How much does it cost to start an LLC in Alabama?

The Alabama Secretary of State charges $200 to file a domestic LLC Certificate of Formation, the same online or by mail. Because a Certificate of Name Reservation must be obtained first, the realistic minimum is $225 by mail or $228 reserving the name online. Foreign LLC registration is $150.

Do Alabama LLCs still pay the business privilege tax?

For tax years beginning after December 31, 2023, Alabama fully exempts business privilege tax of $100 or less and does not require the return, so most small LLCs owe $0. Larger LLCs still compute the tax on net worth at $0.25 to $1.75 per $1,000, capped at $15,000.

How much is a certificate of good standing in Alabama?

Alabama issues a Certificate of Existence for $25 by mail or $28 online, the $3 difference being the state portal's vendor fee. Certification of a document is $10, and plain copies are $2 per page or $3.50 per page ordered online.

Alabama LLC Cost (2026)

By Edmond Hui · Fees verified July 29, 2026 against the Alabama Secretary of State fee schedule

In Alabama, the first-year state cost of an LLC is $200, before any registered-agent service. Forming an LLC in Alabama costs $200 to file the Certificate of Formation (Domestic Limited Liability Company) with the state, Alabama requires no annual report.

Bar chart of LLC costs in Alabama: $200 in unavoidable state charges in the first year and $0 a year after that. Alabama requires no annual report. — Alabama files no annual report, so the recurring figure is driven entirely by state taxes and fees. Source: Alabama's published filing fee schedule, verified July 2026.

Certificate of Formation (Domestic Limited Liability Company)$200

Annual reportNone

First-year state cost$200

Five-year state cost$200

How much does it cost to form an LLC 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).

Which fees does an Alabama LLC pay, and how often?

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	N/A	N/A
Registered agent service (optional)	$50 to $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.

The Secretary of State's Domestic LLC Certificate of Formation form and instructions and its LLC guidance set out name reservation, the certificate and the filing fee, and impose no newspaper publication step. Secondary guidance written before Act 2020-73 (effective 1 January 2021) frequently states otherwise; that act removed the county Probate Judge filing, and no publication duty replaced it.

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. For what formation services charge on top of these state fees, see the best LLC services in Alabama.

Next steps for an LLC in Alabama

What does an 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/yr	$125/yr
Five-year total	$200	$825

Is Alabama expensive compared with other states?

Alabama ranks 29th cheapest of 50 states on first-year cost , $32.16 below the $232.16 national average. On ongoing annual cost it ranks 1st.

Cheaper state	First-year cost	You would save
Montana	$35	$165
Arizona	$50	$150
Missouri	$50	$150

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.

What cost traps are 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

: The Alabama Secretary of State charges $200 to file a domestic LLC Certificate of Formation, the same online or by mail. Because a Certificate of Name Reservation must be obtained first, the realistic minimum is $225 by mail or $228 reserving the name online. Foreign LLC registration is $150.
: No. Since January 1, 2024 the Alabama Secretary of State accepts Annual Reports only from domestic and foreign for-profit corporations and professional corporations at $10 each; reports from other entity types are not accepted. Alabama LLCs have no annual report obligation.
: For tax years beginning after December 31, 2023, Alabama fully exempts business privilege tax of $100 or less and does not require the return, so most small LLCs owe $0. Larger LLCs still compute the tax on net worth at $0.25 to $1.75 per $1,000, capped at $15,000.
: Alabama issues a Certificate of Existence for $25 by mail or $28 online, the $3 difference being the state portal's vendor fee. Certification of a document is $10, and plain copies are $2 per page or $3.50 per page ordered online.

Where do 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.

Sources

8 documents

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Alabama sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.

More for Alabama LLCs

Start and set up

Taxes, money and growth

Stay compliant

Operate in other states

An Alabama LLC operating elsewhere

Compare structures

By owner type

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.

How we check facts