Alabama Secretary of State office — contact, fees, and licensing

The Alabama Secretary of State's Business Services Division registers domestic entities, processes foreign registrations, and maintains public records for all entity types formed or registered in Alabama. Online filings and certificate orders are handled through the Alabama Interactive portal; documents can also be submitted by mail to the Division's office in Montgomery.

Office contact

Street address	RSA Plaza, Suite 580, 770 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36104
Mailing address	P.O. Box 5616, Montgomery, AL 36103-5616
Business Services phone	(334) 242-5324
Online portal	alabamainteractive.org/sos
Business services homepage	sos.alabama.gov — Business Services

Entity formation and filing fees

The fees below are from the Alabama Secretary of State's official fee schedule, effective January 1, 2021. This is the most current schedule published as of May 2026 — no subsequent version was found. Verify all current amounts at sos.alabama.gov — Business Services before filing.

Filing	SOS fee
Domestic entity — Certificate of Formation (LLC, corporation, LP, nonprofit, etc.)	$200
Foreign entity — Registration	$150
Amendment to Certificate of Formation	$100
Certificate of Termination (dissolution/cancellation)	$100
Name reservation (mail)	$25
Name reservation (online — prints immediately)	$28
Certificate of Existence (good standing) — mail	$25
Certificate of Existence — online, prints immediately	$28
Document copy (per page, paper)	$2.00
Document copy (per page, online/immediate)	$3.50
Certified copy surcharge (per document)	$10.00

Alabama's fee structure is flat: the same $200 formation fee applies to LLCs, business corporations, nonprofits, professional entities, and limited partnerships alike. Online fees include a portal convenience charge on top of the statutory fee, per Alabama's user-funded service model. Mail submissions do not carry the online surcharge.

No annual report requirement

Alabama does not require annual or biennial reports for most domestic LLC and corporation types. This is a meaningful difference from most other states. Professional Associations pay a $100 annual renewal fee, but standard LLCs, business corporations, and nonprofits have no recurring SOS report obligation beyond any franchise tax requirements administered separately.

Key Alabama state licensing agencies

Registering an entity with the Secretary of State is step one. It does not cover business taxes, sales tax permits, employer registrations, or professional licenses. The following agencies handle the most common additional requirements:

Agency	What it covers	Website
Alabama Department of Revenue	Business privilege tax, sales tax licenses, withholding tax, Certificate of Compliance for foreign entity withdrawals	revenue.alabama.gov
Alabama Secretary of State — Business Services	Entity formation and registration, UCC filings, name reservations, certificates of existence	sos.alabama.gov/business-services
Alabama Department of Archives and History	Corporation records from 1949 through 2010 (historical research)	archives.alabama.gov

Professional and industry-specific licenses in Alabama are administered by individual boards and commissions. Contact the relevant board — contractors, healthcare professionals, real estate agents, and other licensed occupations each have a separate licensing body under state law.

This guide is informational only and is not affiliated with the Alabama Secretary of State's office or any state agency listed above. Contact information verified against official Alabama Secretary of State sources, May 2026. The only published fee schedule on the official site is the January 2021 PDF — confirm all current amounts at sos.alabama.gov/business-services before filing.