Does my Montana company need to register in Alabama?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

How much does the Alabama registration cost?

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

What are the yearly costs for Montana and Alabama?

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

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

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

Will Alabama accept my Montana name?

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

Can I form a new Alabama corporation instead?

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

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

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

Official sources

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The same move for an LLC