STATE OF ALABAMA 
APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATE OF EXISTENCE 
OF REGISTERED ENTITIES 

PURPOSE:  oTrequest a Certificate of Existence for an entity indexed or registered by the Office of the Alabama 
Secretary of State. Only one entity’s certificate can be ordered on this form. Use a separate form for each separate Entity 
Identification (ID) Number. 

This is not a Certificate of Compliance (Good Standing) request. That document is issued by the Alabama Department of 
Revenue and can be ordered on their website at https://www.alabamainteractive.org/ador_tax_compliance/ elcome.actionw          . 

INSTRUCTIONS:      Mail 2 copies of this completed form along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: 
*Secretary of State, Business Services, P.O. Box 5616, Montgomery, Alabama 36103.
*Include a check, money order, or credit card payment for the $25.00 processing fee.
*Your filing will not be indexed if the credit/debit card does not authorize and will be removed from the index if the check is
dishonored ($30 fee).

                      This form must be typed and will not be accepted via email. 

1. Alabama Entity ID Number (Format: 000-000-000):           000       -    -          TO OBTAIN ID NUMBER, 
   go to our website at www.sos.alabama.gov, click on Business Services (below picture), click on Business Entity and 
   Name Search, click on Entity Name, enter the name of the entity in the appropriate box, and enter. Click on the 
   number and verify that this is the correct entity. This step is strongly recommended.

2. The name of the entity as registered with the Secretary of State of Alabama:

   _______________________________________________________________________________________

3. The certificate of existence is to be forwarded to: (Name )

   Mailing Address/Standard USPS (If the certificate is to be held for pick-up, typeHOLD FOR PICK-UP. )
   Certificates will not be returned via email since they are available online. 

   All documents are mailed standard USPS unless envelopes with special postage or overnight courier envelopes 
   are included with the request.  Any overnight courier envelopes must have a completed air bill with the billing 
   information completed with no reference to the Secretary of State’s Office address and clearly marked “bill 
   recipient.” Air bills showing SOS address will be discarded and regular USPS will be used. 

                                                                                           (For SOS Use Only) 

Application for COE – 1/2022                                 Page 1 of 2 

APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATE OF EXISTENCE OF REGISTERED ENTITIES 

Credit Card Payment Option:  

Card Type:               (Visa, MC, Discover & AmEx) 

Card Number:                                                      Expiration Mo/Yr:                 / 

Card Holder Name: 

Complete Billing Address: 
                            Street or PO Box                      City                      State               Zip 

Signature of Card Holder: 
                                                   MUST be Signature of Card Holder 

Prepaid Account Option: 

Name of Account:                                                  Acct. Number: 

Authorized Signature: 
                                      Signature of Authorized Individual on Account 

                                      FEES & DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS 

Standard Processing: The fee is $25.00 for all entity types. All applications will be processed within 24 - 48 hours of 
receipt.

Immediate Processing: You may acquire a Certificate of Existence online at www.sos.alabama.gov.                    Click on
Business Services (under picture), crollsdown to Certificate of Existence. The online service must be paid by credit
card and is $28.00 with immediate processing (printed        from  your  printer – the certificate bears the seal and an 
authentication number on the face of the document and prints with gold accents on a color printer). 

Mailing Address: 
You may mail your request to the Office of the Alabama Secretary of State, Business Services Division/ Business Entities 
at PO Box 5616, Montgomery, Alabama 36103-5616. You may use this form to use your Credit Card or prepaid account, 
or enclose a check or money order for payment of the fees. If you need a receipt that your request application was received 
you will need to use a courier service or certified/registered mail, requiring a signature. 

The overnight courier address is Office of the Alabama Secretary of State, Business Services Division/ Business Entities, 
RSA Plaza Building, 770 Washington Avenue, Suite 580, Montgomery, Alabama, 36104.  Please use this address only for 
courier, the PO Box address is a more secure method of delivery for regular mail.   

Applications for Certificate of Existence are only accepted via mail, courier, or electronic online processing. Telephone or 
email applications will not be processed.

Application for COE – 1/2022                                                                          Page 2 of 2