Find legal forms, law schools, and legal resources
Try “residential lease” — forms for your state are shown first.
Alabama official formation packet
Download the Alabama certificate of formation packet used to create an LLC with the state. This is the official formation document plus support files, not an operating agreement.
A Alabama formation packet built around the official certificate of formation, with customer support and lifetime updates if the official form is revised.
This is the certificate of formation you file with the state to create the LLC. It is a public record, not the internal ownership contract.
One $9.99 purchase covers instant download, email support, and replacement files if we update this packet.
Most banks and multi-member LLCs still need a separate operating agreement. It is not filed with these articles.
This state packet includes 2 documents in print-ready PDF format. Labels describe each file's role, not the internal filename.
Articles vs operating agreement
This packet is built around the official Alabama certificate of formation. Filing it with the state creates the LLC as a public legal entity.
The $9.99 price is not for inventing a government form. It covers the current official blank, companion files, email support, and lifetime updates if the official form changes.
This is not an operating agreement. Articles create the company; the operating agreement is the internal contract among members.
Need the internal rulebook too? After you file, most customers also download a member-managed or manager-managed operating agreement for Alabama.
Researched filing overview
Alabama uses an official Certificate of Formation, revised October 2022, to form a domestic LLC. Pay the $200 Secretary of State fee separately, whether you file online or by mail. Mail two copies to the Secretary of State, not the probate judge.
A Name Reservation Certificate must accompany the filing. The registered office needs an Alabama street address; a P.O. box is not enough. Professional, series, and nonprofit elections are checkboxes on the same blank.
What happens before, during, and after the state filing. This product is the public formation document, not a filing service.
Reserve a distinguishable Alabama name first and attach the Name Reservation Certificate. Choose a registered agent with an Alabama street address; a P.O. box is not enough.
File the official Certificate of Formation with the Secretary of State online or by mail. The $200 state fee is paid separately. This product does not file for you. Professional, series, and nonprofit elections use checkboxes on the same blank.
Adopt a written operating agreement. An EIN is separate.
Read the filing notes and statute excerpts here. The official certificate of formation preview follows below.
Quick answer
A certificate of formation, previously known in Alabama as an articles of organization form, is the document that one must complete and file to establish the creation of an LLC within the state.
A certificate of formation, previously known in Alabama as an articles of organization form, is the document that one must complete and file to establish the creation of an LLC within the state. It sets forth the name of the proposed company and contact information for its registered agent, among other details. It may include other provisions, provided that they are not inconsistent with state law. It comes complete with instructions and filing information for creating an LLC within the state.
Alabama accepts the official Certificate of Formation online or by mail to the Secretary of State. Do not file it with the county probate judge.
The requirements for naming an LLC within the state are set forth in Ala. Code § 10A-1-5.06. The name of the LLC must contain the words "Limited Liability Company", "Professional Limited Liability Company", "Series Limited Liability Company" or the abbreviation "L. L. C.", "LLC", "P. L. L. C.", "PLLC", "S. L. L. C.", or "SLLC". The name must be distinguishable from those of all other entities on file with the state. It may not infringe on any active trademark or service mark registered with the state or the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office. One may search online the Alabama trademark database and the USPTO's trademark database.
One may determine the availability of a proposed business name for use within Alabama by querying the state's official Business Entity Search tool. As a rule of thumb, the state will consider a proposed business name available if the first two words of the name do not match the first two words of that of any other entity authorized to conduct business within the state.
Alabama charges $200 to file the Certificate of Formation with the Secretary of State. That state fee is paid separately from this $9.99 packet. File the Certificate of Formation with the Secretary of State. Confirm any optional expedite fee on the official SOS site; do not file with the county probate judge.
The statutory authority for an LLC within the state is the Alabama Limited Liability Company Law of 2014 (Ala. Code § 10A-5A-1.01 et seq.).
