How to Form an LLC in Alaska
Alaska charges $250 to form a domestic LLC and $350 to register a foreign one, the totals printed on the Division's current forms and fee schedule, and it is also the state whose own regulation, 3 AAC 16.065(a), prints a $150 figure for the same filings. This guide carries the charged totals as the headline and discloses the regulation figure openly, the way the Delaware pages handle a similar split. After formation, Alaska runs on a two year cycle: a free Initial Report within six months, a Biennial Report at $100 due before January 2 of every second year, and a separate $50 a year state business license that is required before the company engages in business.
Alaska at a glance
Filing fee: $250 for the Articles of Organization, filed with the Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing. Recurring: A Biennial Report every two years, due before January 2 of the filing year, which follows the even or odd parity of the year the LLC was organized, at $100 domestic and $200 foreign, delinquent if not filed before February 1. A free Initial Report is due within six months of organization, and a state business license at $50 a year is required before engaging in business. Registered agent: required: every Alaska LLC must continuously maintain a registered agent and a registered office in Alaska; the agent may be an individual resident of Alaska whose business office is the same as the registered office, or a domestic or foreign corporation authorized to transact business in Alaska whose business office is the same as the registered office. Every figure on this page was checked against the Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing's, the Alaska Legislature's, and the Alaska Department of Revenue, Tax Division's official sites on November 8, 2026.
The Alaska filing steps
Check your name on the state's own search
Search the Division's records before you file. Under AS 10.50.020(a), an Alaska LLC name must contain the words "limited liability company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "LLC", with "limited" shortened to "Ltd." and "company" to "Co." if you choose. Under AS 10.50.020(b), the name of a city, borough, or village may be used, but the name may not contain the word "city", "borough", or "village" or otherwise imply the company is a municipality. Under AS 10.50.025, the name must be distinguishable on the records of the department from the name of any other organized entity and from a reserved or registered name. The regulation that implements that test, 3 AAC 16.120, treats a name as distinguishable where, among other listed tests, each name contains one or more different letters or numerals or a different sequence, a key word is different, the key words are in a different order, the spelling is creative, unusual, or artistic, or the key words have a marked difference in meaning, and as not distinguishable where the names differ only in the entity designator, punctuation or special characters, capitalization, spacing where the sequence is identical, or the presence or absence of an article, preposition, or conjunction. A search does not reserve the name. To hold one, file a Business Name Reservation, form 08-559, for $25; AS 10.50.035 reserves the name for the exclusive use of the applicant for 120 days, and a reserved name is transferable by a signed notice of transfer under AS 10.50.038.
Choose your registered agent
Alaska uses the registered agent and registered office wording. Under AS 10.50.055, an LLC shall continuously maintain in this state a registered agent and a registered office, the registered office may be the same as the office of the company, and the registered agent may be either an individual resident of this state whose business office is the same as the registered office, or a domestic or foreign corporation authorized to transact business in this state whose business office is the same as the registered office. The Division's current forms add that the agent may be a corporation, excluding an LLC, LP, or LLP, or an individual with a physical location in Alaska, and that the agent must be in Alaska and cannot be out of state. Change the agent or the office by filing a signed statement of change under AS 10.50.060, form 08-409, for $25; the change is effective when the statement is filed. An agent resigns by filing a written notice under AS 10.50.063(b), form 08-4981, for $25, and the resignation becomes effective 30 days after filing unless the company sooner appoints a successor. Under AS 10.50.065 the registered agent is the agent for service of process, and if the company fails to appoint or maintain an agent, or the agent cannot with reasonable diligence be found at the registered office, the commissioner is the company's agent for service. Registered agent information cannot be changed on a biennial report; a Statement of Change is required, and failure to maintain an agent for 30 days is a ground for involuntary dissolution.
File the Articles of Organization with the Division
File the Articles of Organization, form 08-0484 (Rev. 05/07/2026), with the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing. Alaska has no secretary of state for this filing; the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development is the filing department in AS 10.50. The form is available online and as a PDF for hardcopy filing by U.S. mail. The Division states that online filings post immediately and hardcopy processing is normally 10 to 15 business days, longer in the October to February renewal season. The fee charged is $250, the same single figure online and on paper; the current form states "Required Fees: Nonrefundable Filing Fee $250.00" and the Division's Corporation Forms and Fees page lists Articles of Organization at $250.00. One or more persons may organize an LLC under AS 10.50.070, and an organizer need not be a member, although the current form requires at least one organizer's printed name and signature. Under AS 10.50.075 the articles must state the name of the company, the purpose for which the company is organized, which may be stated to be, or to include, any or all lawful affairs for which an LLC may be organized, the mailing address of the registered office and the name of the registered agent, if applicable, that the company will be managed by a manager, and any other provision for the regulation of the internal affairs of the company that the organizers elect to include. Under AS 10.50.078 the organizers must also deliver a separate statement of the identification codes, the NAICS style codes established under AS 10.06.870, that most closely describe the activities in which the company will initially engage; on the current form this is Article 2, purpose plus the 6 digit NAICS code. No member names are required in the articles themselves. Members and owners of 5 percent or more are reported in the initial and biennial reports instead. Under AS 10.50.080 a limited liability company is organized when articles that conform to the filing requirements are delivered to the department for filing; that section ties organization to delivery, and the current form has no future effective date field.
