Best LLC formation services in Alaska

How do you form an LLC in Alaska, step by step?

Choose a name, line up a registered agent, file the Articles online or by mail, wait for approval, then get an EIN, sign an operating agreement and file the initial report on time.

1. Check that the name is free. Search the Division's records before filing. If you need to hold a name while something else is settled, a reservation costs $25 and lasts 120 days.⁵
2. Choose your registered agent. Under AS 10.50.055, the agent is an Alaska resident, or a corporation authorized here, whose business office is the same as the registered office. An owner living outside the state can't serve personally, because an individual agent has to be an Alaska resident. The Alaska registered agent guide covers who qualifies.²
3. Complete the Articles. The form is the Articles of Organization, Domestic Limited Liability Company (Form 08-0484), and the filing fee is $250. A service fills it in for you; filing yourself, you complete it on the Division's site or on the PDF.¹
4. Submit the filing. The Division takes the Articles online or by U.S. mail, not by email.¹
5. Wait for approval. The Division's paper-filing time is normally 10-15 business days, and its Articles form warns that paper submissions may take up to 3 weeks from receipt. Paper filings run longer during biennial report periods (April-June, October-December). There is no published time for online filings, and the Division doesn't publish a paid rush service for the Articles.³
6. Get an EIN from the IRS. The Employer Identification Number is the LLC's federal tax ID; banks usually ask for it, and some packages below obtain it for you.
7. Sign an operating agreement. The Division doesn't publish a requirement to file one; it is the owners' own record of shares, decisions and exits.
8. File the initial report. The state expects it within 6 months of formation, to report officers and/or ownership, with no fee, filed online. After that, the biennial report is due by January 2 every other year. The ongoing calendar is on staying compliant in Alaska.^{4, 6}

What does an Alaska LLC cost with and without a service?

The Division's fees are identical whether you file yourself or a service files for you; every package on this page adds them on top of its own price.

Since Alaska publishes no state expedite fee, the state's part of a formation bill is the Articles fee, plus a name reservation if you hold a name first. The table that follows lists each provider's published registered agent price and its cheapest formation package, in the order of the site's provider table: our score, highest first, ties in editorial order.

The next table shows what each lowest-priced package contains besides the filing.

A "Not listed" cell means the provider's own package description is silent on that item, so ask before ordering. The first-year and later-year totals, agent renewals included, are worked out on the cheapest ways to form an Alaska LLC.

What does each formation service's package cover for an Alaska LLC?

Each paragraph below sticks to a provider's published formation terms, in the order of the site's provider table, which follows our score (how we score).

A point that applies to all of them: a provider's own processing time is the time it takes to prepare and send your filing, and the Division's review comes after it. With no published state rush option in Alaska, a faster package shortens only the provider's part. The agent services themselves are compared on choosing a registered agent in Alaska.

Tailor Brands

Lite, the lowest tier, is $0 plus state fees and processes the LLC within 14 business days. Its description says it has no annual compliance, operating agreement or branding tools. Essential, at $199/yr plus state fees, processes the LLC within 1 business day and adds an operating agreement and annual compliance (report filing and updates); Tailor Brands doesn't specify whether that report filing includes Alaska's initial report or only the biennial one. Neither tier lists a registered agent, which is sold separately at $199/year. EIN filing is offered, price not published. Essential and Elite ($249/yr plus state fees) bill every year rather than once.^{7, 8, 9}

ZenBusiness

Starter costs $0 + state fees (does not renew), with processing of 7-10 days that ZenBusiness says excludes Secretary of State time. It comes with Worry-Free Compliance free for 1 year (then $199/yr), while the EIN and operating agreement are +$99 add-ons, and faster handling is a Rush upgrade +$79 on Starter. No tier includes the agent. It is sold as an add-on +$199/yr, and for owners who form through it, ZenBusiness offers 50% off the first year ($99) when you form an LLC. Pro ($199 + state fees, renews at $199/yr) includes the EIN, an operating agreement template and ongoing filing compliance (state-required annual report filings and up to 2 amendments per year). For an Alaska LLC those report filings come in alternate years rather than every year.^{10, 31}

LegalZoom

Basic is $0 + state filing fees and lists Articles of organization. The EIN, the operating agreement and the agent are priced separately: the EIN at $79, an operating agreement that starts at $99, and the agent at $249/year (first-time registered agent customers). The middle tier, $249 + state filing fees, adds attorney consultations (30 days included, then $49/month auto-renew). LegalZoom's separate Compliance Filings plan names initial report filing and auto-filing of annual reports and starts at $199/year, auto-renews, which is the only published product on this page that mentions an initial report.^{12, 13, 14, 15, 32}

