Start an LLC in Alaska
Use our free business tools below to complete your Alaska LLC Articles of Organization. This is the form you file directly with the Alaska Division of Corporations to form your LLC.
If you want more, hire us to form your LLC in Alaska for just $39 + state fees. We’ll get your business stood up in minutes with a free domain, website, email, business phone, and more.
How to Start an LLC in Alaska
It only takes three steps to create an Alaska LLC: choose a business name, select a registered agent, and file a form called the Articles of Organization. After filing your paperwork, your business is officially formed, but your work isn’t done yet.
We’ve broken out all the steps you need to take to start and grow your LLC in Alaska.
1. Name Your LLC
Alaska outlines the specifics of choosing your LLC’s name in AK Stat § 10.50.020. Your LLC’s name must:
- Include either “Limited Liability Company,” “L.L.C.,” “LLC,” “Ltd.,” or “Co.”
- Not suggest your LLC is another kind of business by including words like “corp” or “limited partnership.”
- Not include words that imply the company is a municipality (like “city” or “village”).
- Be unique among registered businesses in Alaska.
Curious on if your name is unique and available? You check your Alaska LLC’s name availability through Alaska’s entity name search. You can reserve your LLC name in Alaska for 120 days by filing the Business Name Reservation form and paying the $25 fee. You may renew your reservation twice.
It costs $25 to get a DBA in Alaska. A DBA (doing business as) allows you to use a different name than your legal LLC name. To get a DBA in Alaska, you’ll file the New Business Name Registration form.
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2. Designate a Registered Agent
A registered agent is someone (individual, company, or yourself) you designate to accept state and legal paperwork on your business’s behalf. LLCs in Alaska are required to have a registered agent.
The duties of a registered agent in Alaska are covered in AK Stat § 10.06.150. They must:
- Have a physical address (no PO boxes or virtual offices) in the state.
- Keep regular business hours.
- Accept correspondence from the State of Alaska and legal mail on behalf of your business.
You will need to list the name and address of your registered agent on your Articles of Organization.
Yes. You can be your own registered agent in Alaska, but keep in mind your name and address will go on the public record. You’ll also have to be available to receive state and legal mail in person by keeping regular business hours. Not something many business owners can do.
You can change your registered agent in Alaska by filing the Statement of Change form for Domestic LLCs and paying a $25 fee.
3. Submit Alaska LLC Articles of Organization
To officially form your Alaska LLC, you’ll need to submit the Alaska LLC Articles of Organization to the Division of Corporations either online, by mail, or in person with a $250 filing fee.
You’ll provide the following information:
- Company name. Include an indicator like “LLC.”
- Purpose. Briefly describe the activities of the company.
- NAICS code. This code classifies your type of business. Find out your code using the Alaska NAICS Code page.
- Registered agent. This is a person or company designated to accept service of process on behalf of your LLC.
- Management structure. Indicate whether your LLC will be managed by members or managers.
- Optional provisions. Additional arrangements or restrictions you’d like to add go here. For example: LLC duration or restrictions on authority of management.
- Organizer. The name of the person or entity preparing and signing the document.
- Contact name and phone number. If the state has a question about your filing, they will reach out to this person.
Note: All of the information on this form will become part of the public record.
You can submit your articles online, by mail, or in person.
Mail:
State of Alaska
Corporations Section
PO Box 110806
Juneau, AK 99811-0806
In Person:
333 Willoughby AVE, 9th FL
State Office Building
Juneau, AK 99801-1770
Online:
Alaska Online Filing
The total cost to form your Alaska LLC is $300, including the $250 fee for filing your Articles and the $50 fee for your business license.
To amend your Alaska Articles, file the Articles of Amendment for Domestic LLCs with the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing. The fee for amending your Alaska Articles of Organization is $25.
The best way to keep your private information off the public record is by not listing it on your Alaska LLC Articles. The only way to do that is to find a registered agent who will let you use their address in place of your own. We’re that registered agent!