Get an EIN from the IRS
Free, online, and takes minutes once your Alaska filing is approved. Never pay a service for this. See EIN for an LLC for the walkthrough and the one IRS rule (a real person as responsible party) that surprises people.
Write your operating agreement
Alaska's Act defines the term itself. Under AS 10.50.990(17), an "operating agreement" means a written agreement among all of the members of a limited liability company about conducting the affairs of the company. Written form is part of the Act's own definition, so do not import the oral or implied formulation used by some other states. Under AS 10.50.095 the members may adopt an operating agreement and may amend and repeal it, and the articles of organization may restrict or eliminate that power. The statute says members may adopt one; it does not impose an operating agreement as a formation filing, and the agreement is not among the contents or deliveries required by AS 10.50.075 and AS 10.50.078. Instead, AS 10.50.860(4) requires the company itself to keep, at its main office, a copy of any effective operating agreement, amendments to it, and former operating agreements. The defaults yield to the agreement throughout: members manage the company except as otherwise provided in the articles, and member management is subject to a provision in an operating agreement or the chapter limiting or increasing the members' management rights and duties under AS 10.50.110(a), deciding the company's affairs requires the consent of more than one half of all members unless otherwise provided under AS 10.50.150, and dissolution, winding up, and asset distribution all run as the agreement provides or, if it does not, as AS 10.50.400, AS 10.50.410, and AS 10.50.425 provide.
Open the business bank account and handle licenses
Bring your approved formation document and EIN letter. Then check your city and county for a general business license and your industry for state permits. Alaska's state business license is a separate, mandatory operating permission, and it comes from the Business Licensing Section of the same Division. Under AS 43.70.020, for the privilege of engaging in a business in the state, a person shall first apply for and obtain a license and pay the fee in AS 43.70.030, which is $50 a year. A license may be taken for one year at $50 or two years at $100, and all business licenses expire on December 31 of the year through which they are issued. The Articles of Organization and foreign registration forms both instruct that an entity must obtain an Alaska business license prior to engaging in business, and that depending on the type of work and location the entity may also be required to hold other licenses, registrations, or permits at the municipal, state, or federal level. The $25 rate in the sources applies only to a sole proprietorship whose proprietor is 65 or older or a disabled veteran; the Division states a partnership or an entity does not qualify for the senior discount, so an LLC budgets the full $50. The license does not by itself protect a business name, as the filing notes below explain.
Filing details that trip people up
- The $250 headline and the $150 regulation figure are both real, and this site prints both. The current Articles of Organization form, 08-0484 (Rev. 05/07/2026), states a nonrefundable filing fee of $250.00, the Corporation Forms and Fees page lists Articles of Organization at $250.00, and the foreign Certificate of Registration, form 08-0497, charges $350.00 in total. Regulation 3 AAC 16.065(a), in the Division's June 2026 compilation of the Corporations Statutes and Regulations, states the fee for a domestic LLC filing articles of organization, or a foreign LLC filing an application for registration, is $150. No official source consulted for these pages reconciles the two figures or states a clean breakdown of the difference for LLCs, so the pages carry the totals the current forms and fee schedule actually charge, $250 domestic and $350 foreign, disclose the $150 regulation figure here, on the cost page, and on the report page, and advise confirming the total at filing time.
- The Initial Report is free, and it is due within six months. AS 10.50.760(d) provides that a limited liability company shall file a report within six months after original organization, and the Division administers this as the Initial Report, also headed Initial Biennial Report on filed reports. The Corporation Forms and Fees page lists its fee as NO CHG, no charge at all; it is not a paid filing that becomes free inside a window. The current Articles of Organization instructions state it is due within 6 months to report your officers and ownership. The fee schedule lists the Initial Report under domestic LLCs only; the foreign LLC list has no initial report line.
- No publication is required to form an Alaska LLC. No step in the organization provisions, AS 10.50.070 to 10.50.095, involves publishing notice of formation, and the Division's formation form and fee schedule contain no publication step. The Act's only publication provision is optional and comes after dissolution: AS 10.50.440 lets a dissolved LLC publish a notice once in a newspaper of general circulation in the judicial district of its principal office, or its registered office if it has no principal office in the state, to bar unknown claims not brought within three years after the later of publication or the filing of articles of dissolution. It is a claims bar tool the company may use, never a formation requirement.
