Alabama Foreign LLC Name Change Reservation Form

A foreign/nonresident individual who wants to register an LLC name must complete this form and file it with Alabama’s Secretary of State’s office.

Extracted Text for Proper Search

STATE OF ALABAMA 
 
APPLICATION FOR  NAME  REGISTRATION 
FOR FOREIGN ENTITIES (Business or Non-Profit)  
Foreign Name  Registration  –  2/2012    Page 1  of  4  
   
PURPOSE:  To request registration of entity name prior to applying 
for qualification to do business in the State of Alabama.  Pertinent 
requirements are listed in Title 10A, Chapter 1, Article 5 of the 
Alabama Business and Nonprofit Entities Code.  These requirements 
apply to all entity types, business and non-profit. 	
          	(For SOS Office Use Onl	y)

APPLICATION FOR  NAME  REGISTRATION FOR FOREIGN ENTITIES (Business or Non-Profit)     
Foreign  Name  Registration  –   2/2012           Page 2  of  4  
 	
 
 	
Mailing Address     (If the certificate is to be held for pick-up,  Hold For Pickup must be typed in this line.) 
 
 
   	
            	 	
Date       Typed Name & Signature of Requestor 
 
If the requestor is, a Service  Provider using a prepaid account: 
 
Acct Name:         	
Acct Number:      	 
 
  	
$10.00 Standard Processing        or	    	$25.00 Expedited Processing 
 
 
Credit Card Payment Option (must be completed and signed): 
 
 	
$10.00 standard processing option (processing timeframe depends on volume and staffing – see status 
  on page 3) 
 
 
$25.00 expedited processing option   (generally processed within approximately 3 business days after 
  date of receipt) 
 
Card Type:   	
(Visa, MC, Discover & AmEx) 
 
Card Number:        	
  Expiration Mo/Yr:     	/  	 
 
Card Holder Name:              
 
  
Complete Billing Address:             
 
    	
Street or PO                 City    State    Zip    	
 
 
Signature of Card Holder:             	
 
      MUST be signed in order to process.

APPLICATION FOR  NAME  REGISTRATION FOR FOREIGN ENTITIES (Business or Non-Profit)     
Foreign  Name  Registration  –   2/2012           Page 3  of  4  
 
   
 
Informational Only/Do Not Send With Request 
 
 
Online Service Available:	 	
The name registration application may be fu lly processed in real-time online.  Go to www.sos.alabama.gov	 and click on 
the Business Services tab.  Scroll down to the Online Services link beneath  the Business Entities subheading.  Non-
subscribers pay a $28 fee with a credit card and receive the  registration by printing it immediately at the end of the 
process. 	
 
Mailing of Certifications  of Name Registration:	
 	
All documents not processed online are mailed standard USPS  unless preaddressed envelopes with special postage or 
overnight courier envelopes are included with the requ est.  Any overnight courier envelopes must have a completed	
 airbill 
showing no reference to the Office of the Secretary of Stat e, with the billing information completed and clearly marked 
“bill recipient” – if they are not complete d in this manner they will be discarded. 	
 
Status of Request:  	
 	
If a status of the request is needed, please go to  www.sos.alabama.gov	 and click on the Government Records tab.  Under 
that tab, there is a link for Business En tity Records, select it.  The screen that  appears will offer a variety of ways to 
search.  Search by the entity name - that screen will list the  “filings completed through” date to show the date through 
which processing has been completed.  Ente r the name just as filed following the instructions on the screen with regard to 
punctuation, etc. to determine if the request has been processed.  If you do not ha ve evidence of receipt and the request 
was not completed by the appropriate “thr ough date,” we have to assume that the request never got into the office – the 
only way to obtain a receipt is through registered mail/courier  service.  If there is an issue about the status of a request, 
email the details and a copy of the receipt of delivery to  [email protected]	
 and a supervisor will 
research the problem and respond in the order in which the ema il was received.   Please do not call the office or come in 
with a question about status as research time is required  and every call slows processing procedures - we understand that 
you are anxious to receive your certification of registration as quickly as possible and we are trying to see that processing 
is interrupted as little as possible. 
 	
Checking the Availability of a Name:	 	
Go to  www.sos.alabama.gov	 and click on Government Records, then Busi ness Entity Records in the drop-down listing, 
then search the database under Entity Name by typing in the  name that you would like to use for your entity excluding 
entity identifiers such as Inc., LLC, etc.  and any punctuation.  Do not complete any of the other boxes on the search page 
and the system will show all entities using the name or,  in many cases, similar names.  Entity names must be 
distinguishable excluding entity designations on the index fro m existing names [10A-1-5.03].  Performing the search may 
shorten the time it takes to get a Name Regi stration completed by reducing rejections.   	
 
Name requirements of Title 10A	
: 	
Corporations:  The name of a corporation must contain the wo rd “corporation” or “incorporated”; or an abbreviation of 
one of those words.  Exceptions are:  nonprofit corporations, banks, trust compan ies, savings and loan associations, or 
insurance companies. [10A-1-5.04] 
 
Professional Corporations:  The name of a professional corpora tion must contain the words “professional corporation”  or 
the abbreviation “P.C.” or “P C”. [10A-1-5.08] 
 
Limited Liability Companies (LLC):  The name of a limited liability company must contain the words “Limited Liability 
Company” or the abbreviation “L.L.C.” or “LLC”. [10A-1-5.06]

APPLICATION FOR  NAME  REGISTRATION FOR FOREIGN ENTITIES (Business or Non-Profit)     
Foreign  Name  Registration  –   2/2012           Page 4  of  4  
   
 
 
Registered Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP):  The name of  a registered limited liability partnership shall contain the 
words “Registered Limited Liability Partnership” or  the abbreviation “L.L.P.” or “LLP”. [10A-1-5.07] 
 
Limited Partnerships:  The name of a lim ited partnership that is not a limited liability limited partnership must contain the 
phrase "limited partnership" or "Limited," or the abbreviation "L.P.," "LP," or "Ltd."  and must not contain the phrase 
"limited liability limited partnership" or the abbreviation "LLLP" or "L.L.L.P.".  The name of a limited partnership may 
not contain the following words: "bank," "banking," "ba nker," "trust," "insurance," "insurer," "corporation," 
"incorporated," or any abbreviation of such words. [10A-9-1.08] 
 
Limited Liability Limited Partnerships:  The name of a  limited liability limited partnership must contain the phrase 
"limited liability limited partnership" or the abbreviation "LLLP" or "L.L.L.P." and must not contain the phrase "limited 
partnership" or the term "Limited," or the abbr eviation "L.P.," "LP," or "Ltd.". [10A-9-1.08] 
 
Names Requiring Letters from Other Agencies:   any banking entity will need a letter from the Alabama Banking 
Commissioner’s Office and any insurance entity will need a letter from the Alabama Insu rance Commissioner’s Office. 
 
Names Requiring Evidence of Alabama Licensing:   any name using a professional designation in the name (i.e., 
engineering, attorney).