Business Registers in Alaska: Division of Corporations

Overview

Alaska is one of the few US states with no Secretary of State. Business registration instead runs through the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing (CBPL), part of the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (DCCED). The Division keeps the official record of entities formed or registered to do business in the state, and its filings and searches go through the CBPL portal.

Alaska stands out for KYB work in one important way: it publishes shareholder data. A corporation's biennial report must list every shareholder who owns 5% or more of its shares, by name, address, and ownership percentage, alongside its officers and directors. The report also requires corporations to disclose alien affiliates, meaning non-US persons or entities involved with the company, which is rare among US registers and useful for cross-border due diligence. Most US states keep ownership private, so Alaska's register is unusually transparent on who actually owns and influences a company.

Two features shape the recurring filing. First, the report is biennial, filed every two years rather than annually. For-profit corporations, LLCs, and LLPs file before January 2 of the filing year; nonprofits, cooperatives, and religious corporations instead file by July 2. Entities registered in an even-numbered year file in even years; those registered in an odd-numbered year file in odd years. Second, operating in Alaska usually requires a separate state business license, which is distinct from the entity registration and renews on its own schedule.

Alaska has no dedicated beneficial ownership register, though the 5% shareholder disclosure in the biennial report covers much of the same ground for corporations. At the federal level, the Corporate Transparency Act (2021) created a BOI registry run by FinCEN, but a March 2025 interim final rule lifted the obligation for all U.S. companies and U.S. persons. Only foreign reporting companies remain subject to it.

Official Registers

Division of Corporations (Entity Search)

The CBPL Division of Corporations maintains the official register through its Corporations Database search. It records domestic and foreign corporations, LLCs, nonprofit corporations, professional corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, cooperatives, and religious corporations.

Search and access. The entity search is free and needs no account. Search by entity name or Alaska entity number. Each record shows the entity name, entity number, type, status, registration date, registered agent name and address, and the officials and shareholders reported in the entity's filings.

Entity number. Alaska assigns each entity a numeric entity number at registration, which is the primary identifier across the register and the key most lookups run on.

Filings. Formation documents go in online through the CBPL portal or by mail. Articles of Organization for domestic LLCs and Articles of Incorporation for domestic corporations each cost $250. A new domestic entity also files an initial report within six months of formation, at no charge, which establishes its first set of officials on the record. Operating in the state generally requires a separate Alaska business license at $50 per year.

Certificates. Certificates of Compliance and certified copies of filed documents are available from the Division for a fee.

Registration and Publication Requirements

Corporations

All domestic and foreign for-profit corporations must register with the Division and maintain a registered agent at an Alaska address.

Biennial report. Corporations file a biennial report, due before January 2 of the filing year, on the even or odd cycle set by their registration year. The fee is $100 for domestic corporations and $200 for foreign corporations. The report carries the registered agent, the officers and directors with their ownership percentages, the name, address, and ownership percentage of every shareholder holding 5% or more of the corporation's shares, and any alien affiliates, meaning non-US persons or entities involved with the corporation. All of this is part of the public record.

A new domestic corporation files its free initial report within six months of incorporation. Failing to keep biennial reports current leads the Division to dissolve a domestic corporation or revoke a foreign corporation's authority to do business, after which it must be reinstated.

Financial statements. There is no public financial disclosure requirement.

LLCs

All domestic and foreign LLCs must register with the Division and maintain a registered agent in Alaska. Domestic formation costs $250, and a free initial report is due within six months.

Biennial report. LLCs file a biennial report on the same January 2 schedule, at $100 for domestic and $200 for foreign entities. The report lists the members or managers and the registered agent, so LLC management data is part of the public record. LLCs report their managers and members rather than a 5% shareholder list, since they have no shares.

Nonprofit corporations

Nonprofits register with the Division and file a biennial report at $25, listing their directors and officers. Their deadline is July 2 of the filing year, not the January 2 date that applies to for-profit entities, and cooperatives and religious corporations follow the same July 2 schedule. A free initial report is due within six months of formation. Federal 501(c) status comes from the IRS; the state filing does not grant it.

Limited partnerships and LLPs

Limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships register with the Division and file biennial reports to stay in good standing. Both must maintain a registered agent in Alaska.

Sole proprietors and general partnerships

Sole proprietors and general partnerships do not register as entities with the Division and do not appear as registered entities in the corporations search. Most still need an Alaska business license to operate.

Summary table

With Topograph

Topograph queries Alaska's Division of Corporations system to return structured company data for entities registered in the state.

Available Data

Company Profile

• Alaska entity number
• Entity name
• Entity type and state of formation
• Current status
• Registration date
• Registered agent name and address

Officers and Management

• Officers and directors as reported in the corporation's biennial report
• Members and managers as reported in the LLC's biennial report

Shareholders

• Shareholders holding 5% or more of a corporation's shares, with name and ownership percentage, as reported in the biennial report

Available Documents

Financial statements aren't filed publicly in Alaska. Ownership data reflects the most recent biennial report, so it can be up to two years old between filings. Domestic companies are also exempt from federal BOI reporting following the March 2025 FinCEN rule.

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