Reserve A Corporate Business Name in Alaska

Registering a business or corporate name gives the owner the exclusive right to the use of that name. Reserving a name temporarily protects it while an entity is being organized.

When organized or certified in Alaska, the names of the following entity types are registered automatically: corporations, limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships, limited partnerships, cooperatives, non-profit corporations, foreign or domestic, and Alaska religious corporations, professional corporations or BIDCOs.


AVAILABLE NAMES For Alaska Corporations

A name is available to reserve or register if the name is distinguishable from the names of existing organized entities and from names reserved or registered. Organized entity means corporation, cooperative, limited liability company, limited liability partnership and other organizational types detailed in AS 10.35.040.

People who have used a business name for a long period of time may have created a common law right to the use of the name. Therefore, you are strongly advised to conduct a thorough search BEFORE registering or reserving a name, even though that name may be available for registration. Places to look include, but are not limited to, business license records, telephone directories, trade magazines, trademark records, catalogs, and so on.

Restrictions apply to business and corporate names, even if the name is otherwise available. For example, an unincorporated business may not use "incorporated" or "corporation" as part of its name, whereas an incorporated name must contain "corporation", "company", "incorporation", or "limited" , or an abbreviation, as part of its name. A business or corporate name may not imply that the organization is a governmental unit, e.g. a city, village or borough. Names that mislead regarding corporate purpose are not allowed. Vulgar names are not allowed.

Words used to identify goods and services, used as slogans in advertising or used to indicate association with an organization are trademarks or service marks and cannot be registered as business names. Trademarks can be filed for Alaska using form 08-565 or filed under the federal Lanham Act.

Words used to identify an internet domain name or internet address cannot be registered as business names.


RESERVATIONS

The application to reserve a business or entity name costs $25. The reservation is valid for 120 days. It is non-renewable. It may be transferred by filing a notice of transfer.


RESERVING AN ENTITY (CORPORATE) NAME

You may reserve an entity name if you are: a person intending to organize an Alaska corporation, a n Alaska corporation intending to change its name, a foreign corporation intending to register in Alaska, a foreign corporation registered in Alaska and intending to change your name, a person intending to organize a foreign corporation to be registered in Alaska.


RESERVING A BUSINESS NAME

You may reserve a business name if you are intending to do business using that name.


REGISTRATIONS

The application to register an entity or business name costs $25. Registrations are renewable, but no expiration notice is sent.


REGISTERING AN ENTITY (CORPORATE) NAME in Alaska

You may register an entity if you are an organized and existing corporation of a state or territory of the United States not registered to do business in Alaska. The duration is through December 31st of the registered year. This is renewable annually by reapplying between October 1st and December 31st of the current year.


REGISTERING A BUSINESS NAME IN ALASKA

An initial business name registration expires on the fifth December 31st after the day of registration, e.g. if you register on April 4, 2006 the registration will expire on December 31, 2010. The registration is renewable at five-year intervals by reapplying between October 1st and December 31st of the year of expiration.

A corporation registering a name for doing business as (DBA) must be a domestic corporation or a foreign corporation certified in Alaska.