Colbert County on Monday officially became the eighth county in the state of Alabama to allow online business filings for the formation of domestic limited liability companies and domestic for-profit business corporations.

Secretary of State John Merrill’s office made the announcement in a press release. Merrill’s office has worked in coordination with the office of Colbert County Probate Judge Daniel Rosser to provide this service to the people of the county.

In a statement, Merrill said, “Judge Daniel Rosser is one of the leaders of innovative solutions throughout the state, and I commend him for his hard work.”

“This service is offered at no cost to Alabama’s 67 counties as a courtesy of the Secretary of State’s Office. I encourage other counties across the state to begin offering this opportunity to residents. My office is eager and willing to create more opportunities for business owners in Alabama!” the secretary of state advised.

The online filing process is now available for citizens of Baldwin, Elmore, Jackson, Madison, Montgomery, Morgan and Tuscaloosa counties.

Prior to Merrill taking office, the business filing process could take up to seven months. Merrill quickly set out to make the process work for businesses and not “move at the speed of government,” as he likes to say.

His efforts have been successful, as his office in June celebrated three consecutive years of same day business filings. Additionally, with the option to file online, the wait time is shorter than ever in participating counties.

“I am proud of the results that have been consistently produced by our office. At the Office of the Secretary of State, we will continue to do all that we can to help families and businesses grow and be successful,” Merrill concluded.

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn