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Promote:Alabama

Invest in Alabama

A short guide for companies expanding into Alabama: the economy at a glance, the rules and steps to set up, and who can help, each with its source.

1. Alabama at a glance

Currency and inflation: see the United States at a glance

2. Before you set up

The body that handles foreign investment, any one-stop route, Alabama’s limits on foreign ownership, the zones and other rules for investors, as the guide found them.

Show 6 more

Investment rules across the United States: see Invest in the United States

3. Steps to set up

The main steps, in order, each with the body responsible and its official page.

Setting up in Alabama

  1. A corporation formed outside Alabama applies to the Secretary of State for a certificate of authority before it transacts business.Alabama Secretary of StateUS$150 filing feeOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Alabama Secretary of State, foreign corporations⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

  2. Reserve the business name first if you want it held before you file, using the name reservation form or the online request.Alabama Secretary of StateUS$25 on paper or US$28 onlineOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Alabama Secretary of State, foreign corporations⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

  3. Register the entity for state taxes in My Alabama Taxes with the Department of Revenue.Alabama Department of RevenueOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Alabama Department of Revenue, register a business⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

  4. File the business privilege tax initial return within two and a half months of qualifying or starting business in Alabama.Alabama Department of RevenueOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Alabama Department of Revenue, Business Privilege Tax⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

Show 3 more set-up steps
  1. If the business will have employees, apply for an unemployment tax account number through the Department of Workforce’s eGov system.Alabama Department of WorkforceOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Alabama Department of Workforce, new employer registration⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

  2. Before you buy or lease land, check the Alabama Property Protection Act’s limits on foreign principals near military installations and critical infrastructure.Alabama LegislatureOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Alabama Legislature, House Bill 379 enrolled, 2023⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of 2023

  3. Ask the Department of Commerce about incentives before you commit to a site, because the state approves them project by project.Alabama Department of CommerceOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Alabama Commerce, tax incentives and grants page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

Steps that apply across the United States: see Invest in the United States

4. Organizations that help investors

Start with Alabama Commerce. Each card links to the organization’s own site.

Each card says what it can help with:Get adviceFind financeMeet requirementsResearch markets

Investment and business setup

Show 2 more organizations

Customs and tax

Show 1 more organization

Chambers and industry associations

5. Worth knowing

Across the United States: see Worth knowing in Invest in the United States

6. How Promote:Global helps

  • Compare the United States with other countriesSet the United States beside other countries on investment momentum, fundamentals and trade access, before site, tax and legal work.
  • Find advisors and service firmsAsk an advisory firm a scoped, paid question, or browse firms that list their own services, from legal work to logistics.
  • Organize your next stepsKeep each product and market in a project, with a roadmap of steps you work through.

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Promote:Alabama is an independent guide by Promote:Global, not an official government portal. The organizations named here are independent public and membership bodies, not Promote:Global partners, and every link goes to their own site.

Facts read from public sources, with an editorial cut-off of November 3, 2026. Nothing here is investment, legal, tax or sanctions advice. Check current status with the organization before you rely on it.