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Formation ClassClass is in session: LLC paperwork, state by state.

Class session 3 · Alabama

Foreign LLC Registration Class, Alabama (2026): 4 Assignments and the 3 Best Services

Today's class on registering an LLC from another state in Alabama in 2026 comes with one answer: hire AL Registered Agent.org ($199), Mainstay Filing ($199) and Alabama Registered Agent.co ($199), in that order. Plan on 4 assignments and a $150 filing fee.

Taught by the Formation Class faculty

Read this first

Registration fee$150sos.alabama.gov (page read October 2026)
Yearly filingNoneBusiness privilege tax return
State fees over three years$150Registration and reports
Class assignments4One by one

What this class teaches

  • When registration is required
  • The filing, its price and its office
  • The recurring filing
  • Which services we recommend and why

Alabama: the graded services

Three-year tuition and homework done weigh the most; how we grade lists all five criteria.
Class favorite

1. AL Registered Agent.org: best for a budget registration

$199 plus fees; renewal $99 yearly

In Alabama, AL Registered Agent.org sits at the top of the class: $199 above the state fee, first agent year covered, and $99 a year afterward.

Mainstay Filing loses to it on three-year tuition, and tuition is a big slice of the grade.

Covered by the tuition

  • The Alabama registration, prepared and sent
  • One year of agent service is part of the price

Strengths

  • A year of agent service is included
  • Then $99 per year
  • A $199 service charge

Weak spots

  • A single-state service
All fifty states

2. Mainstay Filing: best for one provider for both states

$199 plus fees; renewal $149 yearly

Second place goes to Mainstay Filing, since registering costs $199 plus state fees, and year one of the registered agent costs nothing.

Three years of tuition run $100 above AL Registered Agent.org, and tuition is 30% of the grade.

After year one, agent service costs $149 a year.

Covered by the tuition

  • Registration is filed for you
  • The registered agent costs nothing in year one
  • Any state, one price

Strengths

  • A $199 service charge
  • The same fee in every state
  • Year-one agent is covered

Weak spots

  • $50 more a year for the agent
One-state plan

3. Alabama Registered Agent.co: best for a local filer

$199 plus fees; renewal $99 yearly

Grade number 3 belongs to Alabama Registered Agent.co, where $199 above the state fee, first agent year covered, and $99 a year afterward.

On price, it is level with AL Registered Agent.org.

Covered by the tuition

  • The Alabama registration, prepared and sent
  • One year of agent service is part of the price

Strengths

  • Then $99 per year
  • A year of agent service is included
  • A $199 service charge

Weak spots

  • A single-state service

3 services, side by side

#ServiceFirst yearFrom year twoThree-year total
1AL Registered Agent.org$199$99/yr$397Visit AL Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2Mainstay Filing$199$149/yr$497Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3Alabama Registered Agent.co$199$99/yr$397Visit Alabama Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Taken from each company's price page on November 13, 2026. Each row still needs Alabama's $150 registration fee.

The assignments

  1. Assignment
    1

    When registration is required

    When an LLC from elsewhere starts operating in Alabama, foreign registration is the way in. Ignore the rule and this follows: An LLC that has not registered cannot be a plaintiff here (Ala. Code 10A-1-7.21(a)). Signed contracts keep their force (Ala. Code 10A-1-7.21(b)).

    Textbook page: revenue.alabama.gov (page read October 2026)

  2. Assignment
    2

    Choose the Alabama registered agent

    Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address. The address has to be a street address in Alabama where papers can be handed to the agent. P.O. boxes are not accepted, and an agent cannot work only through a virtual office or a mail-forwarding service.

    The services above supply one.

    Textbook page: alisondb.legislature.state.al.us (page read October 2026)

  3. Assignment
    3

    Put together and mail the Foreign Limited Liability Company (LLC) Application for Registration

    Filing it is registering, and the state bills $150.

    Textbook page: sos.alabama.gov (page read October 2026)

  4. Assignment
    4

    Keep the registration alive

    The repeat assignment is the business privilege tax return, same date as the federal return.

What this class costs

EntryGoes toTotal
The registration assignmentPaid to the state$150
Service, if you hire oneThe provider$199 for year one
State fees over years one to threePaid to the state$150
Here is how the three-year state row works: filing fee, plus the report in each of years two and three, plus any yearly minimum tax. Service fees get their own rows.

How we graded the Alabama picks

On tuition across three years (30% of the grade) came out on top, with close behind.

AL Registered Agent.org comes to $397 across three years, a saving of $100 next to Mainstay Filing.

Common questions

What will it cost to register a foreign LLC in Alabama?

$150 for the filing. The services here charge $199 extra.

Which form do I file to register?

The Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities Division takes this form from foreign LLCs.

What if the LLC does business there without registering?

An LLC that has not registered cannot be a plaintiff here (Ala. Code 10A-1-7.21(a)). Signed contracts keep their force (Ala. Code 10A-1-7.21(b)).

What is due after registering?

The business privilege tax return keeps the registration alive.

Which services are in this lesson?

3 services get grades: AL Registered Agent.org at $199, Mainstay Filing at $199 and Alabama Registered Agent.co at $199.

Which service should handle the registration?

AL Registered Agent.org, because the Alabama registration is filed for $199 with a year of agent service, and the plan renews at $99. Behind it come Mainstay Filing and Alabama Registered Agent.co.

Related classes

Textbook pages and extra reading

  1. Class notes on Alabama formation fee: Filing fee, official source come straight from alison.legislature.state.al.us (reread October 2026).
  2. Class notes on Alabama formation fee: Filing fee, official source come straight from sos.alabama.gov (reread October 2026).
  3. Class notes on Alabama formation fee: Name reservation, official source come straight from sos.alabama.gov (reread October 2026).
  4. Class notes on Alabama formation fee: Name reservation, official source come straight from alison.legislature.state.al.us (reread October 2026).
  5. Class notes on Alabama registered agent statute come straight from alisondb.legislature.state.al.us (reread October 2026).
  6. Class notes on Alabama Secretary of State, LLC filings come straight from sos.alabama.gov (reread October 2026).
  7. Class notes on Foreign LLC Application for Registration come straight from sos.alabama.gov (reread October 2026).
  8. Class notes on Secretary of State Online Services come straight from alabamainteractive.org (reread October 2026).
  9. Class notes on Code of Alabama, section 10A-1-7.01 come straight from alison.legislature.state.al.us (reread October 2026).
  10. Class notes on Department of Revenue, business privilege tax notice come straight from revenue.alabama.gov (reread October 2026).
  11. Class notes on Code of Alabama, section 10A-1-7.21 come straight from alison.legislature.state.al.us (reread November 2026).
  12. pricing page from AL Registered Agent.org as of November 13, 2026
  13. Alabama service page from Mainstay Filing as of November 13, 2026
  14. pricing page from Alabama Registered Agent.co as of November 13, 2026