Guides · Alaska

Alaska DBA (assumed name): what it costs and how to file

To trade under another name, an Alaska LLC needs a state business license that lists that name, and the state requires a separate license for each business name. A license costs $50 for one year or $100 for two, and every license expires on December 31. Registering the name with the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing under AS 10.35 is a separate step and is optional: $25 gives you the exclusive right to the name through the fifth calendar year, and renewal is $25. There is no newspaper notice, and we found no county or borough DBA filing. We found no statute that requires the registration or sets a penalty for skipping it. The penalty the statute does state is a civil fine of up to $300 for knowingly doing business without a current license.

Last checked 2026-11-08. General information, not legal or tax advice.

Alaska DBA at a glance

Who files where: State only. The business license and the optional name registration both go to the Department of Commerce; we found no county clerk filing.
Business license (required): $50 for 1 year or $100 for 2 years, one license per business name, expires December 31
Name registration (optional): $25, effective through the 5th calendar year; renewal $25, filed October 1 to December 31
Publication: None
Does an LLC need one?: It needs a business license listing the name it trades under. Registering the name under AS 10.35 is optional.

Does an Alaska LLC need a DBA?

It needs a state business license that lists the name it trades under. Registering that name is optional.

A person must first obtain a license to engage in business in Alaska, and the license must include "the business name to be used by the licensee" (AS 43.70.020(a)). The business license regulation adds that a license is required for each business name under which the applicant seeks to engage in business (12 AAC 12.020(a)), and the state's license form tells applicants to operate and advertise in the exact business name listed. So an LLC that sells under a trade name puts that name on its license, and a second trade name needs its own license and fee. If the name changes, a new license is required, unless the change only adds or removes a professional title or a word describing the legal form (12 AAC 12.050(a)).

The name registration in AS 10.35 is a separate record. The statute says a person conducting a business may register its name (AS 10.35.040), and nothing in the chapter makes registration mandatory or sets a penalty for not registering. What registration buys is the exclusive right to use the name, with the right to ask a court for an injunction or damages against a name that is not distinguishable on the Division's records. A business license does not give you that: the Division's form says it can issue several business licenses with the exact same name, even where exclusive rights to the name have been secured.

The chapter defines a "business" as an enterprise "which is not incorporated" (AS 10.35.500), so it is fair to ask whether an LLC can use it. The Division's registration form says it can: it treats a business owned by an entity as registrable and tells an LLC's signer to state their authority, for example as an LLC member.

The only penalty the statutes state in this area is for doing business with no current license: the department may impose a civil fine of up to $300 if a person knowingly does so (AS 43.70.020(e)).

A foreign LLC registered in Alaska whose home-state name does not meet Alaska's LLC name rules may register under an assumed name that does (AS 10.50.620). That concerns the name the company registers under, not trade names.

What it costs the state

There is one state fee for the license and one for the optional name registration. We found no county or borough DBA fee.

Business license, 1 year: $50
Business license, 2 years: $100
Business license renewal: $50 for the next year or $100 for the next two years
Name registration under AS 10.35 (optional), good for five years: $25
Name registration renewal: $25
Sole proprietors only: the license is $25 a year if the sole proprietor is 65 or older or a disabled veteran. The Division's form says the discounts do not apply to entities such as an LLC.

The statute sets the license fee at $50 a year (AS 43.70.030(a)). It leaves the name registration fee to regulation (AS 10.35.060), and the regulation sets $25 for both the first registration and the renewal (3 AAC 16.010). You pay by check or money order to the State of Alaska, or with the Division's credit card payment form if you file on paper.

How long it lasts and how to renew

Business license. Licenses expire on December 31 and are not prorated. You renew for $50 for the next year or $100 for the next two years (12 AAC 12.010(b)).

Registered name. A registration is effective until the close of the fifth calendar year beginning with the year you register, and the year you register counts as a full year (AS 10.35.060). Register in 2026 and it runs through December 31, 2030. You renew by filing a renewal application between October 1 and December 31, and renewal extends the registration for the following five calendar years (AS 10.35.070). The Division's renewal form says the renewal window opens October 1 of the expiring year, that the fee is $25, and that the business license must be current and valid to renew the name.

