Alaska Certificate of Authority›Getting one
Getting an Alaska certificate of authority, from decision to upkeep
To get Alaska authority, a foreign corporation files Form 08-414 for $350 and a foreign LLC files Form 08-0497 for $350, each with an Alaska registered agent and proof of good standing at home. This guide follows the whole path, statute by statute, from the decision to the last biennial report, and shows where we step in at $199.
Who needs Alaska authority
Any entity organized under another jurisdiction's law is foreign in Alaska. Alaska bars a foreign corporation from transacting business until the commissioner has issued it a certificate of authority (AS 10.06.705), and bars a foreign LLC from conducting affairs until it registers (AS 10.50.605). Partnerships and nonprofit corporations have their own Division forms, which are outside this site; write to us about them. Authority is a permission to act inside Alaska and nothing more: the company's internal affairs stay under home-state law.
Step 1: apply the test
Decide whether your Alaska activity is on the transacting side. The statutes work by listing what does not count, and each list is open-ended. Corporate law names 10 activities and LLC law names 9. The test page sets them side by side. If your activity is plainly local and repeated, such as an office, staff or stock, that points toward registering. If it is one of the listed activities, it may not be. The Division itself says it cannot make the call for you, and a close case is one for an Alaska business lawyer to weigh.
Step 2: pick the form
The entity type chooses the form. A business corporation uses Form 08-414, a certificate of authority with twelve items. An LLC uses Form 08-0497, a certificate of registration with eleven parts. A corporation whose name changes later asks for an amended certificate of authority (AS 10.06.738), and an LLC files Form 08-498.
Step 3: settle the name
For a corporation the name must contain "corporation", "company", "incorporated" or "limited", or an abbreviation of one of them (AS 10.06.720), must not suggest a different purpose or banking and insurance powers, and must be distinguishable on the Division's records. If the home-state name cannot be used, the application states an assumed name that can. An LLC's name must end in "Limited Liability Company", "L.L.C." or "LLC" ("Limited" may be "Ltd." and "Company" may be "Co."). For either type, the Division says the name registered in Alaska must match the home-state record exactly, and an online application checks availability as you go.
Step 4: gather the home-state proof
An LLC attaches a certificate of good standing (or equivalent) from the home jurisdiction; the statute requires proof from the home jurisdiction that the company was organized there (AS 10.50.615(b)). A corporation ticks a box affirming that it is current and in good standing at home, and the Division says it cannot issue the certificate otherwise. In both cases the practical step is the same: clear any unpaid home-state tax or report first, so that a certificate, if one is obtained, reads as good standing. The Division publishes no age limit for the certificate.
Step 5: appoint the Alaska agent
Every holder keeps an Alaska agent with an Alaska office, without a gap (AS 10.06.753 for corporations, AS 10.50.635 for LLCs). Eligible agents are a full-time Alaska resident individual (an owner, employee, CPA, attorney, friend or family member) or a domestic or foreign corporation authorized to do business in Alaska; not an LLC, LLP or LP. The address must be the agent's real place of business, and the Division rules out virtual addresses and mail forwarding. A corporation may not serve as its own agent. See the agent requirements for the change forms.
Step 6: collect the people and shares
A corporation lists its officers and directors, its authorized and issued shares, and every holder of 5 percent or more. The Division requires a nonzero number of authorized shares, plus issued shares and every holder of 5 percent or more. It also asks for any alien affiliates, or "none". An LLC lists its members or managers, and each owner holding 5 percent or more, and the percentages. Because these lists become a public record, leave out Social Security numbers, driver's licence numbers and birth dates.
Step 7: signatures
For a corporation, the president or vice president and the secretary or assistant secretary; where one person holds two of those offices, two different people sign unless that person holds all of them. The statute separately requires an original and an exact copy to reach the commissioner (AS 10.06.733). For an LLC, the signer is a person authorized by the law of the home state to sign, with a class A misdemeanor warning for a false statement (AS 11.56.210). A knowingly false statement in either is a class A misdemeanor.
