Alabama requires every LLC and corporation to keep a registered agent with an Alabama street address. You can be your own agent (registered agent may be an individual who is a resident of this state, or a domestic entity, or a..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide). Changing your agent costs $100 for an LLC and $100 for a corporation. The Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report (Form PPT for LLCs/pass-through entities; Form CPT for C-corporations) is due same date as the corresponding federal income tax return. If you have no agent: If an entity required to designate and maintain a registered agent fails to do so, or the registered agent cannot with reasonable diligence be served, the entity may be served with process, notice, or demand in a manner similar to service of process under the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure. Hiring an agent costs $125 to $249 a year at renewal on the providers' own sites, read 2026-09-28; first-year offers run lower.
How to change your registered agent in Alabama
- Choose the new agent. Name yourself if you meet the rule in the facts table, or hire a service from the price table below; they give you their Alabama street address to put on the form.
- Or file the paper form. Change of Registered Agent or Registered Office by Entity, from the Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities. The mailing address is printed on the form. Open the Alabama filing office Direct PDF
- Pay the fee. Changing your agent costs $100 for an LLC and $100 for a corporation. Keep the confirmation; the new agent is effective when the state records it.
What a registered agent costs in Alabama
Yearly fee from each provider's own site on the date shown: what a new customer pays the first year, and what it renews at. Sorted by renewal price, because that is what you pay every year after. Links marked "affiliate link" pay us a commission; the other names link straight to the provider, listed on the same terms. Best is not always the one we earn from, and we say which is which.
| Provider | First year | Renews at | Terms, our dated note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Registered Agentaffiliate link | $125 | $125 | Same price every year, per its page; $100 a year per state for five or more states Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
| Bizeeaffiliate link | $149 | $149 | 149 per year standalone or on renewal; first year free only with a Bizee formation Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
| Harbor Complianceaffiliate link | $99 | $159 | Renews at 159 per year after the first; 3 years paid up front cost 297 Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
| ZenBusiness | $99 | $199 | Renews at 199 per year Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
| Registered Agents Inc | $200 | $200 | 200 a year, annual report filing included, per its page Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
| LegalZoom | $249 | $249 | Auto-renews; renewal rate subject to change, per its page Read on the provider's site 2026-09-28 |
What switching to the cheapest renewal saves
| If you renew with | Renews at | Saved per year | Over 3 years | First year, after the $100 fee | Break-even |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LegalZoom | $249 | $124 | $372 | $24 | month 10 |
| Registered Agents Inc | $200 | $75 | $225 | $0 | month 16 |
| ZenBusiness | $199 | $74 | $222 | $0 | month 17 |
| Harbor Compliance | $159 | $34 | $102 | $0 | month 36 |
| Bizee | $149 | $24 | $72 | $0 | month 50 |
Compared with Northwest Registered Agent at $125 a year, prices read 2026-09-28. Switching costs the state change fee shown above, once.
Three-year totals and every price change we have seen: the cost page.
Type your current renewal price to see the saving, what the state fee leaves the first year, and the break-even month.
Switch to Northwest Registered Agent, $125 a year Affiliate link, same price as on their site.
Advertising disclosure. Some provider names on this page are links to that provider's site through an affiliate network. If you buy through one of those links we may earn a commission. The price you pay does not change. Links to providers we have no agreement with go straight to their site; every provider is ranked by the same rules. Disclosed under the US FTC Endorsement Guides and the Norwegian Marketing Control Act. A Northwest Registered Agent affiliate.
