U.S. LLC FORMATION FOR NON-U.S. FOUNDERS
Form your Alabama LLC from outside the U.S.
The Alabama registered office and your own location answer different questions.
I handle your Alabama formation and EIN application personally. Start free in FounderVault, explain your business to Maya in a supported language, and review the application before signing or paying. If you live in the U.S., the same formation service is available to you.
Your home address belongs in your control.
Public-record address privacy is included with FilingOak’s Alabama formation service. Choose FilingOak’s privacy address for the public filing inside FounderVault, while keeping your real owner and business information truthful where required.
FORMING FROM OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES
Your application, your language, your review.
The Alabama registered office and your own location answer different questions. A founder working from another country still needs the qualifying Alabama agent arrangement, while the owner's real details and tax facts remain accurate. The name reservation also comes before the formation filing, regardless of where you live.
Use the language you are comfortable with.
Maya is FilingOak’s AI administrative assistant, with supported voice and chat across 80+ languages. Describe your business naturally, ask what a field means, or edit the application yourself. Appropriate descriptive English details can be saved into the same application you can inspect and correct.
The real person signs. I handle the filing work.
I prepare the state filing and, after formation, Form SS-4 for the included EIN application. You review and personally provide required signatures; FilingOak handles its authorized submission and permitted follow-up. Maya does not sign for you or replace my specialist work.
Having no SSN or ITIN does not automatically prevent an EIN. Where the responsible party has neither and is ineligible to obtain one, the legitimate SS-4 route can be used. See FilingOak’s EIN application process for U.S. and non-U.S. founders. The service is already included with formation.
If you live in the United States, the same Alabama formation package and privacy workflow are available to you. Where the business actually operates matters to state choice; forming elsewhere does not by itself remove obligations in an operating state.
See the FounderVault application, personal-signature and checkout walkthrough before purchasing. It uses test checkout, not a live customer payment.
WHAT CHANGES THE ALABAMA DECISION
Reserve the name before the formation filing.
Check that the desired name can be reserved before the Certificate is prepared. Keep the reservation, Certificate and Revenue registration questions separate when reviewing what the formation purchase covers.
Name reservation first
Do not budget from the $200 Certificate fee alone.
Revenue review
A Business Privilege Tax exemption depends on the calculated tax, not the owner's nationality.
INCLUDED / PUBLIC-RECORD ADDRESS PRIVACY
Protect your home address before Alabama publishes the filing.
The organizer and registered-office information have real purposes. The registered office needs a qualifying Alabama physical address. Putting an agent on the form does not settle every other address field or replace the genuine organizer.
Review your privacy-address preference in FounderVault before the filing is submitted. FilingOak protects against unnecessary residential exposure as far as legally possible, while required identities and business facts remain accurate.
The difference between a public filing address, an IRS address and your operating location matters before you put any address into another form.
Selected and reviewed inside FounderVault before submission.
YOUR REAL BUSINESS / REQUIRED INFORMATIONStill your real information.No invented owner, taxpayer number, residence or operating location. A public privacy address does not guarantee acceptance by a bank or platform.
- Registered-agent office
- The jurisdiction-specific role for official service or the required registered-office arrangement. It is not automatically your actual operating location.
- Public filing information
- The organizer and registered-office information have real purposes. Review the remaining person and address fields as well as the agent appointment.
- IRS, banks and platforms
- Use accurate information for each institution’s purpose. An address permitted on the state filing is not universal approval to use it everywhere.
YOUR PRICE / BEFORE PAYMENT
Alabama formation costs $585.
Alabama lists $200 for the Certificate of Formation. A name-reservation certificate must come first and has its own charge. FilingOak's $236 state-side amount covers its filing route; it is not a statutory $236 Certificate fee.
You see the FilingOak service fee, state-side amount and total inside FounderVault before checkout. Free account access lets you inspect the workflow first; it is not free LLC formation.
First-year Registered Agent service is included, with continued service at $149/year. The included EIN application is not another $179 item you need to buy.
Included in your $349 service.
State filing + Operating Agreement
Preparation and filing for Alabama, plus a state-specific Operating Agreement using your actual ownership and management facts.
First-year agent + legal mail
First-year service and applicable legal-mail handling through that relationship. Released legal mail is available in FounderVault when it reaches FilingOak.
