How to form an LLC in Alaska (2026)

What are the steps to form an LLC in Alaska?

Every state filing for an Alaska LLC, from the name reservation to the biennial report, goes to the Division of Corporations. The list gives each step with its form and fee.

1. Check that your LLC name is available with the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing (Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development). You can reserve a name for $25 for 120 days.
2. Name a registered agent in Alaska: a person or company with an Alaska address who accepts legal papers for the LLC.
3. File the Articles of Organization, Domestic Limited Liability Company (Form 08-0484) with the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing (Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development). The state fee is $250. Filing methods: Online or by U.S. mail (not by email).
4. Wait for approval: Paper (hardcopy) filings normally 10 to 15 business days; longer during biennial report periods (April-June, October-December).
5. Recurring filing: Biennial Report (every two years, due January 2), fee $100.

The list leaves out one Alaska filing. An initial report is due within 6 months of formation, to report officers and/or ownership, and it costs nothing (no fee, filed online).²

The Alaska sources we cite name no newspaper publication step and no franchise tax, so the only recurring state fee this page can show is the biennial report. To pick a formation service instead of filing alone, the Alaska LLC services list shows every provider's total here with the state fee added.

How do you check and reserve an Alaska LLC name?

Search the Division's business name records before filing. If you need time, reserve the name on form 08-559 for $25, which holds it for 120 days. The reservation is filed online or by PDF, and the filing fee is nonrefundable.⁵

Reserving is optional. It makes sense when members are still deciding, or when the Articles won't be ready for a while and the name is one you'd hate to lose.

Who can serve as registered agent for an Alaska LLC?

Under AS 10.50.055, the agent may be 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. Either way, the agent's business office must be the registered office itself.⁶

That rule ties the agent to a physical office in Alaska. A member who lives in Anchorage or Fairbanks and works from an office there can name themselves. An owner living outside Alaska can't, so the agent has to be another Alaska resident or a corporation authorized to do business in the state.

A paid agent service lists its own Alaska office as the registered office. Northwest Registered Agent lists its agent service at $125 per year; Bizee (formerly Incfile) includes a year of agent service with formation (Free first year with any Bizee formation package); and Inc Authority offers the agent free for the first year with LLC formation, then renews at $249/year. The registered agent included list and the registered agent explainer cover the trade-offs of serving yourself.^{7, 8, 9, 10}

How do you file Alaska's Articles of Organization, and how long does approval take?

File the Articles online through the Division's website or by U.S. mail, not by email. Review of a paper filing is normally 10-15 business days. There is no published time for online filings.^{1, 3}

The form cites AS 10.50.075, and the $250 fee is the same whichever way you send it.¹

Timing also depends on the season. The Division says paper review runs longer during biennial report periods (April-June, October-December), and the Articles PDF adds that paper submissions may take up to 3 weeks from receipt. The state doesn't publish a paid expedite option in the sources we cite.³

A formation service's stated speed covers its own preparation and submission. It does not shorten the state's review. The LLC timeline guide separates those two waits, and the fastest stated filing list compares providers on their published times.

What does an Alaska LLC cost in the first and second year?

Year one costs the $250 filing fee plus any plan price. Across years one and two the LLC also pays one $100 biennial report, so the second-year column below adds that fee to each plan's renewal.^{1, 3}

Rows follow our rating, highest first, and ties keep the editorial order set out in how we rate.

First year: state filing fee plus the provider's compared plan. Second year: the recurring state fee plus the plan's renewal, if it renews.

Totals are our arithmetic on the published figures. Registered agent renewals are extra unless a plan includes the agent. Try other plans in the calculator.

The timing of that biennial fee depends on the year you form. Due in January of even years if the LLC first filed in an even year, odd years if odd. The first report therefore falls in the next matching January after formation, inside the LLC's second year, which is why the second-year column carries one fee.⁴

At the low end, Inc Authority Free LLC totals $250 in the first year, the state fee alone, and $100 in the second. That second figure leaves out its registered agent, which renews at $249/year after the free year. At the top of our rating, Tailor Brands Elite comes to $499 and then $349, because the plan bills yearly; that plan lists mandatory report filing. The Tailor Brands profile and Inc Authority's pricing page show what else each plan carries.^{10, 11}

The cost calculator works out your own mix, and the cheapest services list and national LLC cost guide put Alaska in context.

What does an Alaska LLC file after it is formed?

Two filings follow approval. The initial report is due within 6 months of formation and is free; then a biennial report costs $100 and is due by January 2 every other year.^{2, 3, 4}

Each biennial report updates the LLC's officials/ownership (members/managers), and NAICS can be updated on it as well. Agent changes cannot be made on the biennial report.^{2, 12}

A late report costs more. The Division says reports marked after February 1st incur late fee penalties, and the domestic LLC fee becomes $137.50 on or after February 2. Six months' delinquency on the biennial report is also a ground for involuntary dissolution.^{2, 4}

For reinstatement there is no flat fee published. The LLC cures the default and pays double the delinquent amount plus what would have been due, and reinstatement is available only within 2 years of involuntary dissolution.¹³

Services handle these reports in different ways. LegalZoom lists a Compliance Filings subscription covering initial report filing and auto-filing of annual reports, which starts at $199/year. Northwest Registered Agent charges $100 + state fees for each annual report it files, and ZenBusiness lists Annual Report Filing $100 per report. None of the three says how its price works for a report Alaska requires only every other year, so ask before paying. The annual report guide and package contents guide explain filings versus reminders.^{14, 15, 16}

How do you change an Alaska registered agent?

File the Statement of Change (Form 08-409) with the Division and pay $25. Paper (PDF) filing only, so it can't be done online.¹²

Sequence counts here. The commissioner may dissolve an LLC when the company has failed for 30 days to appoint and maintain a registered agent in the state, so file the form before ending the old service. Missing a deadline on the change itself is a risk too. Failing to file a change of registered office or agent within 30 days is a separate ground.¹³

An agent may also quit. It files a written notice with the department, which mails a copy to the LLC. The resignation is effective 30 days after filing (or earlier if a successor agent is appointed), and the LLC can name a successor in that time with a Statement of Change.¹⁷

What if your LLC was formed in another state?

An LLC formed elsewhere registers in Alaska with a Certificate of Registration (Form 08-0497) for $350, with online filing also offered.¹⁸

Registering an existing LLC costs more than forming a new Alaska one at $250. Which route fits depends on where the work happens and how the company is taxed, so it's a question for an accountant or lawyer. The foreign LLC guide covers the choice, and the state fees table compares Alaska with Washington and Hawaii.¹