Alabama at a glance
Fees, forms and deadlines
| Item | Alabama |
|---|---|
| Filing office | Alabama Secretary of State, Business Entities sos.alabama.gov/business-entitiesSource: sos.alabama.gov/node/1395, read 2026-09-08 |
| Registered agent statute (LLC) | Ala. Code § 10A-1-5.31Source: law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-10a/chapter-1/article-5/division-d/ (secondary source), read 2026-09-29 |
| Registered agent statute (corporation) | Ala. Code § 10A-1-5.31Source: law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-10a/chapter-1/article-5/division-d/ (secondary source), read 2026-09-29 |
| Change of agent form | Change of Registered Agent or Registered Office by EntitySource: sos.alabama.gov/sites/default/files/form-files/FeeSchedule.pdf, read 2026-09-08 |
| Change of agent fee, LLC | $100Source: sos.alabama.gov/sites/default/files/form-files/FeeSchedule.pdf, read 2026-09-08 |
| Change of agent fee, corporation | $100Source: sos.alabama.gov/sites/default/files/form-files/FeeSchedule.pdf, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual report due | same date as the corresponding federal income tax return ("due on the same date as the corresponding federal income returns are required to be filed as provided under federal law")Source: revenue.alabama.gov/individual-corporate/alabama-business-privilege-ta, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual report fee, LLC | not confirmedSource: revenue.alabama.gov/individual-corporate/alabama-business-privilege-ta, read 2026-09-08 |
| Annual report fee, corporation | not confirmedSource: revenue.alabama.gov/individual-corporate/alabama-business-privilege-ta, read 2026-09-08 |
| Late fee | not confirmedSource: revenue.alabama.gov/individual-corporate/alabama-business-privilege-ta, read 2026-09-08 |
| No agent on file | If an entity required to designate and maintain a registered agent fails to do so, or the registered agent cannot with reasonable diligence be served, the entity may be served with process, notice, or demand in a manner similar to service of process under the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure. Ala. Code § 10A-1-5.35 (Failure to designate and maintain registered agent)Source: law.justia.com/codes/alabama/2013/title-10a/chapter-1/section-10a-1-5. (secondary source), read 2026-09-08 |
| Be your own agent | You can be your own agent (registered agent may be an individual who is a resident of this state, or a domestic entity, or a..., full wording in the be-your-own-agent guide)Source: law.justia.com/codes/alabama/2018/title-10a/chapter-1/article-5/divisi (secondary source), read 2026-09-08 |
What the statute says
shall designate and continuously maintain in this state: (1) a registered agent; and (2) a registered office.
Ala. Code § 10A-1-5.31, read 2026-09-29
A registered agent is the person or company the state and the courts send legal papers to. The agent must have a street address in Alabama, not a PO box, and be available during business hours.
Annual report and what happens without an agent
The Business Privilege Tax Return and Annual Report (Form PPT for LLCs/pass-through entities; Form CPT for C-corporations) is due same date as the corresponding federal income tax return. Fee: not confirmed for an LLC, not confirmed for a corporation. Late fee: not confirmed.
Without an agent on file: If an entity required to designate and maintain a registered agent fails to do so, or the registered agent cannot with reasonable diligence be served, the entity may be served with process, notice, or demand in a manner similar to service of process under the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure (Ala. Code § 10A-1-5.35 (Failure to designate and maintain registered agent)).
Sources and dates
- https://www.sos.alabama.gov/node/1395, read 2026-09-08
- https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-10a/chapter-1/article-5/division-d/section-10a-1-5-31, read 2026-09-29
- https://www.sos.alabama.gov/sites/default/files/form-files/FeeSchedule.pdf, read 2026-09-08
- https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/individual-corporate/alabama-business-privilege-tax-and-corporate-share-tax/, read 2026-09-08
- https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/2013/title-10a/chapter-1/section-10a-1-5.35, read 2026-09-08
- https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/2018/title-10a/chapter-1/article-5/division-d/section-10a-1-5.31/, read 2026-09-08
- https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/registered-agent, read 2026-09-28
- https://www.registeredagentsinc.com/registered-agent/, read 2026-09-28
- https://www.harborcompliance.com/registered-agent-service, read 2026-09-28
- https://bizee.com/business-management/registered-agent, read 2026-09-28
- https://www.zenbusiness.com/registered-agent-service/, read 2026-09-28
- https://www.legalzoom.com/business/business-operations/registered-agent-overview.html, read 2026-09-28
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