- Foreign LLCs pay $350, file the same biennial report at $200, and must attach a home state certificate. A foreign LLC registers on the Certificate of Registration, form 08-0497, before conducting affairs under AS 10.50.605. Under AS 10.50.615(b) the application must include proof from the jurisdiction where the company was organized that indicates the company was organized in that jurisdiction, and the current form operationalizes this as a certificate of good standing, or equivalent, attached to the application as proof of its existence. The current form states no freshness window, and this site prints none, whatever secondary guides claim in either direction. The consequences of conducting affairs unregistered are priced in the Act: under AS 10.50.675(a) the company may not maintain an action or other proceeding in a court of this state until it has registered, under AS 10.50.690 it is liable for the fees that would have been imposed had it been registered plus the penalties imposed by the chapter, and under AS 10.50.700 it faces a civil penalty of not to exceed $10,000 for each calendar year, including a partial year. Its contracts stay valid and a member or manager is not liable for the company's debts solely because of the unregistered business, under AS 10.50.675(b) and AS 10.50.715. A revoked foreign LLC cannot reinstate; it must re-file for a new Alaska Entity Number.
- Alaska has two different name systems, and only one of them gives exclusive rights. A business license under AS 43.70 issues what is called a Business Name or DBA through the Business Licensing Section, and by itself it gives no exclusive rights: the Division states a business license does not protect a business name like a Corporations Section filing does and that licensing law does not restrict the department from issuing multiple business licenses under the exact same business name. The exclusive rights registration is Business Name Registration under AS 10.35, form 08-557, filed with the Corporations Section for $25. A corresponding Alaska Business License must be obtained first, in the same name, and both the license and the registration must remain active to maintain exclusive rights. Under AS 10.35.060 the registration is effective until the close of the fifth calendar year beginning with the year of initial registration, and renewal under AS 10.35.070 is $25, filed between October 1 and December 31 of the fifth year. That five year registration is different from the 120 day LLC name reservation in the name step above and from the calendar year name registration in AS 10.50.040 to 10.50.053. Our DBA guide covers the details.
After your Alaska LLC is approved
Get the EIN, open the business bank account, and then handle the two Alaska steps that follow formation. First, file the Initial Report, free, within six months of organization, reporting officers and ownership; owners of at least a five percent interest and their percentages are part of that reporting. Second, before engaging in business, obtain the Alaska business license from the Business Licensing Section, $50 for one year or $100 for two, remembering that every license expires December 31. Set the recurring calendar next: the Biennial Report, $100 domestic, due before January 2 of the filing year on the even or odd cycle that matches the year the LLC was organized, with the filing period opening three months before the due date; the report is delinquent if not filed before February 1, and a delinquent domestic report totals $137.50 under the regulation formula set out on the report page. Keep the registered agent and registered office current with a Statement of Change for $25 whenever either changes, file a notice of change amending the biennial report before the following January 2 if a manager, or a member in a member managed company, changes during the first year of the reporting period under AS 10.50.765, and use the Change of Officials form, $25, or the Entity Address Change form, at no charge, as the event requires. Alaska has no statewide sales tax and no personal state income tax, but 107 municipalities levy a general sales tax at rates from 1 percent to 7 percent, so check the municipality where the business operates.
The full recurring picture for Alaska, with fees and due dates, is on the Alaska annual report and compliance page, and the money view is on the Alaska LLC cost page.
Alaska LLC questions
Why does the regulation say $150 when the form charges $250 to form an Alaska LLC?
Both figures come from the Division's own publications. The current form 08-0484 states a nonrefundable filing fee of $250.00 and the Corporation Forms and Fees page lists $250.00, while 3 AAC 16.065(a) in the June 2026 compilation states $150 for filing articles of organization or a foreign registration application. No official source consulted reconciles the two, so this site headlines the $250 total a filer is actually charged, discloses the $150 figure on the guide, cost, and report pages, and advises confirming the total at filing time. The foreign totals are $350 charged against the same $150 regulation figure.
When is the Alaska LLC biennial report due, and what does it cost?
Before January 2 of the filing year, under AS 10.50.760(a). A company organized or registered in an even numbered year files each even numbered year, and one organized or registered in an odd numbered year files each odd numbered year. The fee is $100 domestic and $200 foreign. The report is delinquent if not filed before February 1, and a delinquent domestic report totals $137.50. Before any of that, a free Initial Report is due within six months of organization. See the Alaska report page.
What happens if an Alaska LLC is involuntarily dissolved, and what does reinstatement cost?
Under AS 10.50.408 the commissioner may involuntarily dissolve a company that is delinquent six months in filing its biennial report or paying a fee or penalty, that fails for 30 days to appoint and maintain a registered agent or to file a required statement of change, or that made a misrepresentation of material facts, after written notice and 60 days to contest or correct. Reinstatement is available within two years of the certificate of involuntary dissolution under AS 10.50.408(e). There is no flat reinstatement fee in the statute. The statutory cost is double the amount delinquent, along with the amount the company would have paid had it not been dissolved during the two year period, and reinstatement may not be authorized if the name is no longer distinguishable unless the articles are amended to change it. After two years the company cannot reinstate and must re-file for a new Alaska Entity Number. A revoked foreign LLC cannot reinstate at all.
Does an Alaska LLC file a BOI report?
No. US-formed companies are exempt under the federal final rule of August 14, 2026. See the BOI tracker.
General Information Only
LLCForming publishes general information about forming and running an LLC. It is not legal, tax, or accounting advice, and it does not create an attorney or advisor relationship. Rules vary by state and by your situation. For a decision that matters, talk to a licensed attorney or tax professional in your state.