7 items, in order: certificate of formation (llc) and the business privilege tax return, trade name registration (dba), employer identification number (ein), sales tax license and withholding account (my alabama taxes), state and county business privilege license, and the city business license and zoning approval and certificate of occupancy, and 1 more.
How to open a business in Alabama
7 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them, each with the agency, the fee and the official page.
What licenses do you need to open a business in Alabama? 7, in the order to get them
These are the steps every business in Alabama takes. A license specific to your kind of business comes from the agency that regulates it; if one of the twenty named businesses is close to yours, its page lists those too.
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 21, 2026.
Step 1 of 4Set up the business. Now: Certificate of formation (LLC) and the business privilege tax return
0 of 7 items done. Each step opens when the one before it is complete. Progress stays on this device. Log in to save it to your account and pick it up anywhere.
Set up the business0 of 3
Reserve the name first (the certificate of name reservation is attached to the filing), then file online or by mail through the Secretary of State. The certificate names a registered agent with an Alabama street address. The privilege tax is owed each year the LLC stays registered, even with no activity, so dissolve a company you stop using.
- Fee
- Premium only
- Renewal
- Premium only
- Official page
- sos.alabama.gov
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
Approve the spaceOpens after step 2
Before the first hireOpens after step 3
Then pick the place
- The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the businesses already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
- The full reportWhether the rules allow a business at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
Have an address in mind?
Check the address freeNo account. The business check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Secretary of State LLC pages and certificate of formation form (Code of Alabama 10A-1-4.31); Department of Revenue business privilege tax pages and 2026 form PPT instructions; Code of Alabama 8-12-6 through 8-12-10 (trade name registration); Secretary of State trademarks and trade names pages; IRS EIN page; Department of Revenue sales tax license FAQ and annual tax account license renewal notices (October 2025); Department of Revenue Handbook of Privilege and Store Licenses; Code of Alabama 40-12-2 and 40-12-151; Code of Alabama 11-51-90 (municipal business licenses); Municipal zoning and building ordinances; State Fire Marshal (Alabama Department of Insurance) inspection pages; Department of Workforce unemployment compensation employer information; new hire reporting pages (portal replaced December 2025); Code of Alabama 25-5-50 and the Workers’ Compensation Division benefits guide. Fees are as published by each agency on the date checked; cities add their own.