Alabama

Foreign registration · no form number

Wisconsin LLC Foreign Registration in Alabama

Alabama registers an LLC from Wisconsin as a foreign LLC on an online registration (no form number), with $184 in state fees. Alabama needs nothing from Wisconsin: no Certificate of Status. We file it with the Secretary of State, Business Entities Division from your Wisconsin records, then serve as your registered agent there for year one.

Wisconsin vs Alabama: the paperwork

	Wisconsin formed here	Alabama registering here
Document	Wisconsin Certificate of Status (not needed here)	Foreign Limited Liability Company Application for Registration (no form number)
State fee	$10	$184 at order (filing fee $150 plus charges collected at filing)
How it is handled	Wisconsin: online, emailed as soon as it is requested	Filed online with Alabama
Office	Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, Division of Corporate and Consumer Services	Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division
Official page	dfi.wi.gov	sos.alabama.gov
Yearly filing	Annual Report (Form 5 / CORP5), $25, every year	Form PPT — Alabama Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report, fee set by the state, every year
Due	End of the calendar quarter containing the LLC's anniversary date
Agent	Your Wisconsin registered agent	Our Alabama registered agent

How Wisconsin companies register with Alabama

We prepare and file the registration
It lists us as your Alabama registered agent, next to your Wisconsin name and formation date. No Wisconsin paperwork holds up the Alabama filing. Once Alabama approves it, the Wisconsin company can do business there.

Will your Wisconsin name work for Alabama?

Alabama accepts your Wisconsin name if it includes limited liability company, L.L.C. or LLC. If the Wisconsin name already ends in LLC, it meets the rule. If another Alabama company uses the Wisconsin name, an alternate name is allowed. Alabama can hold a name for $25 before you file.

Your Alabama agent and the Wisconsin one

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

Yearly filings: Alabama and Wisconsin

Wisconsin wants the Annual Report (Form 5 / CORP5) every year ($25); 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, Wisconsin to Alabama

A corporation formed in Wisconsin files its own registration with Alabama ($184 in state fees, the same). After that come Wisconsin's Domestic Business Corporation Annual Report ($25) and Alabama's Business Privilege Tax return (Form CPT). See the corporation filing.

The other way: Alabama into Wisconsin

An LLC formed in Alabama that registers with Wisconsin files Form 521 with $100 in state fees; no Alabama certificate is needed. See that filing.

Questions Wisconsin owners ask about Alabama

Does my Wisconsin company need to register in Alabama?

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

How much does the Alabama registration cost?

$383 at checkout, with nothing to pay Wisconsin.

Do I need Wisconsin's certificate of good standing?

No, Alabama takes the registration without it.

What are the yearly costs for Wisconsin and Alabama?

Our registered agent renewal ($149 a year), Wisconsin's report ($25) and Alabama's report (fee set by the state).

What if I don't register with Alabama?

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

Does Alabama require a registered agent?

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

Will Alabama accept my Wisconsin name?

Yes, if no company there has it; if one does, it uses an alternate name there and keeps its Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin's Annual Report (Form 5 / CORP5).

How do I withdraw from Alabama later?

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

Official sources

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