Step 8: file and pay
The LLC registration can be filed online and posts as soon as it is paid, through a myAlaska account. Paper filings go to PO Box 110806, Juneau, AK 99811, paid by check to the State of Alaska or on the Division's card form. Email is not an accepted channel for filings or card details. The corporation form quotes approximately 10 to 15 business days for mailed applications, and the LLC form says to allow up to 3 weeks from the date received. We treat the corporation certificate as a mail filing.
After approval
A foreign corporation with a certificate has the same rights and privileges as an Alaska corporation formed for the same purposes, and no greater ones, along with the same duties and penalties (AS 10.06.740). Its first duty is practical: a state business license at $50 a year, which the Division's instructions say an entity must hold before engaging in business. After that comes the biennial cycle.
Keeping authority alive
The commissioner can revoke a foreign corporation's certificate on 6 grounds, among them a late biennial report, unpaid fees or taxes, no registered agent, an unreported agent change, and a material misstatement (AS 10.06.743). Revocation requires 60 days of advance notice, sent certified to the registered office. LLC registrations can be revoked on four similar grounds after 60 days' notice. The January 2 reports page has the dates.
When the company changes
A name change ends a certificate if the new name cannot be authorized (AS 10.06.725); a corporation then applies for an amended certificate under the original application rules. A merger or similar change elsewhere requires a copy of the articles to be filed within 30 days, without a new certificate unless the name or purpose changed (AS 10.06.775). An LLC with a name change files an amended registration with a certificate of compliance from home.
Leaving Alaska
A corporation withdraws by applying to the commissioner for a certificate of withdrawal (AS 10.06.778 and 10.06.780). An LLC files Form 08-502, $25. Neither leaves the company beyond reach: the commissioner remains available for service of process on claims from the period of registration.
A corporation's route, in order
First comes gathering: the exact name, home state and incorporation date, the share structure, the officers and directors, and the Alaska agent. Next the corporation confirms its standing with the home state, since the Division will not issue a certificate to an entity that is not in good standing. Then the application is completed and the two signers sign. The packet then goes to Juneau by mail with $350, and the Division quotes approximately 10 to 15 business days for a complete application. The business license can be bought while the application is pending. The first biennial tax, $200, arrives on the January 2 of the corporation's parity year.
An LLC's route, in order
First the LLC lines up its home-state certificate, an agent and its member list. As soon as the certificate arrives the LLC can complete Form 08-0497 and file it online, in which case the registration posts when payment clears. A paper filing takes up to 3 weeks from the date received instead. The business license follows. The first biennial report, $200, falls on the January 2 in the registration year's parity, between about one and two years later.
What delays a certificate most often
- A name keyed in differently from the home-state record, or missing the required ending or word.
- A corporation form with one signature where two are required.
- An agent outside Alaska, or a virtual or forwarding address.
- A zero in the authorized share count.
- A corporation or LLC that is not in good standing at home.
- Filing the same application online and on paper.
- A missing fee or card form with a mailed application.
Other entity types
Limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships and nonprofit corporations have their own Division forms and their own fees, and this site does not cover them. If your company is one of those, write to us through the contact page and we will confirm the form and fee with the Division before quoting.
Records worth keeping
Keep the approved certificate or registration, the application as filed, the home-state certificate, the agent's name and addresses with a note of consent, every biennial report receipt, any notice of change and the business license. The Division's database shows the public side, but the signed copies in your own file show who authorized what and when, which matters most when an officer leaves.
How long the authority lasts
Neither statute puts an expiry date on the document. A foreign corporation's certificate gives it the rights of a domestic corporation of like purposes until a certificate of revocation or of withdrawal is issued (AS 10.06.740), and an LLC's registration runs until it is revoked or cancelled. In practice the authority lives or dies by the upkeep: the biennial report, the fees, a working agent. Keep those, and nothing else needs renewing.
