Alaska Foreign Registration / Wyoming LLCs
A Wyoming LLC registering in Alaska
A Wyoming LLC that starts conducting affairs in Alaska files Form 08-0497 for $350 and attaches a Wyoming certificate of good standing, which Wyoming issues at no charge. Wyoming keeps billing its own report and license tax, from $60 up, while Alaska adds a $200 biennial report; two years of upkeep in both states come to $320 if Wyoming charges its minimum.
Wyoming and Alaska compared
| Topic | Wyoming | Alaska |
|---|---|---|
| One-time filing | None; the LLC already exists | Form 08-0497, $350 |
| Proof of existence | Issued at no charge | Attached to the form: a certificate of good standing (or equivalent) from the home jurisdiction |
| Regular upkeep | $60 at the least, every year | $200 report, every second year |
| Agent | A Wyoming registered agent | An agent with a real Alaska location |
| Annual calendar | The anniversary month of formation | Before January 2 in your parity year |
A free certificate still has to be good
Wyoming does not charge for a certificate of good standing, so the cost is zero but the timing is not. Alaska's Part IV has the company attest that it is in good standing at home and attach a certificate of good standing (or equivalent) from the home jurisdiction. Make sure the Wyoming annual report and license tax are paid before you order, so the certificate shows good standing, and order it the week you file. The Division publishes no age limit for the certificate.
Wyoming entries on Form 08-0497
The name goes in as Wyoming records it, with its ending. Part V names Wyoming as the domicile and gives the formation date. A Wyoming LLC run from a laptop in Alaska has a principal office that is simply where it works, and Part VIII wants street and mailing addresses for it. The registered agent in Part VII has to be in Alaska. Part X lists the members and managers; Alaska's record is a public one, so this is where the owners' names appear.
The disclosure point for a privacy-minded owner
Some owners choose Wyoming for low cost and light disclosure. Alaska's registration works differently. The application must list members or managers and everyone with a 5 percent interest, with their percentages and mailing addresses, and the Division posts filings in its public database. If keeping an owner off a public record is the point of the Wyoming LLC, that has to be weighed before registering in Alaska, and an Alaska business lawyer can tell you what the filing discloses.
Counting the upkeep in both states
Wyoming asks at least $60 each year, and Alaska asks $200 every second year. Over two years that is $320 at the Wyoming minimum, plus $50 a year for the Alaska business license if the company does business there. Wyoming's low cost does not travel with the company: Alaska charges the same $350 to every foreign LLC.
Wyoming and Alaska deadlines
| When | What is due | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Anniversary month of formation | Wyoming yearly report with its license tax | $60 as a floor |
| Before January 2, in your parity year | Alaska biennial report | $200 |
| When the agent or office moves | Alaska Statement of Change | $25 |
Timing the certificate and the filing
Because the Wyoming certificate costs nothing, the temptation is to order one early and file later. Resist it. The certificate speaks to standing on the day it is issued, and a Wyoming LLC that misses its anniversary report between ordering and filing is no longer what the certificate says. Order it the week you file, file online so the registration posts at once, and keep the date for your Alaska calendar.
Two agents, two states
A Wyoming LLC will already have a Wyoming registered agent, and that agent cannot serve for the Alaska registration unless it also has a real Alaska location and agrees to serve. Where it does not, the answer is a second agent in Alaska. Both stay on the books: the Wyoming agent receives Wyoming papers and the Alaska agent receives Alaska ones. Tell each of them about the other, and tell both where to forward what they receive.
Leaving or renaming later
A Wyoming LLC that stops working in Alaska files Form 08-502 for $25, once its biennial reports are current. One that changes its name in Wyoming files Form 08-498 for $25, with a certificate of compliance from Wyoming. Neither filing changes anything in Wyoming, where the LLC stays in good standing as long as it keeps up its own report.
Registering a Wyoming LLC in Alaska
Check Wyoming standing
Wyoming's yearly report and tax are paid.
Obtain the certificate
It is free, and it should be recent.
Choose the Alaska agent
A real Alaska location with both addresses.
Complete Form 08-0497
Wyoming name, formation date and the member list.
File and pay
$350, online or by mail.
Diary both calendars
Wyoming's anniversary month and Alaska's January 2.
Wyoming LLC questions
Does a Wyoming LLC get a lower Alaska fee?
No. Alaska charges every foreign LLC the same $350.
Do I have to list my members?
Yes. The application lists members, or managers if it is manager-managed, and every 5 percent owner.
Can my Wyoming agent serve in Alaska?
Only if they have a real Alaska location and agree to serve here.
Our charge, then the Alaska fee
Register in Alaska
Alaska$199
+ $350 Alaska fee
- Form 08-0497, the Certificate of Registration, Foreign Limited Liability Company, completed from your answers
- Certificate of good standing (or equivalent) from the home state, ordered for the filing
- An Alaska registered agent: ours, or one you already work with
- The filed registration and the year your first biennial report falls in
- Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year
Our charge and the Alaska fee are separate lines at checkout. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
References
- Alaska Division of Corporations, forms and fees
- Alaska Form 08-0497, Registration of Foreign LLC
- Alaska Administrative Code, 3 AAC 16.065
- Alaska Form 08-414, Certificate of Authority, Foreign Business Corporation
- Wyoming Secretary of State, Business Division fee schedule
- Alaska Form 08-502, Certificate of Cancellation, Foreign LLC
- Alaska Form 08-409, Statement of Change of Registered Agent
- Alaska Statutes, AS 43.70.020 to 43.70.030 (business license)
- Alaska Form 08-498, Amended Certificate of Registration, Foreign LLC
Taking on work in Alaska?
Order once and we handle the certificate, the form and the agent, then tell you when the biennial report falls due.