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Filing MapperRoutes through every state's LLC paperwork, priced leg by leg.

Foreign LLC guide · Alabama

Alabama Foreign LLC Route (2026): Entry Fees and the 3 Best Registration Services

Alabama, 2026, a foreign LLC registration: start with Mainstay Filing ($199), Alabama Registered Agent.co ($199) and AL Registered Agent.org ($199), in the order given. An LLC from elsewhere pays $150 to enter Alabama, which puts the state 13th of 50.

Surveyed by the Filing Mapper team

Alabama route markers

13th

of fifty by foreign LLC tolls

Counted from the lightest toll up (shared mile). See the full map

Entry fee for outside LLCs
$150
Survey of sos.alabama.gov, October 2026
Checkpoint report
None
Business privilege tax return
State toll, three years
$150
A three-year trip for a foreign LLC

Route services for Alabama

The criteria and weights behind the order are in the method.

1. Mainstay Filing: best for a company adding its second state

Route pick$199 plus the $150 entry toll, $149/yr after

We put Mainstay Filing at the head of the route because $199 plus Alabama's own entry fee, then $149 a year for agent duty from the second lap.

Set beside Alabama Registered Agent.co, the three-year fare is $100 larger, with more of the route walked for the owner.

The free lap ends, and an agent fare of $149 a year begins wherever the company registers.

The fare covers

  • The registration drafted and filed by Mainstay
  • No charge for registered agent duty while year one lasts
  • One fare, any state

On the plus side

  • $199 over the state toll
  • The opening lap of agent service is free
  • The same fare anywhere

On the minus side

  • A renewal $50 higher than Alabama Registered Agent.co's
Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

2. Alabama Registered Agent.co: best for a small yearly agent fare

Home-state route$199 plus the $150 entry toll, $99/yr after

Stop 2, Alabama Registered Agent.co: $199 above the state's entry fee, then $99 a year.

The fare covers

  • Alabama registration drafted and filed
  • A year of agent service

On the plus side

  • The agent renews at $99
  • $199 to cross in
  • A lap of agent duty is included

On the minus side

  • Stops at the state line
Visit Alabama Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

3. AL Registered Agent.org: best for a smaller agent renewal

Home-state route$199 plus the $150 entry toll, $99/yr after

Stop 3, AL Registered Agent.org: $199 above the state's entry fee, then $99 a year.

Fare for fare, it equals Alabama Registered Agent.co.

The fare covers

  • Alabama registration drafted and filed
  • A year of agent service

On the plus side

  • $199 to cross in
  • A lap of agent duty is included
  • The agent renews at $99

On the minus side

  • Stops at the state line
Visit AL Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Fares in a row

StopProviderLeg oneLater legsProvider cost, three years
1Mainstay Filing$199$149/yr$497Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2Alabama Registered Agent.co$199$99/yr$397Visit Alabama Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3AL Registered Agent.org$199$99/yr$397Visit AL Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.

Provider fare pages, read November 12, 2026. Alabama charges $150 to register, apart from each provider.

Price your route

The entry fee is $150, and each provider's fares are added.

With Mainstay Filing, 3 years come to $647 ($150 state, $497 provider).

Alabama and the stops on either side of it

MileStateThree-year foreign LLC fees
11thIowa$130
12thIndiana$137
13thAlabama$150
13thArizona$150
13thColorado$150

Foreign LLC fees by state plots all fifty, least expensive first.

Crossing into Alabama with an out-of-state LLC

The gate is the Foreign Limited Liability Company (LLC) Application for Registration, delivered to the Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division along with $150.

It then keeps clearing the business privilege tax return, same date as the federal return.

Papers to gather

  • Exact legal name and formation date from the home state.
  • A named registered agent at a local street address.
  • A budget for the $150 filing fee.

Consequences of staying unregistered

An LLC that has not registered cannot sue in the state's courts (Ala. Code 10A-1-7.21(a)). Its contracts stay valid (Ala. Code 10A-1-7.21(b)).

How the Alabama stops were ordered

Steps the service takes over (27%) is the criterion on which Mainstay Filing outscored Alabama Registered Agent.co here.

The company already has a home state; one provider for it and Alabama scored highest.

Alabama: your route questions

What does Alabama toll a foreign LLC for entry?

$150 in state tolls. Providers here charge $199 extra.

Which form gets a foreign LLC into Alabama?

Entry is on the Foreign Limited Liability Company (LLC) Application for Registration, which goes to the Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division.

Is there a yearly checkpoint for a foreign LLC?

There is: the business privilege tax return.

