Consumer Charities

Alabama law requires that organizations and institutions that solicit contributions in or from this state register with the Attorney General's Office.

Organizations may download the Registration Form or the Renewal Form below. The forms are in Adobe Acrobat format. Also available is a "fill-in" form. This form allows a person to type in the information using the Acrobat Reader. Once the information is typed in, it can be printed and mailed in.

Please note forms are currently being updated and replaced on this page; therefore, not all fillable versions are yet available; however, manual fill-in forms are current. As the various forms become available, their respective links will become active again.

Alabama law governing charity registration is found in Alabama Code Sections 13A-9-70 through -84 (opens in a new window).

Exemptions are granted in the law for the following institutions and organizations:

• Educational institutions and their authorized related foundations.
• Religious organizations.
• Political organizations.
• Fraternal, patriotic, benevolent, social, educational, alumni, health care foundation, historical and civil rights organizations; including fraternities and sororities and any auxilliaries associated with any such organization.
• Civic leagues and civic organizations which solicit solely from their own membership.
• Persons requesting any contributions for the relief of any individual, specified by name at the time of the solicitation, if all of the contributions collected do not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and, without any deductions, are turned over to the named beneficiary.
• Any charitable organization which does not intend to solicit and receive and does not actually receive contributions in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars($25,000) during a fiscal year of the organization, provided all of its fundraising functions are carried on by persons who are not paid for such services. If the gross contributions received by a charitable organization during any fiscal year of that organization are in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), within 30 days after the date it receives total contributions in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), the charitable organization shall register with the Attorney General as required by this section.
• Any charitable organization receiving an allocation from an incorporated community chest or united fund, provided all of the following requirements have been met: (1) the chest or fund is complying with this section relating to registration and filing of annual reports with the Attorney General, (2) the charitable organization does not actually receive, in addition to an allocation, contributions in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) during the fiscal year, (3) all of the fundraising functions of the charitable organization are carried on by persons who are not paid for such services. If the gross contributions other than the allocation received by the charitable organization during any fiscal year of the charitable organization are in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), the charitable organization shall within 30 days after the date it receives the contributions in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), register with the Attorney General as required by this section.
• A local post, camp, chapter, or similarly designated element or a county unit of such elements of a bona fide veterans organization, which issues charters to local elements throughout this state, or a bona fide organization of volunteer firefighters, ambulance companies, or rescue squads, or a bona fide auxiliary or affiliate of such organizations, provided all of its fundraising activities are carried on by members of the organization, family members of the members of the organization, volunteers, or an affiliate of the organizations and the members receive no compensation, directly or indirectly, therefor.

There is an initial and annual fee of $25 for registering. An organization may make checks payable to "Office of the Attorney General." Registration is good indefinitely, but financial reports must be filed annually, due within 90 days of the close of the fiscal year.

The organization must notify the Attorney General within 90 days of any change in the information required to be furnished at the time or registration.

For more information, please contact Rhonda Barber at 1-800-392-5658 or 334-242-7335.

Please note that Alabama accepts the Unified Registration Statement for nonprofit organizations. You may also download this registration kit here.

Please note forms are currently being updated and replaced on this page; therefore, not all fillable versions are yet available; however, manual fill-in forms are current. As the various forms become available, their respective links will become active again.