How Much Does an LLC Cost in Alabama?
By Edmond Hui · Fees verified July 29, 2026 against the Alabama Secretary of State fee schedule
Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC
Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.
What you actually pay in Alabama
Alabama charges $200 for a domestic LLC Certificate of Formation and passes $100 of that to the county treasurer where the registered agent sits, so there is no extra probate filing fee. A Certificate of Name Reservation is legally required before the formation document can be filed - $25 by mail or $28 online - making the true minimum state cost $225 to $228, not $200. Alabama LLCs file no annual report: since January 1, 2024 only domestic and foreign for-profit corporations and professional corporations file one, at $10, and reports from other entity types are not accepted. A Certificate of Existence is $25 by mail or $28 online, certification of a document is $10, and plain copies are $2 per page ($3.50 online).
Alabama LLC fee breakdown
| Cost | Amount | How often | Charged by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Formation (Domestic Limited Liability Company) | $200 | One time | Alabama Secretary of State |
| Required state cost, first year | $200 | — | — |
| Registered agent service (optional) | $50–$300 | Every year | Commercial provider |
| Name reservation (optional) | $25 | One time | Alabama Secretary of State |
| Certificate of good standing (optional) | $25 | Per copy | Alabama Secretary of State |
The $200 fee is the same online or by mail; the Secretary of State remits $100 of it to the treasurer of the county where the initial registered agent's office sits, so there is no separate probate-court fee.
Alabama Business Privilege Tax: Computed on net worth at $0.25 to $1.75 per $1,000 depending on federal taxable income apportioned to Alabama, with a $15,000 cap. The statutory minimum was $100, reduced to $50 for tax years beginning after 12/31/2022; for tax years beginning after 12/31/2023 there is a full exemption when the computed tax is $100 or less, so most small LLCs owe $0.
Registered agent is listed separately because it is a commercial service, not a state charge. Commercial registered-agent services, not a state charge. Range and $125 midpoint match the assumption used by /tools/llc-true-cost. Most states let you serve as your own registered agent at no cost if you have a physical in-state address. Run your own numbers in the true-cost calculator.
Alabama LLC cost over five years
State charges only in the first column; the second adds a registered-agent service at the $125/yr market midpoint.
| Period | State cost only | With registered agent |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 (formation + first filing) | $200 | $325 |
| Each year after | $0 | $125 |
| Five-year total | $200 | $825 |
Is Alabama expensive compared with other states?
Alabama ranks 27th cheapest of 50 states on first-year cost — $34.53 below the $234.53 national average. On ongoing annual cost it ranks 1st.
A cheaper filing fee elsewhere rarely saves money if you live and operate in Alabama. Doing business here with an out-of-state LLC generally means registering it as a foreign LLC in Alabama anyway — paying both states. See foreign qualification in Alabama before forming elsewhere to save on fees.
Cost traps specific to Alabama
Name reservation is mandatory, not optional
Alabama requires a Certificate of Name Reservation to be obtained and attached before the Certificate of Formation can be filed, so budget $25 by mail or $28 online on top of the $200 filing fee.
Business privilege tax return can still bite in year one
Form BPT-IN is due within 2 1/2 months of organization unless the computed privilege tax is $100 or less, which Alabama fully exempts (tax and return) for tax years beginning after 12/31/2023.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where these numbers come from
Every fee above was checked against Alabama's own published sources on July 29, 2026 — the Alabama Secretary of State fee schedule, the governing statute, and where a state-level tax applies, the state tax authority. Commercial formation-service pages were not used.
The first-year total is the Certificate of Formation (Domestic Limited Liability Company) fee plus the first year of any recurring state charge. Where a state's first report is not due until the following year, that is noted above. The five-year total is the filing fee plus five years of recurring charges, which avoids the timing question entirely. Registered-agent service is excluded from all state figures.
Primary sources:
- https://www.sos.alabama.gov/sites/default/files/form-files/FeeSchedule.pdf
- https://www.sos.alabama.gov/sites/default/files/2022-01/2021FeeSchedule.pdf
- https://www.sos.alabama.gov/business-entities/llcs
- https://www.sos.alabama.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/DomesticLLCFormation.pdf
- https://www.sos.alabama.gov/sites/default/files/form-files/domesticEntityNameReservation.pdf
- https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/BPT_Annual-Report_Notice.pdf
- https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/tax-types/business-privilege-tax/
- https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/24fbptinblk.pdf