Alabama Secretary of State

Alabama Secretary of State is one of the constitutional officers in the state. Initially, the Secretary of State (SOS) operated for a two-year term, later the State Constitution changed and it became four years. Until 1868, the Alabama Legislature was to elect the secretary of state, but now it is publicly elected.

Cabinet ministers should be at least 25 years old, have US citizenship of at least 7 years, be an AL state resident for 5 years, and a registered voter.

What is the Role of the Alabama Secretary of State?

The cabinet minister is Alabama’s “Chief Election Official”. Under state law, he/she receives various election duties. Vote totals, records about candidate and political committee raised and spent money, and certified ballots are included in election records.

The SOS of Alabama is given more than 1,000 duties, and practically all of them include processing and filing documents that are public records. Correspondingly, most of the papers must include the Great Seal of Alabama attached to make them official.

Secretary of State Online Services

Do I Have to Register My Business Name in Alabama?

Indeed, name reservation in Alabama is obligatory. Moreover, you have to register your business name before filing formation papers.

In Alabama, you should present your formation papers to the Judge of Probate Office in the county where your registered office is located.

How Do I Register My Business Name in Alabama?

After you did an Alabama Secretary of State business search, checked accessibility, followed the naming regulations, and decided whether you need a supposed name, you may register your LLC name in one of these two methods.

1. Alabama claims that you fill in a Name Reservation Request form and register it with the Alabama Secretary of State (SOS) before filing for your Formation Certificate. So, after you complete it, your name will have a one-year reservation. Moreover, in case you form your business right away, you don’t have to reserve a name.
2. If you are to start your LLC, you may register your Formation Certificate with the AL SOS or have Incfile do it instead of you.

Name Reservation Filing or Transfer (Domestic or Foreign)

To claim a name reservation certificate’s transfer, you must be the name holder (listed on the certificate) or an officer with an officer’s title (if the holder is an entity). Also, remember that you cannot transfer a name that has finished formation/registration.

So, file the notice of transfer online, before formation/registration. Make your request via mail or courier (email is not accepted). Additionally, the form should include a check/money order/credit card payment for the processing fee.

Mail all the above-mentioned documentation to the:

Secretary of State, Business Services 
PO Box 5616, Montgomery, AL 36103

Name Reservation Withdrawals (Domestic or Foreign)

In this case, as well, you must be a name holder or an officer with a title if you want to make a withdrawal or cancellation of a name reservation. The process is the same as it is with the transfer, but this time there are no processing (request) fees required.

Related Fees

Here is the total number of payments you have to make for each process:

• Name reservation filing or transfer: $28 (for non-subscribers), $27 (with a yearly subscription)
• Name reservation withdrawals: $4
• Domestic filing: $208
• Foreign filing: $156

How Do You Find Out Who Owns LLC in Alabama?

The Alabama SOS provides a few methods for the general public to search the office for any entity type involving limited liability companies (LLC), limited partnerships (LP), and other professional associations. Below we bring to your attention one of the ways to do an Alabama business lookup:

Lookup by Name of AL Entity

1. First, you must enter Alabama’s Business Entity Search webpage. You may enter the company’s name you look for and clarify your search by entering the following data:

• Entity type
• Status
• City of main address
• Formation place

2. After inserting the name and other data, click on the Search button to continue. On the next page, you will see a list of related results, including the city of office, type, the state with the Secretary, and the entity ID number (in xxx-xxx format 6 digits). Next, to have the full information about the company, click on the ID in the blue text.

3. Finally, another page will open with the following data about the company:

• ID number
• Main/Mailing address
• Type
• Formation/qualify date
• Registered agent name/street address
• Business nature
• Capital authorized/paid in
• Any/all scanned paperwork
• Incorporator address (mailing) and name