Virginia Corporation Foreign Registration in Alabama

To do business in Alabama, a corporation formed in Virginia registers there on an online registration (no form number), with $184 in state fees. Alabama may ask for Virginia's Certificate of Good Standing ($6). We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Entities Division from your Virginia records, then serve as your registered agent there for year one.

Virginia and Alabama side by side

	Virginia formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	Virginia Certificate of Good Standing	Foreign Corporation Application for Registration (no form number)
State fee	$6	$184 at order (filing fee $150 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Virginia: online as an instant PDF from the Clerk's Information System	Filed online with Alabama
Office	Virginia State Corporation Commission, Office of the Clerk	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	scc.virginia.gov	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	Annual Report + Annual Registration Fee, $50, every year	Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT), fee set by the state, every year
Agent	Your Virginia registered agent	Our Alabama registered agent

From Virginia to Alabama, step by step

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

Will your Virginia name work for Alabama?

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

Agents: Alabama and Virginia

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

Yearly filings: Alabama and Virginia

Virginia wants the Annual Report + Annual Registration Fee 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, Virginia to Alabama

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

Common questions: Virginia to Alabama

Does my Virginia company need to register in Alabama?

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

Is this a certificate of authority?

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

How much does the Alabama registration cost?

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

What are the yearly costs for Virginia and Alabama?

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

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

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

Will Alabama accept my Virginia name?

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

Can I form a new Alabama corporation instead?

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

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

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

Official sources

People also search

Corporation into Alabama, by home state (48)

Virginia into other states (42)

The same move for an LLC