An Alabama Good Standing Certificate (AL Certificate of Existence) is issued by the Secretary of State and is often required for loans, to renew business licenses, or for tax or other business purposes. A Certificate of Good Standing certifies that your business is in existence, authorized to transact business in Alabama and complies with all state requirements and therefore is in "Good Standing".
Our service fee includes an email copy.
Rush: 2-3 hours $65 (plus state fees)
Routine: Next business day $39 (plus state fees)
Request must be received by 2 p.m. PST. Service fee includes an email copy.
Requirements for your entity to be in Good Standing:
- Registered with the State as a domestic or foreign entity
- Filed all annual reports as required by the State
- Paid all State mandated fees and taxes
To obtain other state documents such as articles or amendments, please go to our Certified Docs page.
The SunDoc Filings Advantage
- We have processed thousands of document retrievals since 1999
- All orders received by 2 p.m. PST are processed the same day
- Most companies mail in your requests delaying results
SunDoc Filings has retrieved thousands of Good Standing Certificates since 1999. Our skilled customer service staff is always ready to help.
To Qualify an Alabama Entity in Another State:
If you need to foreign qualify an Alabama corporation or LLC may require an Alabama Good Standing Certificate (Alabama Certificate of Existence) to qualify as a "Foreign Corporation" in a state other than the home state of Alabama. Any entity is considered “Foreign” to another state and must apply for the Authority to do business in another state. To do so, each state has different qualification guidelines, most of which include a Good Standing Certificate from the home state. We can help you with any state. Click here for our Qualification page.
For multiple state projects, discounts may apply. Please call for quote.
Authentications
The Authentication Division of the Alabama Office of the Secretary of State is responsible for providing authentication services for Alabama documents that will be used in foreign countries. These documents include birth certificates, marriage certificates, statements of marital status, articles of incorporation, corporate bylaws, certificates of merger, powers of attorney, diplomas, school transcripts, deeds and ABI background checks.
There are two types of authentications. The type of authentication your Alabama document requires for foreign use is based upon the country in which the document will be used. If the country in which the document(s) will be used is party to the Hague Convention, an Apostille is affixed to documents. If the country in which the document(s) is to be used is not part of the Hague Convention, a Certification is affixed to document(s). Please note that there is a difference between Members of the Hague Conference and Parties to the Hague Convention.
Apostilles
The Apostille may be affixed to documents bearing the official signature and seal of a currently commissioned Alabama notary public, probate judge, or the current Alabama State Registrar. Please Note: All birth certificates and death certificates requiring an Apostille must bear the signature of the current Alabama State Registrar.
Certifications
The Certification may be affixed to documents bearing the official signature and seal of a currently commissioned Alabama probate judge, circuit clerk or the current Alabama State Registrar. Please note:Each notarized document requiring a Certification must have an additional county authentication of the notary commission. County authentications are issued by the office of the probate judge in the county of the notary's commission.

Information about the Certificate of Good Standing
Once the SOS office returns the document to us, we immediately scan the document and email you a copy and the original, if necessary, will follow via USPS. Our delivery time soes ot include weekend & state holidays when the state office is closed.
Reasons for obtaining a Good Standing Certificate:
- Qualifying your entity in another state
- Registering to do business in another state
- For licensing requirements for certain industries
- Obtaining a loan or line of credit