Alaska LLC: How to Start One and What It Costs

Alaska LLC at a glance

An Alaska LLC costs $250 to form and $100 every two years to keep on the register, which works out at $50 a year. The Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, part of the Department of Commerce, handles filings.

The fees come from the Division’s corporation forms and fees page for domestic LLCs, and the biennial report rules from its biennial reports FAQ.

How to start an LLC in Alaska

You start an LLC in Alaska by registering the entity with the Corporations Section, then getting an Alaska business license if the LLC will do business in the state. The Division’s how to start doing business page sets out that order.

1. Choose a distinguishable name. Alaska uses a "distinguishable" test. The Division’s name guidance says names are not distinguishable just because of punctuation, capitalization, spacing, articles such as "the", or words such as "company" or "limited". Search the corporations database first. A name reservation (Form 08-559) costs $25.
2. Appoint a registered agent. The agent must have a real Alaska address. You can act yourself only if you are a full-time Alaska resident, because the LLC cannot be its own agent. Most owners outside Alaska use a registered agent service.
3. File the Articles of Organization. File Form 08-0484 online or as a PDF and pay $250. Our articles of organization guide explains the usual fields.
4. File the initial report if it is due. The biennial reports FAQ says domestic LLCs file a free initial report, which may be due within 6 months of formation, to add the LLC’s owners or officials. It is filed online.
5. Get an Alaska business license. The Division says any business that engages in a trade, service or other business activity in Alaska must hold one. It costs $50 a year.
6. Sign an operating agreement and get an EIN. The Division notes that the operating agreement is kept by the LLC and governs how it is run. The EIN is free from the IRS; without an SSN you apply by fax, mail or phone under the IRS EIN rules. Our EIN application service handles that route.
7. Diary the biennial report. Note the 2 January due date and the 2 February late fee date. Our compliance deadline calendar can remind you.

If you would rather hand it over, our filing team checks the name and agent details, prepares and files the Articles and the initial report, and keeps the approved documents in your portal. For the general process in any state, see how to start an LLC.

Alaska LLC cost

An Alaska LLC costs $250 to form and $100 for each biennial report, so the state register itself costs about $50 a year after formation. The business license adds $50 a year if the LLC does business in Alaska.

The arithmetic for an LLC formed in 2026: $250 in 2026 to form. The biennial report due date follows the year of formation, so a 2026 LLC files its first $100 report by 2 January 2028, then every two years. Over 2026 to 2028 the entity filings cost $250 + $100 = $350. If the LLC does business in Alaska, add $50 for each year of business license, so $150 for three calendar years. Commercial registered agent fees are extra if you do not act as your own. Compare totals across states with our LLC state fee comparison.

Alaska LLC annual report (the biennial report)

Alaska LLCs do not file an annual report. They file a biennial report every two years, due 2 January, for $100, and it can only be filed online. The Division’s biennial reports FAQ sets these rules.

• Which years: an LLC created in an even-numbered year files by 2 January of every even-numbered year; an LLC created in an odd-numbered year files by 2 January of every odd-numbered year.
• When filing opens: reporting opens on 2 October of the year before the due date.
• Late: reports postmarked after 1 February pay a $37.50 late fee, so $137.50 in total.
• Not filed: an LLC that misses one or more biennial reports can be involuntarily dissolved and must then pay additional reinstatement fees.
• Foreign LLCs: an LLC formed elsewhere and registered in Alaska pays $200, or $247.50 late.

The initial report is a separate, free filing: it is how the Division records who owns or runs a new LLC, and the FAQ says it may be due within 6 months of formation. Our LLC annual report service files the biennial report and sends a reminder before 2 January.

Alaska registered agent

Every Alaska LLC needs a registered agent with an Alaska address where the agent can actually be reached. The Division’s registered agents FAQ says the address must be the agent’s real location, not a virtual address or a mail-holding or forwarding service.

• Who can serve: an individual who is a full-time Alaska resident, or a corporation authorized to do business in Alaska.
• Not the LLC itself: the FAQ says a business entity cannot serve as its own registered agent.
• Changing agent: file a Change of Registered Agent (Statement of Change) by US mail with the $25 fee. The FAQ says it cannot be filed online or by email.
• Agent resigning: an agent’s resignation is also a $25 filing.