A short note on timing
Authority should be in hand before work begins, not after, because the statute bars transacting business first and gives the state its penalty claim from the first calendar year. For a corporation that means leaving time for the Division's quoted ten to fifteen business days, plus the home-state confirmation of good standing. For an LLC filing online it means the days needed to get the home-state certificate. Starting the license purchase in parallel costs nothing and saves a step at the end.
Every Alaska charge on this path
| Charge | Corporation | LLC |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate | $350 | $350 |
| Biennial | $200 | $200 |
| Late biennial | $25 a year | $25 a year plus $20 |
| Agent change | $25 | $25 |
| Amendment | $25 | $25 |
| Business license | $50 | $50 |
| Withdrawal or cancellation | $25 under the general rule | $25 |
Getting Alaska authority in order
Apply the transacting test
Compare your activity with the lists in the statutes.
Choose the form
Corporations use 08-414, LLCs use 08-0497.
Check the name
Match the home-state record, or use an assumed name.
Confirm standing at home
Order the certificate where the form calls for one.
Appoint the agent
Someone based in Alaska, with two Alaska addresses on file.
Complete and sign
The right officers sign the corporation form.
File, then license
Pay the Alaska fee, then buy the $50 business license.
Registered agent: first year included, then $149 a year
$199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Guide questions
What does an agent change cost?
$25 on Form 08-409.
Can the same agent serve several of my companies?
The Division allows a qualifying Alaska resident or corporation to act as agent.
Do I need Alaska authority to hold a bank account?
No. Maintaining bank accounts is on both statutory lists.
Will the Division tell me if I need one?
No. It says it cannot decide whether a given company must qualify.
Does a corporation file two copies?
Yes. The statute calls for the original application and an exact copy.
Does the certificate have to be renewed?
No. The biennial report and fees keep the authority in force.
Can I get the certificate before I start work?
Yes, and it is the safer order. The statute bars transacting business first, not applying first.
When does the clock for the biennial report start?
It follows the parity of the year in which the certificate or registration is issued.
Our fee, then what Alaska charges
Get your Alaska certificate
AK+ the Alaska fee shown at checkout
$199
- The Alaska application for your entity type: certificate of authority for a corporation, registration for an LLC
- Certificate of good standing (or equivalent) from the home state, ordered and attached
- An Alaska registered agent: ours, or the one you keep
- Filing with the Division of Corporations and the approved document returned
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
The Alaska fee for your entity type shows as its own line before you pay. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Statutes and state pages
- Alaska Division of Corporations, forms and fees
- Alaska Form 08-0497, Registration of Foreign LLC
- Alaska Form 08-414, Certificate of Authority, Foreign Business Corporation
- Alaska Statutes, AS 10.06.705
- Alaska Statutes, AS 10.50.600 to 10.50.670 (foreign limited liability companies)
- Alaska Statutes, AS 10.06.718 (activities that are not transacting business)
- Alaska Statutes, AS 10.50.675 to 10.50.720
- Alaska Statutes, AS 10.06.720 to 10.06.740 (certificate of authority)
- Alaska Form 08-498, Amended Certificate of Registration, Foreign LLC
- Alaska Division of Corporations, create or file for a new entity
- Alaska Statutes, AS 10.06.743 to 10.06.780 (revocation, agent and withdrawal)
- Alaska Division of Corporations, registered agent FAQs
- Alaska Division of Corporations, Corporations Section home page
- Alaska Statutes, AS 43.70.020 to 43.70.030 (business license)
- Alaska Form 08-502, Certificate of Cancellation, Foreign LLC
- Alaska Administrative Code, 3 AAC 16.065
- Alaska Statutes, AS 10.06.845 (biennial corporation tax)
- Alaska Form 08-409, Statement of Change of Registered Agent
- Alaska Administrative Code, 3 AAC 16.030 (corporation fees)
Need Alaska authority?
Tell us your entity type and home state. We handle the application, the certificate and the agent.