Register Your Alaska Foreign Corporation
An Alaska foreign corporation is a corporation that is registered to do business in Alaska but was originally incorporated in a different state/territory. You can register your corporation as an Alaska foreign corporation by filing the Alaska Foreign Business Corporation Certificate of Authority with the Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing. This costs $350 to file.
You can register directly with Alaska State. If you’d rather avoid the paperwork, we can handle it for you.
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GET STARTEDHow to Register as a Foreign Corporation in Alaska
Foreign qualification is the process of registering your business in a state other than the one you originally formed your company in. This lets you register to do business in as many states as you’d like without having to start a new company each time.
Starting a new business can sometimes feel easier because it’s typically just one paper you file with the government. However, registering as a foreign business is often much easier because you get to skip steps like creating corporate bylaws registering for an EIN.
Below are the steps for registering as an Alaska foreign corporation.
1. Name Your Alaska Corporation
Before you can register to do business in Alaska, you need to register your business name. Unfortunately, just because you have it registered in your home state doesn’t mean it will be available in Alaska. First, conduct a free business name search to make sure your name is available.
Then you will need to file the Foreign Corporation Name Registration. This registers your business name for one calendar year, after which you will need to file the Foreign Corporation Name Renewal to keep your business name. It costs $25 each year.
Both the original and the renewal form requires a certificate of good standing from your home state.
2. Designate a Registered Agent
An Alaska Registered Agent is a person or business that accepts legal mail, like service of processes, on behalf of your business. Because a registered agent must be physically located in the state during regular business hours, you can only be your own registered agent in one state.
Luckily, we’ve got registered agent service nationwide. That means no matter where your business expands to, we’ve got you covered. Plus, after five states, you get a discount.
3. Start your Business Identity
Once your business is legal in the new state, you’ll want to be ready to make sales. Forming your business identity, or the way you present yourself to your potential clients, can prepare customers for your upcoming products and services.
Maybe you’ve never started getting your business out there. Now’s a great chance to start a business website or get a custom business email address.
Maybe you already have a digital presence, but now you want to make it easier for out-of-state people to find you, and start building awareness and a trustworthy reputation in your new territory. Consider getting a phone service that has the local area code or a local business address to use on documents where possible. Either way, make sure your business has a way to market itself in the new state, especially if you are not opening a brick-and-mortar.
4. Submit Alaska Certificate of Authority
You must file the Alaska Foreign Business Corporation Certificate of Authority in order to be registered as a foreign corporation in Alaska. The fee is $350.
You will need to include:
- Legal name of the corporation
- Assumed name if it is different than the legal name in the business’ home state
- Home state
- Date of original incorporation
- Duration (or life expectancy of the company)
- Disclosure of Corporate Purposes
- Registered Agent information
- Principal office address
- Alien affiliate (or the name and address of any undocumented workers within the company)
- Authorized shares
- Issued shares
- Names, addresses, and authorized shares of shareholders with 5% ownership or more
- Names and addresses of officers and directors
- Signatures of the president/vice president and their secretary/assistant secretary. Two individuals must sign unless one person holds all four roles.
Online filings are processed immediately. Paper filings will be processed in between 10-15 business days. (During October through February, this number may be higher, meaning over three weeks processing time.)
Online:
Alaska Online Foreign Registration Portal
By mail:
State of Alaska, Corporations Section, PO Box 110806, Juneau, AK 99811-0806
5. Receive Alaska Certificate of Authority Verification
Online filings are processed and verified immediately. Paper filings typically take 15 business days. You will receive a copy of your filed document with a date stamp on it, as well as a certificate confirming your registration by mail.
6. File Alaska Reports and Taxes
All Alaska foreign corporations need to file a biennial report due every two years on January 2nd (for-profit corporations) or July 2nd (non-profit corporations). The two year clock starts when your business is registered in Alaska.
Alaska foreign corporations will also need to file taxes in Alaska (as well as their home state and any other state they are registered to do business in.) Luckily, Alaska has no statewide sales tax. Local sales tax typically averages 1.82%. The corporate income tax ranges from 0 to 9.4% depending on your business.
Northwest Can Register Your Alaska Foreign Corporation
If doing things on your own sounds overwhelming, boring, or generally like not a good use of your time, we’re ready to help. Our foreign qualification package is $225 + state fees. This includes:
- Registering your business as an Alaska Foreign Corporation. We’ll file your paperwork and let you know when it’s approved.
- Serving as your business’ Alaska Registered Agent. We can be your RA in as many states as you want to expand into.
- Launching your business identity. We’ll get you a digital presence, including a business email address, phone service, and mail forwarding. Plus, we’ll put together a custom website with a domain, web hosting, and security in place. These will all be free for 90 days. After that, most services are $9/month.
- Sending reminders for your Alaska annual report. We can even file this for you. We’ll send you a reminder about the report 90 days before they’re due, and you can either have us file for you or opt out of the service.
Alaska Foreign Corporation FAQs
You can file an Alaska Certificate of Authority Amendment for $25.
Check out Alaska’s list of potential foreign corporation business filings.
There is no hard-and-fast rule about what counts as doing business in Alaska. That said, generally if you are providing services or products in exchange for money, that is conducting business.
For more information, check out our resource on what it means to do business in another state.
No.
You need at least two signatures. These can come from the president, the vice president, or one of htier secretaries/assistant secretaries. At least two different people need to sign, unless only one person holds all four roles.
You will need to include the number of business and cooperative corporation shares. You’ll also need to include the names and addresses of the offices, directors, and shareholders with 5% or more ownership.
We’d love to register your foreign corporation in Alaska! Our foreign qualification package is $225 + state fees. You can add other services, such as a local phone number or secure website, for a free trial.