North Carolina

Alabama

Foreign registration · no form number

North Carolina Corporation Foreign Registration in Alabama

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

North Carolina and Alabama side by side

	North Carolina formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	North Carolina 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	North Carolina: online as a downloadable electronic certified document, or on paper	Filed online with Alabama
Office	North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Business Registration Division	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	sosnc.gov	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	Annual Report, $25, every year	Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), fee set by the state, every year
Due	15th day of the 4th month following the close of the fiscal year
Agent	Your North Carolina registered agent	Our Alabama registered agent

From North Carolina to Alabama, step by step

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

Your North Carolina name and Alabama's rules

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

Agents: Alabama and North Carolina

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

Yearly filings: Alabama and North Carolina

North Carolina wants the Annual Report every year ($25); Alabama wants the Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT) every year. The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

LLC or corporation, North Carolina to Alabama

An LLC formed in North Carolina files its own registration with Alabama ($184 in state fees, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). After that come North Carolina's Annual Report ($203) and Alabama's Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report. See the LLC filing.

Registering an Alabama company in North Carolina

A corporation formed in Alabama that registers with North Carolina files Form B-09 with $253 in state fees. See that filing.

Common questions: North Carolina to Alabama

Does my North Carolina company need to register in Alabama?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

How much does the Alabama registration cost?

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

What are the yearly costs for North Carolina and Alabama?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), North Carolina's report ($25) and Alabama's report (fee set by the state).

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

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

Will Alabama accept my North Carolina name?

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

Can I form a new Alabama corporation instead?

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

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

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

Official sources

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The same move for an LLC