Best LLC Formation Services in Alabama

The Business Privilege Tax used to be the first bill a new Alabama LLC met. It is not anymore. Take tax years beginning after December 31, 2023. Any entity whose tax works out to $100 or less is exempt. The Department of Revenue says those taxpayers do not have to file a return at all. Most new LLCs sit under that line, so the bill many founders brace for never arrives.

What Alabama does still ask for is a Certificate of Name Reservation before you form. Ala. Code 10A-1-4.02(f) requires it. Foreign LLCs need one too. That is the step that makes an Alabama filing different from a Georgia or a Florida one, and it is where a service earns its fee.

Every Alabama LLC also needs a Business Privilege License. That one is a county filing. It comes from the county Probate Judge or License Commissioner, not from the state. The Department of Revenue is clear on the reach. You need one in every county where you do business.

Alabama allows series LLCs under Ala. Code 10A-5A-11.01. One company can hold separate pools of assets. Do not assume the liability wall comes free. Section 10A-5A-11.02(b) grants it only if three things are true. The series has to keep its own records, the operating agreement has to state the limits, and the Certificate of Formation has to say the company may have series. Two of those are internal paperwork. The third is item 5 on the state's own Certificate of Formation, a check box marked Series LLC, and somebody has to mark it on the day you file. Ask the service you hire whether it does.

Mark it anyway. Section 10A-5A-11.04 says that statement counts whether or not a series exists yet, and whether or not it names one. Leave the box blank and you amend the certificate later to get the shield.

Your registered agent needs a real Alabama street address. A P.O. box will not do. The agent has to be a resident or an entity cleared to do business here. Live out of state and you are hiring one, so compare the Alabama agent services too.

1. Check whether you owe the Business Privilege Tax at all. Alabama exempts any entity whose privilege tax comes to $100 or less. The Department of Revenue says those taxpayers do not file the return. Most first year LLCs are under it.
2. Get your Business Privilege License. It comes from the county Probate Judge or License Commissioner. Alabama wants one in every county you work in. Fees differ by county and by trade.
3. Apply for an EIN from the IRS. It is free. It takes minutes online. You need it to open a bank account and to hire.
4. Skip the BOI report. FinCEN exempted every company formed in the United States in March 2025. So a domestic Alabama LLC files nothing. A final rule made that permanent on 14 August 2026. A letter asking for a fee to file one is a scam, and FinCEN says so.
5. Open a business bank account. Keep personal and business money apart. That is what protects your liability shield. Most banks want your Certificate of Formation and your EIN.
6. Draft an operating agreement. Alabama does not require one, but banks, investors and the IRS expect to see it. It sets out who owns what.

• The county half of the filing fee - Alabama publishes $200, and the checkout splits it into $100 for the county and $100 for the state. It is one payment. That split explains why quotes differ.
• The portal charge - Filing online costs $208, not $200. The name reservation costs $28 online instead of $25.
• Name reservation first - You cannot file the Certificate of Formation until the name is reserved. It is a real cost. It is also a real step, not paperwork you can skip.
• Business Privilege License - Every Alabama LLC needs one. It comes from your county Probate Judge. The price turns on your county and your trade.
• The agent renewal, not the filing fee - Alabama's $236 is a one time cost. The agent bill comes back every year. Across the six services here it runs from $119 to $596. Read the renewal before the headline price.