Alabama charitable solicitation registration

Ala. Code section 13A-9-71 reaches a nonexempt charitable organization that is physically located in Alabama, intends to solicit contributions in or from Alabama, or will have contributions solicited there on its behalf by another charity, paid solicitor, or commercial co-venturer. Review donation pages, email and direct-mail audiences, grants, events, peer-to-peer tools, chapters, and vendor campaigns before the first appeal. Do not reduce that review to the location of the organization’s headquarters.

Test the statutory exemptions against actual facts. The Attorney General lists categories for religious, educational, political, membership, and other organizations, plus a small-charity route generally tied to no more than $25,000 of contributions and unpaid fundraising functions. The threshold route also has a 30-day registration consequence after contributions exceed $25,000. Use the current exemption application when an exemption is claimed rather than relying on federal recognition alone.

Freeze the legal name, solicitation names, business and mailing addresses, record custodian, Alabama offices, formation jurisdiction and date, fiscal year end, federal tax status, purposes, intended use of contributions, officers, directors, trustees, executives, prior injunction or registration history, other-state activity, and any professional fundraiser or commercial co-venturer. The current registration form asks for these items, and mismatches can make a valid organization difficult to connect to its state record.

Map each local division with authority to disburse funds instead of assuming a parent filing automatically covers it. Confirm who will sign, who controls the portal account, and who owns corrections. If fundraising vendors are involved, identify the charity’s filing separately from the vendor’s registration, bond, contract filing, and campaign duties.

The statute and current form call for the registration statement plus organizing records such as the charter, articles, association agreement, trust instrument, constitution or other organizing instrument, bylaws, and evidence of tax-exempt status as applicable. The form also requests the board roster and contact information. Create an attachment index, use the exact legal record versions, and explain any document that does not apply instead of substituting an unrelated item.

The Attorney General lists a $25 initial fee and now offers an online initial filing route. Recheck the live page at filing time for the current portal, payment method, form version, signature or certification step, and any upload limits. Save the completed answers, attachments, payment receipt, submission confirmation, and the source instructions used. A payment confirmation is not the same as a searchable accepted registration.

A Donate button, national landing page, social campaign, or peer-to-peer appeal can reach Alabama even when no employee is located there. Inventory who receives the contribution, who controls the message, where donors are targeted, and whether a paid fundraiser or commercial co-venturer acts on the charity’s behalf. Apply the statutory trigger and exemption facts to the real campaign; do not state that every passive webpage automatically produces the same result.

Before launch, align campaign names and descriptions with the registration file, validate required vendor records, and preserve the approved fundraising copy and start date. If the organization changes a required registration fact, Alabama says to notify the Attorney General within 10 days. A campaign-change checklist prevents a new trade name, address, vendor, or purpose from drifting away from the state record.

Use the Attorney General’s business lookup to search the exact legal name and reasonable variants. Record the registration number, displayed dates or status signals, and the date checked. If the lookup is absent or inconsistent, reconcile the original submission before creating a second record. Keep written agency guidance with the filing file and describe the result cautiously as a status signal rather than state endorsement.

Alabama requires the annual report within 90 days after fiscal year close, accompanied by a $25 fee and either Form 990 or the prescribed written financial report. Calendar that obligation from the verified fiscal year, assign a record owner, and preserve the portal credentials. Also calendar the 10-day change-reporting rule so the initial filing remains usable throughout the year.