How to start an LLC in Alaska

How much does it cost to start an LLC in Alaska?

The Articles of Organization cost $250 whether filed online or on the paper form, and the fee is not refundable. The Division's fee schedule offers no expedited service for LLC Articles; an online filing with no optional provisions posts immediately anyway. Adding optional provisions sends an online filing to an examiner, and standard processing of 10 to 15 business days then applies at no extra charge. The state's published regulation still lists the Articles fee as $150, but the current form and fee schedule both charge $250, and $250 is what you pay.

Sources: Alaska filing fee and Alaska filing office, reviewed September 24, 2026.

What are the steps to form an LLC in Alaska?

You file online through the Corporations Section's online filing forms. Alaska does not give its filing system a brand name. The Corporations Section's forms page offers an online option next to a paper form for each filing, and online filings post immediately once paid by credit card. The online Articles of Organization form opens without a sign-in; the only step after it is card payment. Paper filings go by U.S. mail only, never by email, and the Division quotes 10 to 15 business days from March through September and longer from October through February. The Division's Corporations page warns that its Anchorage office may close without notice because of staffing problems and asks people to email [email protected] with questions instead of visiting.

1. Search the proposed name. Free. What you need: A name or keyword to check against every entity name, reservation and registration already on file with the Corporations Section.

   What you get: A list of existing names, so you can judge whether yours is distinguishable before you pay for anything. How long it takes: Instant

   Alaska's test is whether the name is distinguishable on the state's records. Names that differ only by an entity ending such as LLC or Company, by punctuation or capitalization, by spacing, or by a small word such as the, a, and or for count as the same name. The online Articles form checks availability again and flags a conflict before you pay.

   Where to do this

2. Reserve the name, if you are not ready to file yet. Costs $25. What you need: The exact name you want to hold, entered without LLC or any other entity ending.

   What you get: A Certificate of Reservation that gives you the exclusive use of the name for 120 days. How long it takes: Most online filings post immediately; 10 to 15 business days by mail

   This step is optional, and the $25 fee is not refundable. Filing the Articles registers the name automatically, so a reservation only helps if you need to wait. If you reserve and then want to form the LLC before the 120 days run out, the Division asks you to mail a signed notice cancelling the reservation together with a paper filing of the Articles, which means paper processing times instead of an instant online filing.

   Where to do this

3. File the Articles of Organization. Costs $250. What you need: The LLC's name with an approved ending, its purpose (which can simply be any lawful purpose), the 6-digit NAICS code for its main activity, a registered agent in Alaska with both a physical and a mailing address in the state, whether the LLC is managed by its members or by managers, any optional provisions, and the name and signature of at least one organizer. The online form also asks for the LLC's own mailing and physical address, which may be outside Alaska. The registered agent must be an Alaska resident or a corporation, and cannot be an LLC, LP or LLP.

   What you get: Filed Articles of Organization and an Alaska Entity Number, the LLC's permanent ID in the state system. How long it takes: Immediate online with no optional provisions; 10 to 15 business days online with optional provisions; up to 3 weeks by mail, longer from October through February

   You do not need to live in Alaska to form an Alaska LLC. You may use the state's form or submit your own articles that meet the statute. Once an online filing posts it is a permanent record, and correcting a mistake can mean a further form and fee.

   Where to do this

4. File the Initial Report. Free. What you need: The names and addresses of the LLC's members, or of its managers if it is manager-managed, and the name, address and percentage held by each person who owns 5 percent or more.

   What you get: The LLC's ownership and management on the state's record, which the Division says keeps the entity from being marked non-compliant. How long it takes: Posts immediately online

   This free report is due within six months of the date the LLC was formed. It applies to LLCs formed in Alaska, not to out-of-state LLCs registering here. The law ties the deadline to the Division sending the form, and its FAQ says an Initial Report may be due, but the instructions printed on the Articles form say it is due within six months.

   Where to do this

5. Apply for the Alaska Business License. Costs $50. What you need: The business name you will operate and advertise under, mailing and physical addresses, the LLC's legal name and Alaska Entity Number as owner, up to ten 6-digit NAICS codes, whether you will sell tobacco or nicotine products or offer telemedicine, and a one-year or two-year term.

   What you get: An Alaska Business License, which every business engaging in a trade, service, profession or other business activity in the state must hold, separate from the LLC's registration with the Corporations Section. How long it takes: Immediate online; by mail up to 3 weeks from March through September and longer from October through February

   A one-year license costs $50 and a two-year license $100. It expires on December 31, not on the anniversary of issue, and the fee is not prorated. The LLC must already exist and be in good standing with the Corporations Section, so file the Articles first. Each business name you trade under needs its own license. The sole-proprietor discounts do not apply to an LLC, and there is no expedited service.

   Where to do this

6. Get a federal EIN from the IRS. Free. What you need: The type of business entity and the Social Security number or individual taxpayer ID number of the responsible party who controls the LLC.

