Alaska Business Entity Search

Irrespective of the type of business entity you want to form, be it a limited liability company, limited liability partnership, nonprofit or for-profit corporation, you’ll still need to conduct a business name search to ensure that the name is available for business registration.

The best way to conduct an Alaska business entity search is to refer to the Alaska Division of Corporations page on the State of Alaska website. You’ll have the option of searching businesses via name, number, registered agent, and official.

The following step-by-step guide will show you how to conduct a step-by-step business search on the Alaska Secretary of State’s website.

Business search by entity name or number

Refer to the Search Corporations Database webpage and complete the following steps:

Enter the entity number or name in the relevant search bars.

If searching by entity number, you may check the box that says “current only” or leave the box unchecked.

Select the “starts with” or “contains” option to narrow down your results.

Click “Search,” or hit the Enter button on your keyboard.

Matching results either starting with or containing the name you entered will come up. At this stage, you’ll have access to the:

The following page will bring up further details about the entity such as:

You may close the details page or download PDF copies of the filed documents.

Business search by registered agent

Registered agents are responsible for service of process and accepting official correspondence from the state.

While on the same page, move your cursor over the “SEARCH LICENSE DATA” section and select “Agents” from the dropdown. This will allow you to search for registered agents in the state.

Perform the search using the following:

If matching results are found, the following information will be available:

As with the business search by name or number, you can view detailed company information by clicking on the specific organization’s entity number.

Business search by officials

While on the same webpage, follow the same process as you did for the registered agent search, but this time, select “Officials.”

To recap, move your cursor over the “SEARCH LICENSE DATA” section and select “officials” from the drop-down list.

Enter the official’s last and first name in the 2nd and 3rd search bar, respectively.

If matching results are found, the table will list the entity’s type, name, number, official’s name as well as title. By clicking on the entity number, you can view the owner’s card.

Alaska search results

Irrespective of whether you search by entity name and number, registered agent, or official, the following results will be made available:

Copies of documents and certificates

After conducting your Alaska name search, you may want to request certified copies of business documents. The most commonly certified business documents are the Articles of Incorporation, annual reports, and the Articles of Amendment.

The Alaska Division of Corporations, Business, and Professional Licensing is responsible for issuing certified copies of business documents with a stamp and endorsement or certificates. You can reach the business services, online services department, or the Alaska Division of Corporations by going to commerce.Alaska.gov.

To request certified copies of entities’ documents, you will need to complete and submit a Copy Request Form to the corporation section. 

This is a non-refundable fee of $5 for each certified copy request, and this fee is in addition to the copy request fee.

Business name availability

The point of conducting the name search is to ensure that the name you are considering is indeed available. So while matching results will display detailed business information, the ideal results should say, “No results.” This means that the name is available for use as it’s not being used by any other business in the state.

As long as no one else in your state is using that specific company name, you can go ahead and register it. However, if another organization already takes the exact name you selected, then your state’s SOS will not permit duplications in order to avoid confusion.

Additionally, you should be aware that you could run into trademark issues if your organization and another business fall within the same category or has a business entity name that’s too similar to each other. You may also be found liable for trademark dilution or trademark infringement if you continue to pursue the name without considering how others are using it.

Another suggestion for finding alternative names is to use the search results for inspiration. For example, if businesses come up with a status that says expired, it means that you could use these expired names for your new business registration. Simply enter the keywords you have in mind in the search to generate a list of ideas.

Keep an eye out for the following statuses to understand whether or not the name is available.

If the business is in “good standing or active,” then it means the name is not available. However, if the status is “involuntarily dissolved,” then it means that the specific business has not filed the relevant forms as per the statutes, and the name may be available for use.

However, you will need to contact the Alaska Division of Corporations to confirm. Additionally, if the status is “withdrawn,” the name is available to be used by a new entity.

If the chosen name is available but you’re not ready to file immediately, you should consider reserving the name by completing a Name Reservation Request Form. Name reservations are an ideal way to ensure no one else uses your preferred names in the interim.

Domain name availability

After deciding on the ideal business name and checking availability, it’s also a good idea to register a domain name for your business. A domain name is an important part of a personal brand or business. This is because it helps people remember your website and also serves as a representation of an online company or person. Therefore, it’s a highly valuable asset for you and your business.

By making use of a professional and competent domain name checker like namechk.com, you have the option to check over 30 domains, including 90 social media accounts. It is recommended that once you select a name, you immediately register it as a domain name.

Registering a .com domain is ideal. However, many other extensions exist, such as .net,.biz, etc., and are worth considering. If your domain name is unavailable, you can use this tool to get creative, as it offers alternatives and suggestions for business domain names.

Fictitious business name search

Another point to note is that even if your name availability search brings back “no results,” you’ll still need to keep searching. This is because the next part of the process involves checking whether another business is doing business under your chosen business name. This is often referred to as a DBA which is short for “doing business as” name. It’s also referred to as an assumed, trade, or fictitious name.

In some cases, even though the business name does not come up on the search results, another entity may be using that name as a DBA. So you’ll need to conduct a fictitious name search to check whether your business name is available or currently in use by another business as a DBA.

The fictitious name search brings up all registered DBA names in your state or county. So in the event that you come across a DBA name that is quite similar to your chosen entity name, it’s best to continue your search.

Suppose no other existing business is using your chosen entity name as a DBA. In that case, you should go ahead and register the name as a DBA to prevent another business from operating under the same name.

When filing your DBA in Alaska, please take note of the following:

The filing fee, along with the fictitious name application must be sent to the Department of State at the following address:

Additionally, the DBA should be renewed every five years, and the application must be submitted along with the DBA renewal fee.