4. Get an Alaska Business License
Alaska requires all LLCs to get an Alaska business license and renew it yearly for the privilege of doing business within the state. If you’re a professional that requires licensing from the state like doctors, accountants, and tobacco sellers, you’ll get your Alaska general business license after getting whatever professional licenses you need. Nonprofessionals get their business license after filing their Articles with the state and before doing business. It costs $50 to get your business license.
All entities in Alaska must get a general business license, including sole proprietorships, LLCs, and corporations.
You don’t renew your LLC, but you do renew your Alaska LLC business license every year for $50. All business licenses in Alaska expire on December 31, so you’ll need to be sure to renew before then to keep your business in good standing.
5. File an Alaska Initial Report
Within the first six months of filing your Alaska Articles of Organization, you’ll file an initial report. Your initial report gives the state the names and addresses of your LLC’s owners and/or officers. There is no fee for filing your Alaska initial report. You can file this report online through Alaska’s online filing system and print out a copy to file by mail or in person.
Next Steps After Creating Your Alaska LLC
Write an LLC Operating Agreement
An Alaska operating agreement is an internal document describing the framework for your Alaska LLC’s management. It covers all the details of your LLC’s operation—membership duties, powers, responsibilities, and the strategies in place for dealing with things like business dissolution.
A sound operating agreement will define how your business handles big-picture situations. Things like profit allocation and business dissolution are sorted out here to prevent disagreement later. Alaska allows LLC owners to create custom operating agreements, as long as it does not violate any laws or contradict the Articles of Organization.
The state of Alaska doesn’t require LLCs to keep an operating agreement. Regardless, an operating agreement is critical for the good of your company. It’s perhaps one of the most important documents an LLC keeps. It should be in writing and updated regularly.
Yes. Even though you can handle conflict resolution with yourself, an operating agreement does far more than that. It helps you prove your Alaska LLC is yours and guards your limited liability.
Get an EIN, Bank Account, & Funding
An EIN, also known as an employer identification number, is comparable to a social security number for your business. It helps the IRS identify you on tax filings and reporting. You’ll need an EIN to open a business bank account for your LLC. A business bank account not only enhances the separation between your personal and business finances, but it gives a place for you and any other owners to place initial contributions that fund your LLC.
To get an EIN in Alaska, you’ll file an Application for Employer Identification Number (also known as Form SS-4). You can file this form online if you have an SSN or by mail using the paper form if you don’t have a social security number. There is no fee for this form.
File Taxes & Reports
LLCs in Alaska are also subject to some state taxes and need to file a biennial report. Here’s what you need to know:
- Taxes: Your Alaska LLC will be taxed as a pass-through entity by default. Profits will simply “pass-through” the LLC itself and disperse onto the owners to disclose on their personal tax returns. Alaska LLC owners will pay the self-employment tax at the federal rate of 15.3%.
- Biennial Reports: Beyond filing an initial report, Alaska LLCs must file a biennial report every two years with the Division of Corporations, Business & Licensing. Filing the biennial report costs $100. If your report is more than a month late, a penalty of $37.50 is added.
- BOI Report: Starting in 2024, most Alaska LLCs need to complete a federal filing called the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Report. The BOI Report requires you to disclose identifying information about who registered your company, owns it, and financially benefits or controls it to FinCEN. You can file online or hire us to do it for you.
Alaska biennial reports for LLCs are due by January 2 every other year, starting from when you filed your company’s initial report. So if your initial report was filed in an even-numbered year, the biennial report will be due in January of every even-numbered year for the life of your company.
Starting in 2024, you can file this report online through the BOI E-Filing System. There’s no charge to file the BOI Report.
Yes. If any information on your BOI Report changes, you’ll need to file an updated report within 30 days. This is also true if you find out there was an inaccuracy in your original report. It’s free to file an updated BOI Report.
Yes, there are 23 types of exemptions from the BOI Report. Most of these focus on large companies or companies that already report their company applicant and beneficial ownership information to another federal agency.
*This is informational commentary, not advice. This information is intended strictly for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel. This information is not intended to create, nor does your receipt, viewing, or use of it constitute, an attorney-client relationship. More information is available in our Terms of Service.
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