Bizee

Bizee's Basic package ($0 + state fee) lists Registered Agent (1st year included), and after that year the agent renews at $149/year (ongoing annual fee). On Basic, the EIN costs $70 and the operating agreement +$99. Standard ($199 + state fee) includes both and quotes faster processing, ~2 weeks instead of 4 to 6, which Bizee says includes expedited filing. Premium lists expedited filing (~4 business days). Since the Division doesn't publish an expedite service, ask Bizee what "expedited" means for an Alaska filing.^{16, 17, 33}

Swyft Filings

Basic is $0 + state fees and covers preparation and filing of Articles of Organization. Standard, at $169 + state fees (promotional, 'SAVE $30'; regular $199), adds custom organizational minutes, custom banking resolution, business banking essentials, operating agreement; Swyft's stated handling times are Basic 7-10 business days and Standard 3 business days. No package lists a registered agent, which is $149 per quarter ($596/year) on its own. Every LLC plan includes a trial of its report service, a 14-day free trial then auto-charged as ComplianceGuard $199/year, so cancel it in time if you plan to file Alaska's reports yourself.^{18, 34, 35}

doola

doola's Starter plan, $297/yr, recurs each year and includes LLC filing, EIN, US bank account guidance, US business address, registered agent. doola says it files within 1-2 business days, before the Division's own review. Its pages say it can help a non-resident without a US SSN, which is relevant for owners who can't serve as their own Alaska agent; registered agents for non-resident founders covers that case.^{19, 20, 36}

Northwest Registered Agent

Northwest's package is $39 + State Fees and bundles filing with a free domain name, open source website, phone line, business email, business address, brand protection. Its corporation page describes the price as a total that includes one year of registered agent service, but its LLC page doesn't repeat that, so confirm before you order. The agent alone is $125 per year. The operating agreement is a free template, and the EIN costs $50 (with SSN); $200 without SSN.^{21, 22, 23, 24, 37}

Rocket Lawyer

Rocket Lawyer's formation offer reads: First registration free with a Rocket Lawyer membership. Memberships come with a free 7-day trial, then billed yearly: Standard $149/year, Plus $249/year, Pro $349/year. The agent costs $125 with a Plus or Pro membership, so Standard alone doesn't cover it. The EIN is $70 with Plus or Pro membership. No operating agreement is listed with formation.^{25, 26, 38, 39}

InCorp

InCorp prices formation starting at $99 plus state fees, and the package description mentions only live chat and phone support included. The agent is sold separately at $129 per state per year. Its rush option, a $50.00 InCorp expedite fee, covers InCorp's own handling only. No EIN or operating agreement is itemized in the package; InCorp sells the EIN on its own: EIN service, $69 (InCorp prepares the IRS forms or obtains the number for you).^{27, 28, 29, 40}

Harbor Compliance

Harbor prices formation starting at $99 plus state fees and says it handles name check, articles, registered agent, EIN, operating agreement, without publishing which tier includes which item or how long an included agent lasts. It says it can prepare and file the government forms to create most LLCs in one business day. Harbor also says it can expedite state processing, with the price not published; Alaska lists no state rush fee for it to pass on, so ask what that service would change here. The agent alone is $99 first year (new customers), renewing at $159 annually.^{30, 41, 42}

Should you file the Alaska Articles yourself or use a service?

Filing yourself costs only the $250 state fee if you can act as your own agent, because the Division's online form takes the filing directly and the initial report is free online too; a service mostly saves time on paperwork.¹

The main limit on doing it alone is the agent rule. An Alaska resident can name themselves under AS 10.50.055, as long as their business office is the registered office, and that address then sits on the public record. An owner living outside Alaska can't serve as their own agent, so for that owner the useful comparison is the agent's price and renewal rather than the formation fee.²

Speed is the other question. The Division publishes no state rush option for a service to buy, and online filing has no stated processing time at all. If you file on paper, allow for the Division's quoted time, normally 10-15 business days, and longer in its busy months.

Watch what renews. Several packages bill every year, and some bundle a first year of compliance service that turns into a paid subscription. In Alaska the reports come as one initial report, which is free, and then one biennial report every other year at $100, so a yearly compliance fee covers fewer filings than in an annual-report state. The Alaska registered agent guide explains the agent rules, and the glossary defines the filing terms.³