Because the change form goes by mail, pick an agent you plan to keep. Our registered agent service provides an Alaska address and scans legal mail to your portal.

Alaska LLC registration processing time

The Division says hardcopy filings typically take 10 to 15 business days, and longer during the biennial reporting periods of April to June and October to December. It encourages online filing where an online option exists. We start once your order and documents are complete and do not promise times beyond what the Division publishes.

State taxes and licenses that affect an Alaska LLC

For most small LLCs the recurring state cost beyond the biennial report is the $50 a year business license. Sales tax in Alaska is local, not statewide.

• Business license: the Division’s business licensing FAQ says a license is required for the privilege of engaging in business in Alaska, costs $50 per year, can be bought for one or two years and expires on 31 December. It also says physical presence is not needed: if any part of the business activity happens in Alaska, the Division expects a license.
• Sales tax: the Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission FAQ says the State of Alaska does not have a sales tax. Local governments that adopted the Commission’s uniform code collect sales tax on remote sales, with a threshold of $100,000 in statewide annual gross sales. Our sales tax registration service can help with registration.
• Income tax: an LLC taxed the default way is a pass-through. An LLC that elects corporate tax treatment has its own filings with the Alaska Department of Revenue. Tax treatment is a question for a licensed tax professional.

Forming an Alaska LLC as a non-resident

You can form an Alaska LLC without living in Alaska or the US, as long as you appoint an Alaska registered agent. The Division’s LLC FAQ describes members as individuals or entities with an ownership interest and sets no residency rule.

If you have no Alaska customers, staff or premises, Alaska’s $250 formation fee is higher than Wyoming’s or New Mexico’s, which many founders outside the US choose. Compare them in our Wyoming vs Delaware vs New Mexico LLC comparison and best state for an LLC guide. An LLC formed elsewhere that does business in Alaska registers as a foreign LLC for $350 and files the $200 biennial report.

• Form 5472: a single-member LLC wholly owned by a foreign person files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, even with no income. The penalty for not filing is $25,000, and it goes by fax or mail. See our Form 5472 guide.
• BOI: US-formed LLCs, including those owned by non-US persons, no longer file beneficial ownership reports with FinCEN under the final rule published 14 August 2026.
• Address: the agent’s address is for legal mail. For bank and payment accounts use a separate US business address.

How to dissolve an Alaska LLC

To close an Alaska LLC you file Articles of Dissolution (Form 08-490) with the Division, and the fee is $25. It is listed on the same domestic LLC forms and fees page.

• Bring filings up to date: file any missing biennial reports so the record is clean before you dissolve.
• Business license: close or let lapse the Alaska business license once the LLC stops doing business.
• Local taxes: close any local sales tax accounts and file final returns.
• Federal: file final federal returns, including a final Form 5472 if the LLC is foreign-owned.

An LLC that just stops filing may be involuntarily dissolved, but that leaves the record showing an involuntary dissolution and does not close tax accounts. Our LLC dissolution service handles the state filing and final steps.

Doing it yourself vs using Borderless Filings

You can form an Alaska LLC yourself online for $250, file the free initial report and the $100 biennial report yourself. The Division’s FAQs cover each step.

Our service adds a check of the name, agent and addresses, preparation and filing by our filing team, tracking and document storage in your portal, the EIN without an SSN for founders outside the US, and reminders before each 2 January deadline. Prices are on our pricing page with the state fee at cost. You can start your order, look at the Washington LLC page, or compare states on our US LLC states page.

Sources

• Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing: Corporation forms and fees
• Alaska Division of Corporations: Biennial reports FAQs
• Alaska Division of Corporations: Registered agents FAQs
• Alaska Division of Corporations: Entity type FAQs
• Alaska Division of Corporations: Distinguishable business name
• Alaska Division of Corporations: How to start doing business
• Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing: Business licensing FAQs
• Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing: Business license forms and fees
• Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission: FAQ
• IRS: Get an employer identification number
• IRS: Instructions for Form 5472
• FinCEN: Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting

Fees, deadlines and rules on this page were last checked on 27 September 2026.