   What you get: An Employer Identification Number, issued immediately online if the application is approved. How long it takes: Minutes, during the online tool's hours

   This is a federal step, not an Alaska one, and the IRS never charges for it. The online tool runs on set hours (Eastern Time), and each responsible party can get one EIN per day.

   Where to do this

What does an LLC name need to include in Alaska?

The name must include one of these: Limited Liability Company, L.L.C., LLC, Ltd. Liability Co., Limited Liability Co., Ltd. Liability Company. The name may include the name of a city, borough or village but may not contain the word city, borough or village or otherwise suggest the company is a municipality. The Division also refuses names that mislead about the company's purpose, vulgar names, and slogans or internet domain names used as a business name. Check a name with the Alaska name search.

What is due after you form an LLC in Alaska?

Initial Report. Free, and filed online. It records the members or managers and every owner of 5 percent or more. See the filing step above. Source.

IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN). The IRS never charges for an EIN, so sites that charge a fee are not the IRS. The online application must be finished in one sitting and times out after 15 minutes of inactivity. Source.

Alaska Business License renewal. Renewal costs $50 for one year or $100 for two. The first renewal is not prorated, so a license bought in, say, September covers only a few months before the first $50 renewal. A license that has been expired for more than two years cannot be renewed and must be applied for again. The LLC must be in good standing with the Corporations Section to renew. Source.

Biennial Report. A report filed or postmarked on or before February 1 costs $100. From February 2 the fee is $137.50, because the regulation adds a $25 late charge for each year or part of a year the report is late plus 10 percent of that total. An LLC that is six months behind on its report or fees can be involuntarily dissolved after the state mails it notice, and reinstatement costs double the amount owed. Source.

State tax registration if you hire or sell into Alaska. Alaska has no individual income tax, so there is no state income tax withholding, and no state sales tax. Registration details and rates are in this site's Alaska state tax and employer data. Source.

Federal beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting. U.S. companies have been exempt since FinCEN's interim final rule of March 2025. FinCEN made that exemption permanent in a final rule issued August 11, 2026, which took effect August 14, 2026. Only certain companies formed outside the United States and registered to do business here still report. This rule has changed several times, so check FinCEN again before relying on it later. Source.

Local borough or city licenses and taxes. Alaska has no statewide sales tax, so local sales taxes and any local business licenses or permits are set by the city or borough where you operate; check with that local government. Source.

Where is the official Alaska guidance wrong or incomplete?

Official help pages are often the last thing an agency updates. Where one disagrees with the statute or the current form, the statute or form is what applies.

• The Articles of Organization fee differs between the state's regulation and its own form. The regulation on 3 AAC 16.065(a), as published by the Legislature, sets the fee at $150, while the current Articles form (revised May 7, 2026) and the Division's fee schedule charge $250. The $250 on the current form is what a founder pays, and matches what this site already publishes. Source.
• The Biennial Report due date is worded differently in the law and in the Division's FAQ. The statute says the report is due before January 2 and delinquent if not filed before February 1, and accepts a report mailed on or before February 1. The FAQ calls January 2 the due date, says reports postmarked after February 1 are late, and prices the late fee from February 2. The FAQ's two sentences agree with each other and with the late-charge regulation: the late fee starts with reports filed or postmarked after February 1. Source.
• The Division describes the Initial Report three ways. The statute requires it within six months of formation once the Division sends the form, the Biennial Report FAQ says an Initial Report may be due within six months, and the instructions on the current Articles form say it is due within six months. The form states the six-month deadline without conditions. Source.
• Paper processing times differ across the Division's own pages: the forms and fees page quotes 10 to 15 business days with delays in April to June and October to December, the LLC online filing page quotes 10 to 15 business days from March to September and over 15 from October to February, and the current Articles form says up to 3 weeks with delays from October to February. Source.

What else trips people up when forming an LLC in Alaska?

Forming an Alaska LLC involves three separate registrations with the same Division that are easy to mistake for one: the Articles of Organization with the Corporations Section, the free Initial Report within six months, and a separate Alaska Business License from the Business Licensing Section, which every operating business needs whatever its structure. The Articles form itself reminds you that a business license is needed before doing business. Alaska has no individual income tax and no state sales tax, but hiring brings unemployment insurance, workers' compensation and new hire reporting, and remote sales into local taxing areas go through the Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission, both covered in this site's Alaska tax and employer data.

Does Alaska have a franchise tax on an LLC?

No. Alaska does not impose a franchise tax on limited liability companies.

How is an LLC taxed in Alaska?

By default, an LLC is a pass-through entity: it pays no income tax itself, and the profits flow to the owners' personal returns. Alaska has no state individual income tax, so those pass-through profits face no state income tax, only federal tax. That is one reason Alaska is a popular state to form in.

An LLC can also elect to be taxed as an S-corp, which changes how owners pay self-employment tax. See LLC vs S-corp vs sole proprietorship and how self-employment tax works.