In Alabama a Good Standing Certificate is called a Certificate of Existence.  This sometimes causes confusion when the requesting party, commonly the Secretary of State in another state besides Alabama, requests a "Good Standing Certificate".  In these cases an Alabama Certificate of Existence will fulfill the requirements for an Alabama Good Standing Certificate.

An Alabama Good Standing Certificate is issued by the Alabama Secretary of State and is often required for loans, to renew business licenses, or for tax or other business purposes in the state of Alabama or in any other state. An Alabama Certificate of Good Standing is evidence that your Alabama business franchise - your Alabama Corporation, LLC or LP - is in Existence, is authorized to transact business in the state of Alabama, and complies with all state of Alabama business requirements and therefore is in "Good Standing" in the state of Alabama.

Also known as an Alabama Certificate of Existence, an Alabama Certificate of Status or an Alabama Certificate of Authority, an Alabama Good Standing Certificate is a one page document which looks like a letter and bears the seal of the state of Alabama Secretary of State. An Alabama Good Standing Certificate is provided by the Alabama Secretary of State and is conclusive evidence of the existence of your Alabama business franchise. In most cases an Alabama Certificate of Good Standing can be valid up to a year depending on the requirements of the Good Standing Certificate requester.

To obtain an Alabama Good Standing Certificate, your company must be registered as a legal entity with the Alabama Secretary of State, i.e., your company is in existence in the state of Alabama, and cannot be in default of Alabama corporate rules, or suspended by the state of Alabama.

Total cost for an Alabama Good Standing Certificate depends on the type of company - Corporation, LLC, LLP, LP - and how fast you need the Certificate. Choose your options in the Good Standing Certificate Cost Calculator below to determine exactly how much your Alabama Good Standing Certificate will cost.

• The Alabama company must be registered as a legal entity with the Alabama Secretary of State as a Corporation, LLC or LP.
• The Alabama company cannot be in default or suspended as defined by the laws of the state of Alabama.
• The Alabama company must have filed all reports required by the Alabama Secretary of State or any other state of Alabama agency.

Some states verify that all taxes have been paid and all required reports have been filed. Other states include bare minimum language that confirms only that a company is in existence and has not been dissolved.

Along with the issuance date and signature of the Alabama Secretary of State, an Alabama Good Standing Certificate includes the following information:

A Corporation, LP or LLC that is registered in the state of Alabama may require an Alabama Good Standing Certificate to qualify as a "Foreign Corporation" in a state other than Alabama.  A Foreign Corporation is a Corporation that is registered with a state agency, usually the Secretary of State, in one state and has the Authority to do business in another state. 

For example, a Corporation registered in the state of California that plans to do business in the state of Alabama is a "Domestic Corporation" in California and a "Foreign Corporation" in the state of Alabama.

All states require you to register as a Foreign Corporation with a state agency, usually the Secretary of State, in order to do business in their state.  In order to register as a Foreign Corporation in any state you must provide evidence that you are registered and are in Good Standing in another state as a Domestic Corporation or LLC.  This evidence is a Certificate of Good Standing from the state in which your Corporation or LLC was originally formed.

An Alabama Good Standing Certificate is legal and official proof of Good Standing from the Alabama Secretary of State.

If your Corporation, LLC or LP falls out of Good Standing with the AL Secretary of State it is technically illegal for your company to do business in the state of Alabama or any other state. This could lead to the piercing of the corporate veil and make the owners of the Alabama business liable for penalties and law suits.

In order to get back into Good Standing you will have to pay a Reinstatement Fee.

The cost to Reinstate an Alabama Company depends on the exactly why the Corporation, LLC or LP is not in Good Standing. In some cases the fees for reinstatement of an Alabama Company may be more expensive that those for walking away from the business and then creating an entirely new company.

An Alabama Good Standing Certificate is issued by the Alabama Secretary of State for business entities that have registered with the state of Alabama.  A Sole Proprietorship or DBA is not normally registered with the Alabama Secretary of State so an Alabama Certificate of Good Standing cannot be issued for them.

If you own an Alabama business and have not registered as a Corporation, LLC, LP or other legal entity with the Alabama Secretary of State, then you are a Sole Proprietor by default.  Nothing needs to be filed with the Alabama Secretary of State to create a Sole Proprietorship.  If you plan to use a name different from your first and last name then you would register in the Alabama county in which you do business with your first and last name "Doing Business As" (DBA) the name of your business (for example: Sue Smith, DBA Sue's Alabama Business).

In Alabama a Good Standing Certificate is called a Certificate of Existence.   An Alabama Certificate of Existence may be referred to by another name.

No. An Alabama Good Standing Certificate does not include a unique verification number.

Yes.  An Alabama Good Standing Certificate includes the Date of Incorporation for an Alabama Corporation or the Date of Organization for an Alabama LLC.

If you place your order for an Alabama Good Standing Certificate before 1 PM Alabama time we can get your Alabama Good Standing Certificate as fast as 2-3 hours. We will send you a scanned copy of your Alabama Good Standing Certificate by email and put a paper copy of your Certificate in the mail as soon as we get it from the AL Secretary of State.

The Alabama Secretary of State reserves the right to extend expedite periods in time of extreme volume, staff shortage or equipment malfunction.  We are dependent on, and have no control over, the staff and systems of the Alabama Secretary of State.  In our experience the time specified is the time it usually takes the Alabama Secretary of State to process Good Standing Certificate orders.  We get your Alabama Good Standing Certificate request to the AL Secretary of State ASAP.  Once it is at the state we have very little or no control over the Alabama Good Standing Certificate process.

A valid expiration date is not written on an Alabama Good Standing Certificate.  The validity of an Alabama Certificate of Good Standing is usually determined by the intended recipient of the Good Standing Certificate.

Some institutions may request that an Alabama Good Standing Certificate be less than a certain number of days old.  Generally the information included on an Alabama Certificate of Good Standing is implied to be valid for 60-90 days but it really depends on the nature of the business for which the Alabama Good Standing Certificate is being used.

If you need to verify that all outstanding tax liabilities for a Alabama Corporation or Alabama LLC have been paid then you need an Alabama Tax Status Compliance Certificate.

In Alabama a Tax Status Compliance Certificate is called a Certificate of Compliance. An Alabama Certificate of Compliance is issued by the Alabama Department of Revenue and is sometimes called a Tax Clearance Certificate or an Entity Status Letter or a Certificate of Account Status.

If you need a Good Standing Certificate from the highest Court in the state of Alabama for an Alabama Attorney we can help.

If you are ready to order an Alabama Good Standing Certificate now, simply fill in the Good Standing Certificate Order Form below and press the Place Order button. If you have any questions you can call us at 855-771-2477 or email us at CorpServices@AllBizDocs.com.