Rhode Island

Alabama

Foreign registration · no form number

Rhode Island Corporation Foreign Registration in Alabama

Alabama registers a corporation from Rhode Island as a foreign corporation on an online registration (no form number), with $184 in state fees. Alabama may ask for Rhode Island's Certificate of Status / Certificate of Good Standing ($22). We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Entities Division using your Rhode Island records and act as your registered agent there for the first year.

Rhode Island and Alabama side by side

	Rhode Island formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	Rhode Island Certificate of Status / Certificate of Good Standing	Foreign Corporation Application for Registration (no form number)
State fee	$22	$184 at order (filing fee $150 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Rhode Island: online in about two business days, the same day in person, or in 5 to 7 business days by mail	Filed online with Alabama
Office	Rhode Island Department of State, Business Services Division	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	sos.ri.gov	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	Annual Report for a Corporation (Form 630), $50, every year	Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), fee set by the state, every year
Due	May 1
Agent	Your Rhode Island resident agent	Our Alabama registered agent

How Rhode Island companies register with Alabama

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

Your Rhode Island name and Alabama's rules

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

Agents: Alabama and Rhode Island

Alabama calls it a registered agent; Rhode Island says resident agent. Your current resident agent stays for Rhode Island; ours takes Alabama's papers and notices.

Staying in good standing in Rhode Island and Alabama

Rhode Island wants the Annual Report for a Corporation (Form 630) every year ($50); Alabama wants the Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT) every year. The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

LLC or corporation, Rhode Island to Alabama

An LLC formed in Rhode Island files its own registration with Alabama ($184 in state fees, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). After that come Rhode Island's Annual Report for a Limited Liability Company (Form 632) ($50) and Alabama's Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report. See the LLC filing.

The other way: Alabama into Rhode Island

A corporation formed in Alabama that registers with Rhode Island files Form 150 with $319 in state fees, plus the Certificate of Existence ($25). See that filing.

Common questions: Rhode Island to Alabama

Does my Rhode Island company need to register in Alabama?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

How much does the Alabama registration cost?

$383 at checkout; Alabama may also want Rhode Island's Certificate of Status / Certificate of Good Standing, at extra cost.

What are the yearly costs for Rhode Island and Alabama?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), Rhode Island's report ($50) and Alabama's report (fee set by the state).

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

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

Will Alabama accept my Rhode Island name?

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

Can I form a new Alabama corporation instead?

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

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

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

Official sources

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The same move for an LLC