The statutory requirements for a valid certificate of formation filing are codified in Ala. Code § 10A-5A-2.01. The text of the statutes read as follows:
§ 10A-5A-2.01 . Formation. (a) In order to form a limited liability company, one or more organizers must execute a certificate of formation and deliver it for filing to the filing officer provided for in subsection (e). Notwithstanding Section 10A-1-3.05, the certificate of formation shall set forth: (1) the name of the limited liability company, which must comply with Article 5 of Chapter 1; (2) the address of the registered office required by Article 5 of Chapter 1; (3) the name of the registered agent at the registered office required by Article 5 of Chapter 1; (4) a statement that there is at least one member of the limited liability company; (5) if applicable, a statement as provided in Section 10A-5A-11.02(b)(3); and(6) any other matters the members determine to include therein. (b) A limited liability company is formed when its certificate of formation becomes effective in accordance with Article 4 of Chapter 1. (c) The fact that a certificate of formation has been filed and is effective in accordance with Article 4 of Chapter 1 is notice of the matters required to be included by Subsections (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), and (a)(4) and if applicable, (a)(5), but is not notice of any other fact. (d) A limited liability company agreement shall be entered into either before, after, or at the time of the filing of the certificate of formation and, whether entered into before, after, or at the time of the filing, may be made effective as of the filing of the certificate of formation or at any other time or date provided in the limited liability company agreement. (e) A certificate of formation shall be delivered for filing to the judge of probate of the county in which the initial registered office of the limited liability company is located pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 1 unless the certificate of formation is required to be delivered for filing to a different filing officer under Article 10 of this chapter.
Ready to download the Alabama packet? Checkout delivers the formation files immediately. The operating agreement is a separate product if you need ownership and management rules.
Get the Alabama Packet — $9.99Illustrative sample layout for review before purchase — the licensed packet contains the current filing document and instructions.
ALABAMA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
CERTIFICATE OF FORMATION
The name of the limited liability company is _______________________________________________.
ARTICLE II. Registered Office.
The address of the initial designated office is:
_______________________________________________ [Address, Line 1]
_______________________________________________ [Address, Line 2]
_______________________________________________ [City, State, Zip]
(The state will not accept a P.O. box.)
ARTICLE III. Registered Agent.
The name of the registered agent at the registered office designated in Article II is:
_______________________________________________ [Name]
ARTICLE IV. Membership.
There is at least one member of the limited liability company.
ARTICLE V. Classification of Limited Liability Company. [check only if a classification listed below is applicable to the LLC being formed:]
_____ Series LLC complying with Title 10A, Chapter 5A, Article 11
_____ Professional LLC complying with Title 10A, Chapter 5A, Article 8
_____ Non-Profit LLC complying with 10A-5A-1.04(c)
Signed by:
_______________________________________________
Signature as required by Ala. Code § 10A-5A-2.04
_______________________________________________
Typed Name of Above Signature
_______________________________________________
Typed Title (Organizer or Attorney-in-fact)
If you are not 100 percent satisfied after purchase, contact us for a full refund. Lifetime updates apply if we replace this packet. This guarantee is about the product and support, not a promise that a particular filing will be accepted.
No. The certificate of formation is the public filing that creates the LLC. An operating agreement is a separate internal contract that sets ownership, voting, profit splits, and management. Most customers need both.
Yes. This packet is built around Domestic Limited Liability Company (LLC) Certificate of Formation. If the state later revises the official blank, lifetime updates cover a replacement packet.
When the state publishes a free official form, that blank is still free on the government site. This product packages the current form we carry, any companion files listed on this page, email support, and lifetime updates if we replace the packet. It is not a filing service and it does not pay the state’s filing fee.
This packet currently includes 2 documents in print-ready PDF format. The list on this page is the customer-facing inventory.
Alabama generally does not file the operating agreement with these articles, but banks, lenders, and multi-member LLCs almost always want one. Choose member-managed if every owner will run the company, or manager-managed if appointed managers will run it.
No. ILRG provides self-help forms and information. You complete the documents and file them with the state, or use the official online portal where that is required. Consult a licensed attorney for tax elections, professional-license entities, or unusual ownership structures.
No. The $200 Certificate of Formation fee is paid separately to the Secretary of State. A name reservation is a required earlier filing and is also paid separately.