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

Class session 2 · Alabama

Alabama Registered Agent Class (2026): 6 Assignments and the 3 Best Agents

If you want help getting a registered agent in Alabama in 2026, the top grades go to Alabama Registered Agent.co ($99 a year), Mainstay Filing ($149 a year) and AL Registered Agent.org ($99 a year), in that order. Finish the 6 assignments below and your registered agent is appointed the right way.

Taught by the Formation Class faculty

The quick version

Needed by law?YesCheck the textbook page: alisondb.legislature.state.al.us (read October 2026)
Cost of hiring an agent$99 to $149 a yearAs each company lists them
Class assignments6Each one explained

Class objectives

  • The legal requirement
  • Who can act as agent
  • Naming the agent with the state
  • The agents we picked

If you want someone else to file

Graded on the grading page: three-year tuition (30%), homework done (34%), year-two tuition, fit with the Alabama class and fees a student can read.
Class favorite

1. Alabama Registered Agent.co: best for one-state companies

Year 1: $99. Year 2: $99

Alabama Registered Agent.co earns the top grade in Alabama: a street address inside the state for the registered office, at $99 a year.

Over three years it costs less than Mainstay Filing, and three-year tuition is 30% of the grade.

Covered by the tuition

  • A registered office address
  • Served papers are scanned into your account

Strengths

  • Price $99; renews at $99
  • Yearly price below the national pick

Weak spots

  • Serves Alabama alone
All fifty states

2. Mainstay Filing: best for owners planning to grow

Year 1: $149. Year 2: $149

Second place goes to Mainstay Filing, since the agent is $149 a year and can come along when the company adds a state.

Add up three years: it comes to $150 more than Alabama Registered Agent.co.

Covered by the tuition

  • A real street address in the state
  • Scans of papers served on the company, free and on the same business day
  • Three government letters a year are scanned free
  • Also serves nonprofits, corporations, LPs and LLPs

Strengths

  • Works in all fifty states
  • $149 a year, same at renewal

Weak spots

  • Alabama Registered Agent.co is $50 a year lower
  • Reports stay on your plate
In-state service

3. AL Registered Agent.org: best for an in-state mailing address

Year 1: $99. Year 2: $99

AL Registered Agent.org lands in third place: a street address inside the state for the registered office, at $99 a year.

Its prices match Alabama Registered Agent.co's, so either works.

Covered by the tuition

  • A registered office address
  • Served papers are scanned into your account

Strengths

  • Yearly price below the national pick
  • Price $99; renews at $99

Weak spots

  • Serves Alabama alone

Grades and prices together

#ServiceAnnual priceRenewal priceThree-year total
1Alabama Registered Agent.co$99$99/yr$297Visit Alabama Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2Mainstay Filing$149$149/yr$447Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3AL Registered Agent.org$99$99/yr$297Visit AL Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Prices come from each company's own site, read November 13, 2026. State fees do not change with your choice of agent.

Naming an Alabama registered agent, assignment by assignment

  1. Assignment
    1

    Learn the requirement

    Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.

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

  2. Assignment
    2

    Check who is eligible

    An Alabama resident, or a business entity formed in Alabama or registered to do business there. The agent keeps a business office at the registered office address. Legal source: Ala. Code § 10A-1-5.31.

  3. Assignment
    3

    Learn the registered office rule

    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.

    Paying a service keeps your home address out of public records.

  4. Assignment
    4

    Decide who holds the role

    Hiring from the graded agents costs $99 to $149 a year; serving yourself is the option for those who qualify.

  5. Assignment
    5

    Record the appointment

    For a newly formed Alabama LLC, the Domestic Limited Liability Company Certificate of Formation is where the agent is named. Any later switch is filed separately at the Alabama Secretary of State.

    Textbook page: Check the textbook page: alison.legislature.state.al.us (read October 2026)

  6. Assignment
    6

    Update when things change

    With nothing due in the way of a report, your one job is keeping the registered agent appointment current.

Agent and state costs

EntryReceiverPrice
A professional agentService$99 to $149 a year
RenewalService$99 to $149 a year
Filing fee plus two later reports plus any minimum tax makes the state's three-year total. The pages listed below show where each figure came from.

How we graded the Alabama picks

What decided it was tuition across three years, which carries 30% of the grade.

Alabama Registered Agent.co wins the cost criterion with $297 over three years, against $150 more at Mainstay Filing.

Alabama questions

Will Alabama insist that an LLC keep a registered agent?

Yes. Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.

Can I be my own registered agent?

Yes, when you meet the who-may-serve and address rules in assignments 2 and 3.

Can I change my registered agent later?

Yes, any time. Assignment 5 shows how to file the change with the Alabama Secretary of State.

What does a registered agent cost in Alabama?

The graded agents charge $99 to $149 a year.

What does the LLC pay the state each year?

The state charges nothing for a report.

Which registered agent would you choose?

Pick Alabama Registered Agent.co: $99 a year, with scanned copies of served papers placed in an online account. Then Mainstay Filing and AL Registered Agent.org.

See also

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. Alabama Registered Agent.co's pricing page, read on November 13, 2026
  7. Mainstay Filing's Alabama service page, read on November 13, 2026
  8. AL Registered Agent.org's pricing page, read on November 13, 2026