EIN application after formation
SS-4 preparation, your review and signature, then authorized application handling and permitted follow-up. The IRS charges no fee to issue an EIN.
Privacy + continuing workspace
Public-record address privacy, FounderVault, Maya and applicable verified compliance reminders. The workspace keeps work attached to the right company.
The formation service is paid once. There is no annual formation subscription or separate FounderVault or Maya subscription within the formation package. You can turn off future Registered Agent renewal during the included first year without losing its remaining service period, then arrange a qualifying replacement if you change providers.
THE FIRST OBLIGATIONS
Know what remains after Alabama accepts the LLC.
An ordinary Alabama LLC does not have a routine Secretary of State annual report. Business Privilege Tax is a separate Revenue matter. Initial-return guidance uses two and one-half months after organization; the current exemption depends on calculated tax of $100 or less. Formation does not establish your eligibility for that exemption or include tax-return preparation.
What to carry into the company record.
Check that the desired name can be reserved before the Certificate is prepared. Keep the reservation, Certificate and Revenue registration questions separate when reviewing what the formation purchase covers.
Use the accepted filing and applicable fiscal-year or reporting-year information for the actual company. FounderVault holds applicable verified dates, reminders and released documents; a reminder does not complete the government obligation for you.
IF YOU ARE STILL COMPARING STATES
Compare the obligation that changes your decision.
Compare the actual filing, disclosure or ongoing cost below. A lower formation amount alone does not override where your business operates.
QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU START
Your Alabama filing, your choice.
Can I file the LLC myself instead?
You can file directly through the appropriate Alabama government route and handle the preparation, submission and later obligations yourself. If you only need FilingOak agent service, standalone Registered Agent service for a DIY formation is $149/year; you do not have to purchase formation to use it.
FOUNDER-LED / DIRECT ACCOUNTABILITY
You can reach the person handling your filing.
I'm Rehan Anjum, the founder and sole owner of FilingOak. I operate from Pakistan. I paid someone $600 to register my own New Mexico company, Enterobiz LLC, and then had to work through the EIN process myself. That experience is why the formation service I offer includes the EIN work and a place to follow it.
For your Alabama LLC, I handle the specialist formation and EIN work. Maya assists with communication and supported administrative tasks; FounderVault keeps your application, updates and released documents together. If something needs my attention, you can contact me directly at rehan@filingoak.com. You do not need a higher support tier to reach me.
If the filing needs a correction, I stay involved.
If my mistake causes a state filing rejection, I correct it. If that mistake requires another government filing fee, I cover that fee. If the issue comes from information you provided, you are responsible for correcting it and any government fees it causes. I explain what happened and handle corrections and follow-up within my authority, involving you when your signature, information or direct action is needed.
For the EIN, submission is not where my responsibility automatically ends. I handle permitted clarification and follow-up as part of the work you purchased. State and IRS processing times still depend on the agency.
Read how Enterobiz became FilingOak and view the company records and redacted EIN documents.
AFTER FORMATION / NON-U.S. OWNERS
Check federal reporting even before the first sale.
The Alabama state requirements above are only one part of the company’s obligations. For a foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entity, Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 can be required when reportable transactions occur. No revenue does not by itself establish an exemption; owner contributions can matter. The requirement depends on the actual ownership, classification and transactions.
Read the IRS Form 5472 instructions or have your accountant assess the company. This reporting is separate from renewing Registered Agent service.
Optional accountant-prepared service: $599 per tax year.
I also coordinate a separate specialist-accountant service for eligible foreign-owned single-member U.S. LLCs without U.S. employees, offices or business operations conducted inside the country. The accountant reviews your information and prepares the applicable Form 5472 and pro forma Form 1120. After your review and signature, I handle IRS fax submission and provide successful transmission proof, without an added faxing charge. Transmission proof is not IRS acceptance.
This is not included in the $349 formation package and does not renew as an automatic tax-preparation subscription. You can use your own accountant. To ask about the service, email me at rehan@filingoak.com; I confirm suitability with the accountant before accepting the work.
ALABAMA / YOUR NEXT STEP
Start with your privacy and the details in view.
$585 · $349 service + $236 state-side amount