The official search
The registry is run by the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development (DCCED), Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing — the Corporations Section. There is no "Alaska Secretary of State" business search; this Division is the filing office.
- Search page: https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/cbp/main/search/entities
- Cost: Free
- Login: None required
The Corporations Database covers entities registered under Alaska's corporations statutes (Title 10): corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, LLPs, and nonprofits, plus reserved and registered names.
There is no separate "name availability" tool that gives a yes or no. The Division's guidance tells you to search this database, then read its "distinguishable" guidance and the naming restrictions; the Division decides when your filing or reservation is reviewed.
A record shows the entity's legal name, entity number, type, and status, its registered agent and addresses, its formation date, and its report standing — including whether it is in good standing or non-compliant. Alaska's reports do collect information about an entity's officials, but what you see is from the company's last report, not a live ownership register.
Step by step
- Open the Corporations Database search and leave the search set to Entity Name.
- Run a "Contains" search on your name without "LLC" — Contains finds your words anywhere in an existing name, the widest net this tool offers. Then run a "Starts With" search on your most distinctive word alone.
- Turn "Current Only" off if it is filtering your results, so you also see older and inactive records.
- Read the close matches against Alaska's loose test (below). A name that differs from yours by one key word, a different word order, or a creative spelling may be legally distinguishable here — which cuts both ways: it may not block you, and it will not protect you later either. The Division itself also recommends checking business-license records, trademarks, directories, and the web.
- If nothing conflicting appears, the name is probably available — but only the Division's review of your actual filing is definitive.
Alaska's name rules
The rules are in AS 10.50.020 and AS 10.50.025 of the Alaska Revised Limited Liability Company Act, and in regulation 3 AAC 16.120.
Designator. The name must contain "limited liability company" or "L.L.C." or "LLC." The word "limited" may be abbreviated "Ltd." and "company" may be abbreviated "Co." Only an LLC organized under AS 10.50, or a foreign LLC registered in Alaska, may use "limited liability company" in its name at all.
Distinguishable. The name must be distinguishable on the department's records from LLCs, limited partnerships, and corporations organized in Alaska, registered foreign LLCs, authorized foreign corporations, and names reserved or registered under AS 10.06, AS 10.50, or AS 10.35.
Alaska's test is looser than most states'. The Division states plainly that Alaska law is based on "distinguishable," not "deceptively similar" or "confusingly similar." Under 3 AAC 16.120, a name is distinguishable if a key word is different, the same key words are in a different order, the spelling is creative, unusual, or artistic, a number is written a different way (3 vs. "three" vs. III), or an "s" is added or deleted (plural, singular, or possessive). What does not distinguish: the designator, punctuation, capitalization, spacing, and small words like "the" or "and." A "key word" is any other word.
Municipality words. You may use the name of an actual city, borough, or village, but the name may not contain the word "city," "borough," or "village" or imply the company is a municipality.
Reserving a name. A name may be reserved for 120 days of exclusive use under AS 10.35 (form 08-559; do not include a designator like "LLC" in the name you reserve). The Division's forms and fees list puts the fee at $25. Reserving is optional — the Division generally does not recommend one if you are ready to file your Articles now.
What the search can't tell you
- Business-license names. Names used under Alaska business licenses (AS 43.70) are a separate system. The department must issue a license even if the exact name is already licensed to someone else, and a license name gives no exclusive rights — so this search can neither clear nor condemn a license-only name.
- A final verdict. Approval happens when the Division reviews your filing, not when you search.
- Trademarks, domains, and customer confusion. Nothing here covers federal trademarks or .com availability — and because Alaska's test is so loose, the search cannot tell you whether a legally distinguishable near-twin will confuse your customers.
If the name looks available
File Articles of Organization (Form 08-0484) with the Corporations Section, online through commerce.alaska.gov/cbp or on paper.
- Cost: $250. That is one of the higher formation fees in the country.
- Then file the free Initial Report within six months of formation. It costs nothing, but skipping it puts the LLC into non-compliance.
Ongoing: the biennial report — plus a business license.
- Biennial report fee: $100, every two years.
- Due date: before January 2 of your filing year. Filing years follow the year you formed: an LLC formed in an even-numbered year files in even years, an odd-year LLC in odd years. The window opens the preceding October 2. Note the catch: an LLC formed in December of an even year still files on the even-year cycle, so its first report arrives barely a year later, not a full two years after formation.
- Late: a report filed on or after February 2 is reported to cost $137.50 in total (the $100 fee plus a $37.50 late fee) — check the Division's current figures before you pay. Continued non-filing leads to non-compliant status and involuntary dissolution.
- The separate Alaska Business License (AS 43.70): $50 for one year or $100 for two. Forming the LLC does not license you to operate. Before engaging in business you must also get a state business license from the Division's Business Licensing Section, using the entity number from your Articles; the application requires a six-digit NAICS code for your line of business. Licenses expire December 31 of the period purchased.
FAQ
Is the Alaska LLC name search free? Yes. The Corporations Database search is free and requires no login.
Does Alaska have a Secretary of State business search? No. Business filings in Alaska are handled by the Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing — not a Secretary of State.
How much does it cost to form an Alaska LLC? The Articles of Organization (Form 08-0484) filing fee is $250. You will also need a separate Alaska business license, $50 for one year, before you start operating.
When is the Alaska LLC biennial report due? Before January 2 of your filing year, every two years. Your filing years match the odd/even parity of your formation year. The fee is $100.
If I get an Alaska business license under a name, is the name mine? No. A business license under AS 43.70 gives no exclusive rights — the same name can be licensed to someone else. Exclusive rights come from the Corporations side: forming the entity, or reserving or registering the name under Title 10.
Sources
- Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing — Corporations Database search: https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/cbp/main/search/entities
- Alaska CBPL — Corporation Forms & Fees: https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/cbpl/Corporations/CorporationFormsFees
- Alaska CBPL — Reserving/Registering a Business Name: https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/cbpl/Corporations/ReservingRegisteringBusinessName.aspx
- Alaska CBPL — How to Determine a "Distinguishable" Name (3 AAC 16.120): https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/cbpl/Corporations/DistinguishableBusinessName.aspx
- AS 10.50.020 (LLC name): https://law.justia.com/codes/alaska/2022/title-10/chapter-50/article-2/section-10-50-020/