Is there a publication requirement?

No. The registration statute lists what the application must contain: the owner's name and address, the name and addresses of the business, the name and address of each person with an interest in it, a statement that the owner is doing business, and a brief statement of the nature of the business. It says nothing about a newspaper notice (AS 10.35.050). The Division's business license and name registration forms do not ask for one either.

Sole proprietors and partnerships

The route is the same, and there is no county step. The license form asks for the business name and, separately, the owner: a sole proprietor (one natural individual), a partnership, an entity, or another organization. A sole proprietor who is 65 or older or a disabled veteran pays $25 a year for the license (AS 43.70.030(a)). The optional name registration is the same $25 for five years.

Forming an LLC does not change where the name goes. The LLC becomes the owner on the license, and the Division's form says the entity must first have an Alaska Entity Number.

How to file

Form the LLC first. The business license form says an entity must first have registered for an Alaska Entity Number with the Division of Corporations.
Choose the name and search the Division's records. A registered name has to be distinguishable from other organized entities and from reserved or registered names (AS 10.35.040), and the registration form says a DBA registration cannot contain a corporate identifier such as "limited liability company" or an abbreviation of it.
Apply for the business license, online or on the Division's paper form (08-4181). Enter the exact name you will operate and advertise under as the Business Name, choose Entity as the owner, and pay $50 or $100. Each additional business name needs its own application and fee.
Optional: register the name on the Division's form 08-557. It needs your Alaska business license number, the name must exactly match the name on the license, and the license must be obtained first. Mail it with the $25 fee.
Put the dates on your calendar: the license expires every December 31, and the name registration renews between October 1 and December 31 of its last year.

Need the LLC first?

An assumed name is filed by an existing LLC. If you haven't formed yours yet, start there; the state fees and steps are on the Alaska page.

Start a Alaska LLC Or let your AI assistant do the intake

What we couldn't verify

The Division's web pages (corporations.alaska.gov, businesslicense.alaska.gov and the commerce.alaska.gov pages on business name registration and licensing) sit behind a bot check and could not be read on 2026-11-08. The fees and steps here come from the Division's PDF forms and from the Alaska Administrative Code on the Legislature's site, so confirm the current fee and filing method on the Division's site before you file.
The business name registration forms (08-557 and 08-560) carry 2017 revision dates. Their $25 fee matches 3 AAC 16.010, but the Division may have newer forms or an online filing option that we could not see. The renewal form cites 3 AAC 16.010(a), while the regulation puts the renewal fee in (b); both are $25.
Any consequence for trading under a name that is not on the business license, beyond the civil fine in AS 43.70.020(e) for knowingly doing business without a current license. We read 12 AAC 12.010, 12.020 and 12.050 but did not check how the Division applies them.
Whether a particular business is exempt from the state business license. 12 AAC 12.020(d) refers to exemptions under AS 43.70.105, which we did not review.
City and borough business license or business name rules were not checked.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a DBA cost in Alaska?

There is no DBA certificate fee as such. To trade under a name, an LLC needs a state business license that lists the name: $50 for one year or $100 for two (12 AAC 12.010), and each additional name needs its own license. The optional name registration under AS 10.35 is $25 for five years, renewable for $25 (3 AAC 16.010).

Is registering a business name required in Alaska?

No. AS 10.35.040 says a person conducting a business may register its name, and registration gives the exclusive right to use it. What the state requires is the business license (AS 43.70.020), which lists the business name.

Does an Alaska LLC have to publish its DBA in a newspaper?

No. AS 10.35.050 sets out what the name registration application contains and has no publication step, and the state's license and registration forms do not ask for one.

Do I file an Alaska DBA with the county?

No. The business license and the optional name registration are both state filings with the Department of Commerce, and we found no county or borough DBA filing. Cities and boroughs may have their own business license rules, which this guide does not cover.

How often do I renew an Alaska DBA?

A registered name runs through the close of the fifth calendar year counting the year you register it. You renew between October 1 and December 31 for $25 and get five more years. The business license that lists the name is separate and expires every December 31.