South Dakota Corporation Foreign Registration in Alabama

A corporation formed in South Dakota that wants to do business in Alabama files an online registration (no form number), with $184 in state fees. Alabama may ask for South Dakota's Certificate of Good Standing/Existence ($20). We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Entities Division from your South Dakota records, then serve as your registered agent there for year one.

What South Dakota and Alabama each ask for

	South Dakota formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	South Dakota Certificate of Good Standing/Existence	Foreign Corporation Application for Registration (no form number)
State fee	$20	$184 at order (filing fee $150 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	South Dakota: online	Filed online with Alabama
Office	South Dakota Secretary of State	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	sosenterprise.sd.gov	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	Annual Report, fee set by the state, every year	Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), fee set by the state, every year
Due	By the first day of the registration anniversary month each year (form opens that day
Agent	Your South Dakota registered agent	Our Alabama registered agent

From South Dakota to Alabama, step by step

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

Will your South Dakota name work for Alabama?

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

Your Alabama agent and the South Dakota one

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

Yearly filings: Alabama and South Dakota

South Dakota wants the Annual Report 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 Dakota to Alabama

An LLC formed in South Dakota files its own registration with Alabama ($184 in state fees, the same; no home-state certificate is needed). After that come South Dakota's Annual Report ($55) and Alabama's Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report. See the LLC filing.

The other way: Alabama into South Dakota

A corporation formed in Alabama that registers with South Dakota files South Dakota's registration (no form number) with $750 in state fees, plus the Certificate of Existence ($25). See that filing.

Common questions: South Dakota to Alabama

Does my South Dakota company need to register in Alabama?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

How much does the Alabama registration cost?

$383 at checkout; Alabama may also want South Dakota's Certificate of Good Standing/Existence, at extra cost.

What are the yearly costs for South Dakota and Alabama?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), South Dakota'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 Dakota registered agent stays, and ours covers Alabama for year one, with a street address there.

Will Alabama accept my South Dakota name?

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

Can I form a new Alabama corporation instead?

Yes, but South Dakota 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 Dakota's Annual Report.

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

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

Official sources

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The same move for an LLC