South Carolina

Alabama

Foreign registration · no form number

South Carolina Corporation Foreign Registration in Alabama

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

What South Carolina and Alabama each ask for

	South Carolina formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	South 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	South Carolina: online	Filed online with Alabama
Office	South Carolina Secretary of State	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	businessfilings.sc.gov	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	Annual Report (Schedule D of Form SC1120 / SC1120S), fee set by the state, every year	Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), fee set by the state, every year
Due	15th day of the 4th month after the close of the tax year
Agent	Your South Carolina agent for service of process	Our Alabama registered agent

How South Carolina companies register with Alabama

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

Will your South Carolina name work for Alabama?

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

Your Alabama agent and the South Carolina one

Alabama calls it a registered agent; South Carolina says agent for service of process. Your current agent for service of process stays for South Carolina; ours takes Alabama's papers and notices.

Yearly filings: Alabama and South Carolina

South Carolina wants the Annual Report (Schedule D of Form SC1120 / SC1120S) every year; Alabama wants the Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT) every year. Both states' filings stay current side by side.

LLC or corporation, South Carolina to Alabama

An LLC formed in South Carolina 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 South Carolina

A corporation formed in Alabama that registers with South Carolina files Form F0002 with $110 in state fees, plus the Certificate of Existence ($25). See that filing.

Common questions: South Carolina to Alabama

Does my South Carolina company need to register in Alabama?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

How much does the Alabama registration cost?

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

What are the yearly costs for South Carolina and Alabama?

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

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

Yes: the South Carolina agent for service of process stays, and ours covers Alabama for year one, with a street address there.

Will Alabama accept my South Carolina name?

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

Can I form a new Alabama corporation instead?

Yes, but South 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 South Carolina's yearly report.

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

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

Official sources

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