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

Session 1 · Alabama

Alabama LLC Formation Class (2026): 7 Assignments and the 3 Best LLC Services

For starting an LLC in Alabama in 2026, the class favorites are Mainstay Filing ($199), Alabama Registered Agent.co ($199) and AL Registered Agent.org ($199), graded from first to last. Numbers for the chalkboard: 7 assignments, a $236 filing fee.

Taught by the Formation Class faculty

Read this first

Fee to form$236alison.legislature.state.al.us (page read October 2026)
Recurring reportNoneNot asked for here
State fees over three years$236Without any service fee
Assignments7One by one

What this class teaches

  • What Alabama charges for a new LLC and where the filing goes
  • Who can be the registered agent
  • What happens once the LLC exists
  • How the picks stack up

Class favorites in Alabama

Five weighted criteria set the order (see how we grade), and three-year tuition and homework done count most.
Best overall

1. Mainstay Filing: best for one yearly fee

First year $199; renewal $199; state fee extra

Mainstay Filing gets first place, and the reason is that $199 a year covers the filing and a registered agent, with the EIN application as a bonus.

Alabama Registered Agent.co is $200 cheaper over three years; this one still earns the higher grade because it does more of the work.

Covered by the tuition

  • Formation filing prepared and sent
  • Registered agent for the whole year
  • EIN application included
  • State fee billed at cost

Strengths

  • It prepares your EIN application too
  • The renewal holds at $199
  • One yearly fee of $199

Weak spots

  • After year one it costs $100 more each year
  • With no report, the bundle is worth less
Focused on Alabama

2. Alabama Registered Agent.co: best for owners who plan to stay in Alabama

$199 plus the state fee, then $99 a year

Grade number 2 belongs to Alabama Registered Agent.co, where the Alabama LLC is formed for $199 with the agent covered in year one, and the agent renews at $99.

Covered by the tuition

  • Filing made with the state
  • A year of agent service is part of the price

Strengths

  • No agent fee in year one
  • A $199 formation fee
  • $99 a year after that

Weak spots

  • An EIN add-on costs $99
Focused on Alabama

3. AL Registered Agent.org: best for a local filer

$199 plus the state fee, then $99 a year

Grade number 3 belongs to AL Registered Agent.org, where the Alabama LLC is formed for $199 with the agent covered in year one, and the agent renews at $99.

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

Covered by the tuition

  • Filing made with the state
  • A year of agent service is part of the price

Strengths

  • A $199 formation fee
  • No agent fee in year one
  • $99 a year after that

Weak spots

  • An EIN add-on costs $99

Grades and prices together

#ServiceFirst yearFrom year twoThree-year total
1Mainstay Filing$199$199/yr$597Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2Alabama Registered Agent.co$199$99/yr$397Visit Alabama Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3AL Registered Agent.org$199$99/yr$397Visit AL Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Taken from each company's price page on November 13, 2026. Add the $236 state fee to every row.

The class, assignment by assignment

  1. Assignment
    1

    Name the company

    Search the business records kept by the Alabama Secretary of State first. They show whether the name is already on the Alabama register.

    Check at the same time whether the web domain is free.

  2. Assignment
    2

    Pick a registered agent

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

    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.

    You can hire any of the graded services for this.

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

  3. Assignment
    3

    File on your own or hire a service

    With no service, the bill is the state's $236. Each of the graded services adds $199 and handles the paperwork.

  4. Assignment
    4

    Prepare, sign and send the Domestic Limited Liability Company Certificate of Formation

    You need three things for this assignment: the Domestic Limited Liability Company Certificate of Formation, $236 and the Alabama Secretary of State as the place to send them.

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

  5. Assignment
    5

    Get an EIN

    With approval in hand, the IRS can issue a federal tax ID for the LLC, and a business bank account depends on it. Hire Mainstay Filing and this assignment is done for you.

  6. Assignment
    6

    Draft the operating agreement

    Even a Alabama LLC with a single owner is better off with a written operating agreement in the files.

  7. Assignment
    7

    Handle Alabama's recurring filing

    No report to hand in means the registered agent is the one standing duty.

Alabama costs by assignment

EntryReceiverSum
Forming the LLCState office$236
Service, if you hire oneThe service$199 for year one
State fees for the first three yearsState office$236
Rows for the state use Alabama's published fee schedules (see the textbook pages beneath the table), and each service row uses that company's own price. Over three years the state row adds the filing, the year-two report, the year-three report and any minimum tax.

How the grades came out

pulled ahead of on homework the price does, which counts for 34%.

Homework done settled it, though only barely.

Common questions

How much does Alabama charge to start an LLC?

The state's fee is $236. The graded services bill $199 on top.

Which form creates the LLC?

Once the Alabama Secretary of State has accepted the Domestic Limited Liability Company Certificate of Formation, your LLC is real.

Is a registered agent required?

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

What does Alabama require each year?

Alabama has no recurring LLC report.

Can I form the LLC without a service?

Nothing stops you. Alabama wants $236, and the LLC has to name a registered agent, which you can do yourself or hire out.

Which LLC service should a first-time founder use?

Mainstay Filing gets the top grade and Alabama Registered Agent.co and AL Registered Agent.org follow; Mainstay Filing wins on homework the price does.

Keep learning

Textbook pages and extra reading

  1. Extra credit: compare what we say about Alabama formation fee: Filing fee, official source with alison.legislature.state.al.us, last read October 2026.
  2. Extra credit: compare what we say about Alabama formation fee: Filing fee, official source with sos.alabama.gov, last read October 2026.
  3. Extra credit: compare what we say about Alabama formation fee: Name reservation, official source with sos.alabama.gov, last read October 2026.
  4. Extra credit: compare what we say about Alabama formation fee: Name reservation, official source with alison.legislature.state.al.us, last read October 2026.
  5. Extra credit: compare what we say about Alabama registered agent statute with alisondb.legislature.state.al.us, last read October 2026.
  6. Alabama service page from Mainstay Filing as of November 13, 2026
  7. pricing page from Alabama Registered Agent.co as of November 13, 2026
  8. pricing page from AL Registered Agent.org as of November 13, 2026