Alabama LLC Formation: $200 State Fee, Requirements, and Steps (2026)

A limited liability company, or LLC, is a business entity that sits apart from its owners. The company can sign contracts, hold a bank account, and take on obligations in its own name, while the owners' personal assets stay separate from the company's debts in the ordinary course of business. For founders who want that separation without the formal meeting and share structure of a corporation, the LLC is a practical middle path, and Alabama is a state where the formation steps are clearly laid out by the Secretary of State.

This page covers what Alabama charges, what Alabama requires, and what Sams Business handles when forming an Alabama LLC.

What it costs to form an Alabama LLC

The Alabama Secretary of State charges $200 to file a domestic LLC 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.

Alabama has a step that comes before the formation filing itself: the name must be reserved first. 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 and certificates of existence 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. First, 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. Second, card payments 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 Certificate of Formation asks for a small set of facts. The LLC name must contain the words "Limited Liability Company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "LLC," and it must comply with the naming rules in Section 10A-1-5.06 of the Code of Alabama. The name must also be distinguishable from other business names already on file, ignoring the entity ending. That is why the reservation step matters: it confirms the name is available before the formation filing is prepared.

Every Alabama LLC must name a registered agent, and only one agent is named on the form. The agent's registered office must be a street address in Alabama, 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 filing must certify that the LLC has at least one member. The form also allows the LLC to be identified as a series LLC, a professional LLC, or a nonprofit LLC where the relevant rules apply.

Timing is flexible. 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, as long as that date is on or after the filing date and no later than the 90th day after the instrument was signed. The time of filing cannot be noon or midnight. Every Sams Business formation package includes registered agent service free for the first year, and virtual mail free for the first month.

After formation: no annual report for Alabama LLCs

Forming the LLC is only the first filing, and Alabama's ongoing duties differ by entity type. An Alabama LLC does not file an annual report with the Secretary of State. The annual report handled by the Secretary of State's Business Services Division applies to domestic and foreign for-profit corporations and professional corporations only; reports from other entity types are not accepted. That distinction matters because older guides sometimes describe an Alabama annual report as if it applied to every entity.

A separate Alabama obligation to understand is the business privilege tax, which is administered by the Alabama Department of Revenue rather than the Secretary of State. 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. Beginning January 1, 2024, the Secretary of State's corporation annual report is no longer filed with the business privilege tax return.

Two other state charges are useful for planning. A Certificate of Existence, which is Alabama's document confirming an entity's standing, costs $25. If the LLC 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. Standard includes compliance alerts, which help keep these dates and filings from slipping.

Sams Business pricing for an Alabama LLC

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, an operating agreement, S-corp election filing where applicable, 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 LLC later is also straightforward: amendments cost $100 under the fee schedule. Start from the contact page to begin an Alabama LLC 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.