Reference · Alabama
Alabama LLC requirements
Every requirement we've verified for a domestic LLC in Alabama, with the source for each. For the plain-English cost answer, use the cost calculator.
| Filing agency | Alabama Secretary of State (Business Entities Division); Alabama Dept. of Revenue |
|---|---|
| Formation filing fee | $200 |
| Filing fee notes | Certificate of Formation $200 (Ala. Code 10A-1-4.31: 'Certificate of formation for all entities: Two hundred dollars ($200).'). Filed via the county Probate Judge, who transmits to the SOS within 10 days; county probate offices may charge separate recording fees. The '$100 standard / $200 expedited' split appears only on form sosdf-8.pdf, dated 3/2015 and superseded. |
| Standard processing | Filed through county Probate Judge; must transmit to SOS within 10 days. No statewide turnaround published. |
| Expedited options | None currently published. The current fee schedule and the current Certificate of Formation form (rev. 10/2022) both show a single flat $200 with no expedite tier. |
| Periodic report | Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report (Form PPT) |
| Report frequency | annual |
| Report fee | Not yet verified |
| Report deadline | Initial return (Form BPT-IN) due within 2.5 months after formation, no extension. Ongoing PPT due 2.5 months after start of tax year (Mar 15 for calendar-year LLCs). |
| Late penalty | Not confirmed from official source. |
| Administrative dissolution | Privilege tax due every registered year until legally dissolved/withdrawn via SOS. Specific dissolution trigger unconfirmed. |
| State tax | No traditional franchise tax. Alabama levies a net-worth-based Business Privilege Tax, but Ala. Code 40-14A-22(c)(3) FULLY EXEMPTS taxpayers who would otherwise owe the minimum — from both the tax and the filing requirement — for tax years beginning after 31 December 2023. A small new LLC owes $0 and files nothing. |
| Minimum state tax | None |
| Newspaper publication | Not required |
| Registered agent required | Yes |
| First-year minimum | $200 |
Confidence
What we're less sure about
Verified against the official state page
- STATUTE-CONFIRMED (10 Sep 2026). Both earlier conflicts resolved. Formation fee is $200 — the $100 figure came from an obsolete 2015 form. Business Privilege Tax: 40-14A-22(c)(3) supersedes the $100 and $50 minimums and fully exempts small entities from tax AND filing for tax years after 2023, so the first-year total is $200, not $250.
- Standard processing time in business days is not published by the SOS.
Provenance
Sources
Every figure above traces to one of these. If a state changes a fee and we haven't caught it, tell us — we log corrections publicly.
- Alabama statute text — law.justia.com
- Alabama statute text — law.justia.com
- Alabama Secretary of State (Business Entities Division); Alabama Dept. of Revenue fee schedule (PDF) — sos.alabama.gov
- Alabama tax authority — revenue.alabama.gov
- Alabama Secretary of State (Business Entities Division); Alabama Dept. of Revenue — sos.alabama.gov
- Alabama tax authority — revenue.alabama.gov
Keep reading
More on Alabama, and the states most like it
This page is the raw record. These are the places that record gets used — and the states whose rules work the same way.
- Alabama filing deadlinesWhen the business privilege tax return and annual report (form ppt) is due, and what late costs
- What an LLC costs in AlabamaThe whole first year — $200
- What an LLC costs in TennesseeNext door, $500 more
- What an LLC costs in MississippiNext door, $150 less
- What an LLC costs in GeorgiaNext door, $90 less
- What an LLC costs in FloridaNext door, $75 less
- What an LLC costs in ConnecticutCosts about the same — $200
- What an LLC costs in NevadaThe "cheap incorporation state" that costs $350 a year to keep
- What an LLC costs in MassachusettsThe most expensive state in the country — $1,000
- How we verify every figureOur sourcing standard