Alabama C Corporation Formation: $200 State Fee and Requirements (2026)

A C corporation is the standard corporation form: a business entity that sits apart from its owners, issues shares, and is taxed as a corporation. For founders who plan to raise investment, offer stock options, or keep earnings inside the company, the C corporation structure fits better than an LLC, because ownership is divided into shares and governance follows a board and shareholder framework. This page covers what Alabama charges, what Alabama requires, and what Sams Business handles when forming an Alabama C corporation.

What it costs to form an Alabama C corporation

The Alabama Secretary of State charges $200 to file a domestic for-profit Certificate of Formation. That figure comes from the Secretary of State's published fee schedule. The state filing fee is paid by you at cost, with zero markup, and you see the full total before you pay anything. Sams Business package fees sit on top of the state fee: Basic at $0, Standard at $199, and Premium at $299.

As with every Alabama formation, the name must be reserved before the formation filing is accepted. A name reservation costs $25, and a copy of the name reservation certificate must be attached to the Certificate of Formation. The Secretary of State's Business Services pages confirm that name reservations are handled through Alabama Interactive, and the formation itself can be completed through the Secretary of State's online services or by mail.

Two details of the state fee are worth knowing. The Secretary of State pays $100 of the $200 filing fee to the treasurer of the county where the registered agent's office is located, which is why the formation form asks for the county of the registered office address. Card payments also carry additional charges: the fee schedule notes that credit cards have additional vendor fees, and the paper filing payment slip states a convenience fee of 3% plus $2.00 for card payments. If you file by mail, the form instructions ask for two copies of the completed form along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope, sent to the Secretary of State, Business Services, in Montgomery. A dishonored check carries a $30 fee.

What Alabama requires

The corporation name must contain the word "corporation" or "incorporated," or an abbreviation of one of those words, and it must comply with Alabama's naming rules. The name must be distinguishable from other business names already on file, ignoring the entity ending. If the intended name uses a restricted word such as engineer, insurance, bank, or trust, the formation forms note that approval from the relevant governing agency is needed.

Every Alabama corporation must name a registered agent with a registered office in Alabama. The agent's address must be a street address, with no post office boxes, and the county of that address must be stated. A separate mailing address in Alabama may be listed if it differs from the street address. The certificate also asks for the street address of the corporation's principal office, the purpose for which the corporation is formed, the number of shares the corporation is authorized to issue, and the name and address of the incorporator. Par value is optional information on the form.

The filing is effective immediately on the date it is received by the Secretary of State, Business Services Division, or on a delayed effective date specified in the filing, within the limits the form sets. The corporation's internal rules are set out in its bylaws, which the Standard package includes. Every Sams Business formation package includes registered agent service free for the first year, and virtual mail free for the first month.

After formation: the Alabama annual report

A for-profit corporation in Alabama has an ongoing filing that an LLC does not. The Secretary of State's Business Services Division processes annual reports for domestic and foreign for-profit corporations and professional corporations, and these are the only entity types required to file one. The filing fee is $10 per annual report. Beginning January 1, 2024, the corporation annual report is no longer filed with the business privilege tax return; it is handled by the Secretary of State instead.

A separate Alabama obligation is the business privilege tax, administered by the Alabama Department of Revenue. For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2023, there is a full exemption from the business privilege tax where the tax due is $100 or less, and taxpayers in that position are not required to file a business privilege tax return. Standard includes compliance alerts, which help keep the annual report and other recurring filings from slipping.

Two other state charges are useful for planning. A Certificate of Existence, which confirms an entity's standing, costs $25. If the corporation changes later, an amendment costs $100 and articles of dissolution cost $100 under the published fee schedule. Dissolution assistance is a separate service with a custom quote, and it is never part of a formation package.

Sams Business pricing for an Alabama C corporation

Basic ($0 plus the state fee) covers the filing and state registration, with registered agent service free for the first year and virtual mail free for the first month. Standard ($199 plus the state fee) adds EIN assistance, bylaws, and compliance alerts. Premium ($299 plus the state fee) adds expedited filing where the state offers it, ready-to-use business contracts, a domain name and business email, and a US business phone number free for the first year.

Changing the corporation later is also straightforward: amendments cost $100 under the fee schedule. Start from the contact page to begin an Alabama C corporation filing.

Related Alabama pages

Sams Business is an independent private service and is not affiliated with any government agency, including the Alabama Secretary of State's office.

Not legal or tax advice.