Pennsylvania Corporation Foreign Registration in Alabama

A corporation formed in Pennsylvania that wants to do business in Alabama files an online registration (no form number), with $184 in state fees. Alabama may ask for Pennsylvania's Subsistence Certificate ($40). We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Entities Division using your Pennsylvania records and act as your registered agent there for the first year.

Pennsylvania vs Alabama: the paperwork

	Pennsylvania formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	Pennsylvania Subsistence Certificate	Foreign Corporation Application for Registration (no form number)
State fee	$40	$184 at order (filing fee $150 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Pennsylvania: online through Business Filing Services, or by mail on the copy and certificate request form	Filed online with Alabama
Office	Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	file.dos.pa.gov	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	Annual Report, $7, every year	Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), fee set by the state, every year
Due	June 30
Agent	Your Pennsylvania registered office	Our Alabama registered agent

From Pennsylvania to Alabama, step by step

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

Will your Pennsylvania name work for Alabama?

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

Agents: Alabama and Pennsylvania

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

Staying in good standing in Pennsylvania and Alabama

Pennsylvania wants the Annual Report every year ($7); Alabama wants the Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT) every year. The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

LLC or corporation, Pennsylvania to Alabama

An LLC formed in Pennsylvania files its own registration with Alabama ($184 in state fees, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). After that come Pennsylvania's Annual Report ($7) and Alabama's Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report. See the LLC filing.

The other way: Alabama into Pennsylvania

A corporation formed in Alabama that registers with Pennsylvania files Form DSCB:15-412 with $250 in state fees; no Alabama certificate is needed. See that filing.

Common questions: Pennsylvania to Alabama

Does my Pennsylvania company need to register in Alabama?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

How much does it cost to register a Pennsylvania corporation in Alabama?

$383 at checkout; Alabama may also want Pennsylvania's Subsistence Certificate, at extra cost.

What are the yearly costs for Pennsylvania and Alabama?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), Pennsylvania's report ($7) and Alabama's report (fee set by the state).

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

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

Will Alabama accept my Pennsylvania name?

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

Can I form a new Alabama corporation instead?

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

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

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

Official sources

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The same move for an LLC