Hire a Registered Agent in Alabama

A registered agent is the individual or company named to receive legal papers and official state mail for an Alabama entity, at a street address in the state called the registered office. It is required by Code of Alabama § 10A-1-5.31.

Yes. Every Alabama LLC, corporation and other filing entity must designate and continuously maintain a registered agent under § 10A-1-5.31, from the day it files its formation document.

Yes, if you are an Alabama resident with a street address where you can personally accept deliveries (§ 10A-1-5.31(a)). Many owners hire a service instead to keep that address off the public record.

No. § 10A-1-5.31(b) requires the registered office to be a street address where process can be personally served; a P.O. box or a standalone mailbox or telephone answering service does not qualify.

LLC Register charges $99 a year. Commercial registered agent services generally range from about $99 to $249 a year, based on published pricing checked 9/30/2026.

File the Change of Registered Agent or Registered Office by Entity statement with the Alabama Secretary of State for a $100 fee, with the new agent's written consent on or attached to it (§ 10A-1-5.32).

Under § 10A-1-5.35, an entity with no registered agent, or whose agent cannot be found with reasonable diligence, can be served with process and other legal notices using the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure instead of through a known address — which means you can be sued without ever seeing the paperwork.

Only when appointed through a change filing: § 10A-1-5.32(b)(4) requires the new agent's written consent on or attached to the Change of Registered Agent or Registered Office statement. Alabama does not require a separately filed consent for the agent named at initial formation.

Yes, as long as they are an Alabama resident with a street address, available to accept delivery, and they consent in writing if they are appointed through a change filing under § 10A-1-5.32.

Only if that company is itself registered to transact business in Alabama and maintains a business office at the registered office address; an unregistered out-of-state entity cannot serve as agent under § 10A-1-5.31(a).

§ 10A-1-5.31 makes the registered agent the entity's agent for any process, notice or demand served on it; LLC Register scans and emails it to you the same day we receive it.

Yes. The registered agent's name and registered office address are part of the entity's filing with the Alabama Secretary of State and appear on the business entity search.

Yes. A registered agent can file a Notice of Registered Agent Resignation with the Secretary of State at no fee; under § 10A-1-5.34, the resignation becomes effective on the 31st day after the Secretary of State receives it.

No separate annual report exists — Alabama repealed it under Act 2024-213. Update your registered agent directly with the Secretary of State by filing a Change of Registered Agent or Registered Office statement whenever it changes.

Yes, for every filing entity: LLCs, corporations, limited partnerships and other entities registered with the Alabama Secretary of State must designate one under § 10A-1-5.31.

Yes. A foreign LLC must designate an Alabama registered agent on its Foreign Limited Liability Company Application for Registration, filed with the Secretary of State for $150, and it must first obtain a Name Reservation the same way a domestic LLC does.

No. Alabama's series LLC statute, Code of Alabama § 10A-5A-11.01, lets a single LLC establish multiple series under one certificate of formation, and the registered agent designated for that parent LLC serves all of its series — a series does not file a separate registered agent appointment of its own.

Yes. A PLLC, formed under Title 10A, Chapter 5A, Article 8, follows the same registered agent rule as any other Alabama LLC and names its agent directly on its Certificate of Formation.

The agent must notify the entity first, then notify the Secretary of State no later than 10 days after that, under Code of Alabama § 10A-1-5.34. The resignation becomes effective on the 31st day after the Secretary of State receives the notice.

Under § 10A-1-5.35, once an entity has no registered agent that can be found with reasonable diligence, it can be served with process and other legal notices under the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure instead of through a known address — meaning you can be sued without the usual notice going to your door.

Yes. The Alabama Nonprofit Corporation Law requires the same registered agent designation as any other filing entity, and the nonprofit's Certificate of Incorporation must name its initial registered agent and registered office under Article 5 of Title 10A, Chapter 1.

Yes. Alabama limited partnerships are a "filing entity" under § 10A-1-5.31 the same as an LLC or corporation, and must designate and continuously maintain a registered agent at an Alabama street address.

Search the Alabama Secretary of State's business entity records at arc-sos.state.al.us by entity name to see its current registered agent and registered office; the Secretary of State also publishes an informational Registered Agent List, though it does not recommend any agent on it.

No, not if you're keeping the same agent. The conversion documents filed under §§ 10A-1-8.01–8.04 name the converted entity's registered agent directly, so a separate Change of Registered Agent statement is only needed if you're also switching to a new agent.

Yes. Under § 10A-1-5.33, a registered agent can file a statement changing only its own name or registered-office address — it keeps serving your entity — but must give the entity written notice at least 10 days before filing.

Yes. Nothing in § 10A-1-5.31 limits how many entities a single individual or registered agent company can represent, as long as each appointment meets the residency (or Alabama registration) and business-office rules.

Yes. The IRS treats an annual registered agent fee as an ordinary and necessary business expense, deductible in the year you pay it.

Yes, as long as your attorney is an Alabama resident (or a firm registered to transact business in Alabama) with a business office at the registered office address — the same eligibility rule under § 10A-1-5.31 that applies to anyone else.

No. Alabama's Code uses the term "registered agent" throughout Title 10A, and "agent for service of process" describes the same role in plain language — some other states' statutes use that phrase directly instead.

Alabama treats that the same as having no valid registered agent at all: under § 10A-1-5.35, the entity can be served with process and other legal notices through the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure rather than through a known address, with no advance dissolution-warning letter required first.

You have to name one upfront. The Certificate of Formation requires the registered agent's name, street address and the Alabama county of the registered office before the Secretary of State will file it — you cannot leave it blank and add an agent afterward.

Your registered office is specifically where your registered agent can be personally served and must be a street address in Alabama; your principal office is wherever you actually run the business and does not have to be in Alabama at all.

No. § 10A-1-5.31(b) requires a street address where process can be personally served, and a mailbox service or P.O. box does not meet that rule any more than a telephone answering service does.

No. Alabama's business entity search lists only your registered agent's name and street address; no phone number or email address is required or published.

No. Alabama repealed its separate annual report for every entity type, including nonprofit corporations, under Act 2024-213. Nonprofits update their registered agent the same way any other entity does — by filing a Change of Registered Agent or Registered Office statement whenever it changes.

Yes. Nothing in § 10A-1-5.31 prevents an owner, manager or officer from also serving as the entity's registered agent, as long as they meet the residency and business-office requirements.

No. Alabama has no licensing or bonding requirement specific to registered agents; the Secretary of State's Registered Agent List is purely informational and carries no endorsement or certification.

No. § 10A-1-5.31(a) requires an individual registered agent to be an Alabama resident; owning Alabama real estate does not meet that requirement if you personally live elsewhere.

No. § 10A-1-5.31(a) limits a registered agent's role to being served with process, notices and demands on the entity's behalf — it has no authority to sign contracts or otherwise act for the entity.

Yes. Nothing requires the two to be different — a small business commonly uses one Alabama street address for both, as long as it meets the registered office's personal-service rule.