What happens when the LLC does business there without registering?

An LLC that has not registered cannot sue in the state's courts (Ala. Code 10A-1-7.21(a)). Its contracts stay valid (Ala. Code 10A-1-7.21(b)).

Does a foreign LLC need to carry a registered agent for Alabama?

Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.

Which provider should take my foreign LLC across?

Start at Mainstay Filing: registering costs $199 plus state tolls, and the registered agent costs nothing in year one. Further along, Alabama Registered Agent.co and AL Registered Agent.org.

More from this state

Survey markers for this route

Survey marker
  1. Marker for Alabama formation fee: Filing fee, official source: the page at alison.legislature.state.al.us, logged October 2026.
  2. Marker for Alabama formation fee: Filing fee, official source: the page at sos.alabama.gov, logged October 2026.
  3. Marker for Alabama formation fee: Name reservation, official source: the page at sos.alabama.gov, logged October 2026.
  4. Marker for Alabama formation fee: Name reservation, official source: the page at alison.legislature.state.al.us, logged October 2026.
  5. Marker for Alabama registered agent statute: the page at alisondb.legislature.state.al.us, logged October 2026.
  6. Marker for Alabama Secretary of State, LLC filings: the page at sos.alabama.gov, logged October 2026.
  7. Marker for Foreign LLC Application for Registration: the page at sos.alabama.gov, logged October 2026.
  8. Marker for Secretary of State Online Services: the page at alabamainteractive.org, logged October 2026.
  9. Marker for Code of Alabama, section 10A-1-7.01: the page at alison.legislature.state.al.us, logged October 2026.
  10. Marker for Department of Revenue, business privilege tax notice: the page at revenue.alabama.gov, logged October 2026.
  11. Marker for Code of Alabama, section 10A-1-7.21: the page at alison.legislature.state.al.us, logged November 2026.
  12. Marker for Iowa Secretary of State, business entity forms and: the page at sos.iowa.gov, logged October 2026.
  13. Marker for LLC Foreign Registration Statement, Form 635_0010: the page at sos.iowa.gov, logged October 2026.
  14. Marker for Iowa Code 489.902, registration requirement: the page at legis.iowa.gov, logged October 2026.
  15. Marker for Iowa Code 489.905, activities that do not count: the page at legis.iowa.gov, logged October 2026.
  16. Marker for Iowa Code 489.212, biennial report: the page at legis.iowa.gov, logged October 2026.
  17. Marker for Iowa Secretary of State, certificate of existence: the page at sos.iowa.gov, logged October 2026.
  18. Marker for Indiana Secretary of State business forms: the page at in.gov, logged October 2026.
  19. Marker for Indiana Code 23-0.5-5, registration of foreign entities: the page at iga.in.gov, logged October 2026.
  20. Marker for Indiana Code 23-0.5-9, fees: the page at iga.in.gov, logged October 2026.
  21. Marker for Indiana Code 23-0.5-4, registered agents: the page at iga.in.gov, logged October 2026.
  22. Marker for INBiz Business Entity Report: the page at inbiz.in.gov, logged October 2026.
  23. Marker for Arizona Corporation Commission, LLC forms: the page at azcc.gov, logged October 2026.
  24. Marker for Form L025 instructions: the page at azcc.gov, logged October 2026.
  25. Marker for Commission LLC fee schedule: the page at azcc.gov, logged October 2026.
  26. Marker for A.R.S. 29-3903, registration of foreign LLC: the page at azleg.gov, logged October 2026.
  27. Marker for A.R.S. 29-3905, activities that are not doing business: the page at azleg.gov, logged October 2026.
  28. Marker for Arizona Corporation Commission FAQs: the page at azcc.gov, logged October 2026.
  29. Marker for Colorado Secretary of State, foreign entity FAQ: the page at coloradosos.gov, logged October 2026.
  30. Marker for Sample Statement of Foreign Entity Authority: the page at coloradosos.gov, logged October 2026.
  31. Marker for Secretary of State business fee schedule: the page at coloradosos.gov, logged October 2026.
  32. Marker for Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 7: the page at content.leg.colorado.gov, logged October 2026.
  33. Marker for Registered agent requirements effective July 1, 2025: the page at coloradosos.gov, logged October 2026.
  34. Marker for Periodic report FAQ: the page at coloradosos.gov, logged October 2026.
  35. Mainstay Filing (Alabama service page), survey of November 12, 2026
  36. Alabama Registered Agent.co (pricing page), survey of November 12, 2026
  37. AL Registered Agent.org (pricing page), survey of November 12, 2026