Ohio

Alabama

Foreign registration · no form number

Ohio Corporation Foreign Registration in Alabama

A corporation formed in Ohio that wants to do business in Alabama files an online registration (no form number), with $184 in state fees. Alabama may ask for Ohio's Certificate of Good Standing ($5). We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Entities Division from your Ohio records, then serve as your registered agent there for year one.

What Ohio and Alabama each ask for

	Ohio formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	Ohio Certificate of Good Standing	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	Ohio: online or by mail	Filed online with Alabama
Office	Ohio Secretary of State, Business Services	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	cogs.ohiosos.gov	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	No annual report	Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), fee set by the state, every year
Agent	Your Ohio statutory agent	Our Alabama registered agent

How Ohio companies register with Alabama

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

Your Ohio name and Alabama's rules

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

Agents: Alabama and Ohio

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

Staying in good standing in Ohio and Alabama

Ohio has no annual report for corporations; Alabama wants the Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT) every year. Both states' filings stay current side by side.

LLC or corporation, Ohio to Alabama

An LLC formed in Ohio files its own registration with Alabama ($184 in state fees, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). See the LLC filing.

The other way: Alabama into Ohio

A corporation formed in Alabama that registers with Ohio files Form 530A with $99 in state fees. See that filing.

Common questions: Ohio to Alabama

Does my Ohio company need to register in Alabama?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

How much does the Alabama registration cost?

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

What are the yearly costs for Ohio and Alabama?

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

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

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

Will Alabama accept my Ohio name?

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

Can I form a new Alabama corporation instead?

Yes, but Ohio keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files Alabama's Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), and Ohio has no yearly report for the original.

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

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

Official sources

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The same move for an LLC