How to Start an LLC in Alaska: Articles First, Business License Second

By Boost Suite Editorial Team|Updated October 20, 2026

Two state filings start an LLC in Alaska: Articles of Organization ($250) with the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, then a $50-a-year state business license that uses the entity number the Articles give you.

Is Alaska the right state for your LLC?

Alaska repealed its individual income tax in 1980, per the Tax Division’s 2024 report to the Legislature. That helps owners who live in Alaska; an owner living and working in another state is generally taxed there on the LLC’s profit, wherever the LLC is registered.

Forming in Delaware instead doesn’t avoid that registration either. Delaware charges $110 to file and a $400 annual tax, with no annual report. Boost Suite’s own Delaware LLC formation service files it for $49 plus the state fee, with the first year of agent service included and $99 a year after.

How to start an LLC in Alaska, in the order the state requires

1. Pick a name and a six-digit NAICS code

   Both go on the Articles.

2. Line up a registered agent in Alaska

   In Alaska: a resident or a corporation, never an LLC.

3. File the Articles of Organization

   $250, online with the Corporations Section, which does the job a Secretary of State does elsewhere. You get the LLC's Alaska entity number.

4. Buy the Alaska business license

   $50 a year with the Business Licensing Section, using that entity number.

5. File the free initial report within six months

   It adds the owners to the record.

6. Get an EIN from the IRS

   Free; banks ask for it to open the LLC's account.

What it costs to start an LLC in Alaska

Opening costs $300 in state fees: $250 for the Articles and $50 for one year of business license. The $250 is the same online or on paper and isn’t refundable.

An LLC formed in November 2026 pays $250, then $50 for a license that runs through December 31, 2027. The first biennial report ($100) and the 2028 license ($50) bring the total to $450 by the end of 2028, before any agent service.

Alaska registered agent rules if you live elsewhere

The agent “must be in Alaska and cannot be out-of-state,” per the Articles form. It’s either an individual with a physical location in Alaska or a corporation, which excludes LLCs, LPs and LLPs. The statute, AS 10.50.055, asks an individual agent to be an Alaska resident.

The agent needs a physical and a mailing address in Alaska. Mail that comes back undeliverable marks the LLC Non-Compliant, which can lead to dissolution. Changing agents later is a $25 Statement of Change.

The Alaska Articles of Organization ask for a NAICS code

• Article 1, name: with “limited liability company,” “L.L.C.” or “LLC”; “Ltd.” and “Co.” are accepted short forms.
• Article 2, purpose and NAICS code: “any lawful” purpose is enough, plus “the 6‑digit NAICS code that most clearly describes the company’s activities.”
• Article 3, registered agent: name, physical address and mailing address in Alaska.
• Management and organizer: managers if any; one or more organizers sign. Members aren’t listed.

Name rules come from AS 10.50.020. A city or borough name can appear, but not the words “city,” “borough” or “village,” and “Bank” needs approval from the Division of Banking and Securities.

Small words count for nothing: “a,” “an,” “the,” “for” and the like don’t make a name new (3 AAC 16.120). The online form checks availability on its own. A $25 reservation is “generally not recommended” by the state if you’re ready to file.

Before you pay, a few online rules matter:

• Gather everything first: a long pause can time out the session.
• Use only the form’s buttons, never the browser’s Back.
• Check spelling: once posted, fixing it takes another filing and fee.
• Don’t mail a paper copy of an online filing.

Paper Articles go to P.O. Box 110806, Juneau, AK 99811-0806, or fax (907) 465-2974. They take 10 to 15 business days from March through September, longer from October through February.

An operating agreement isn’t filed. AS 10.50.095, part of the Alaska Revised Limited Liability Company Act, lets members adopt one to set profit splits, votes and exits.

File only on the state’s own sites (Corporations.Alaska.Gov, BusinessLicense.Alaska.Gov). The division has warned about lookalikes such as “akk.gov” and “ak-gov.org.”

The Alaska state business license, and how long $50 lasts

“An entity must obtain an Alaska business license prior to engaging in business,” the Articles form says. Under AS 43.70.020, the rule follows the activity, not an office: any work in Alaska needs it.

The application asks for the entity number and a six-digit NAICS code; one license can list up to ten codes. Knowingly operating without one exposes the business to a civil fine of up to $300. Professional licenses for regulated trades come from a separate section of the same division.

Every license expires December 31. One issued after October 1 covers the rest of that year plus the period bought.

Filing a DBA in Alaska

A DBA in Alaska is a license too. Operating under another name needs its own license in that name, which doesn’t protect it. A Business Name Registration ($25, five years) does, and it requires a license in that exact name first.

Changing the NAICS code later takes two forms: 08-4887 for the entity and 08-4731 for the license (free, fax or mail only).

Reports that put owners on the public record

The initial report is due within six months, free and online. It lists the names and addresses of members or managers and of each owner of 5% or more, with their percentage (AS 10.50.755), on the state’s website.

Then the Alaska biennial report, Alaska’s version of an annual report, costs $100 every other year, due January 2: even years if formed in an even year, odd years if odd. It opens October 2 the year before; after February 1 it costs $137.50.

Taxes and the EIN

• Income tax: the same Tax Division report states that “Alaska follows the federal tax treatment of Limited Liability Companies.”
• EIN: free from the IRS. Texts pushing you to “file for a Federal EIN” on non-government sites are scams the division has flagged.
• Sales tax: not part of the license. The Business Licensing FAQ sends remote sellers to the Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission.
• BOI: U.S. companies, Alaska LLCs included, no longer file beneficial ownership reports with FinCEN, under a rule first issued in March 2025.

Alaska LLC questions