Alabama

Foreign registration · no form number

Massachusetts LLC Foreign Registration in Alabama

Alabama registers an LLC from Massachusetts as a foreign LLC on an online registration (no form number), with $184 in state fees. Alabama needs nothing from Massachusetts: no Certificate of Good Standing. We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Entities Division using your Massachusetts records and act as your registered agent there for the first year.

What Massachusetts and Alabama each ask for

	Massachusetts formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	Massachusetts Certificate of Good Standing (not needed here)	Foreign Limited Liability Company Application for Registration (no form number)
State fee	$25	$184 at order (filing fee $150 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Massachusetts: online, by mail or in person, delivered by mail or email depending on the certificate	Filed online with Alabama
Office	Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	sec.state.ma.us	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	Limited Liability Company Annual Report, $520, every year	Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report, fee set by the state, every year
Due	On or before the anniversary date of filing of the certificate of organization
Agent	Your Massachusetts resident agent	Our Alabama registered agent

How Massachusetts companies register with Alabama

We prepare and file the registration
It lists us as your Alabama registered agent, next to your Massachusetts name and formation date. Nothing has to come from Massachusetts first, so the Alabama filing can go in right away. After approval, your Massachusetts LLC is registered with Alabama.

Will your Massachusetts name work for Alabama?

Alabama accepts your Massachusetts name if it includes limited liability company, L.L.C. or LLC. If the Massachusetts name already ends in LLC, it meets the rule. If Alabama's records show it taken, you can use an alternate name for the Massachusetts company. Alabama can hold a name for $25 before you file.

Your Alabama agent and the Massachusetts one

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

Yearly filings: Alabama and Massachusetts

Massachusetts wants the Limited Liability Company Annual Report every year ($520); Alabama wants the Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report every year. The new registration does not replace any home-state filing.

LLC or corporation, Massachusetts to Alabama

A corporation formed in Massachusetts files its own registration with Alabama ($184 in state fees, the same). After that come Massachusetts's Annual Report ($125) and Alabama's Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT). See the corporation filing.

The other way: Alabama into Massachusetts

An LLC formed in Alabama that registers with Massachusetts files Massachusetts's registration (no form number) with $520 in state fees, plus the Certificate of Existence ($25) dated within 90 days. See that filing.

Questions Massachusetts owners ask about Alabama

Does my Massachusetts company need to register in Alabama?

Yes, once a Massachusetts business operates there; Alabama registers it as a foreign LLC.

How much does the Alabama registration cost?

$383 at checkout, with nothing to pay Massachusetts.

Do I need Massachusetts's certificate of good standing?

No, Alabama takes the registration without it.

What are the yearly costs for Massachusetts and Alabama?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), Massachusetts's report ($520) and Alabama's report (fee set by the state).

What if I don't register with Alabama?

A Massachusetts company cannot sue in court there until it registers.

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

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

Will Alabama accept my Massachusetts name?

Yes, if no company there has it; if one does, it uses an alternate name there and keeps its Massachusetts name at home. Alabama names must include limited liability company, L.L.C. or LLC.

Can I form a new Alabama LLC instead?

Yes, but Massachusetts keeps the original, so you run two companies: the new one files Alabama's Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report, and the original keeps Massachusetts's Limited Liability Company Annual Report.

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

Massachusetts companies leave by filing a Foreign LLC Certificate of Withdrawal ($100); until then, Alabama's report stays due alongside Massachusetts's filings.

Official sources

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