Alaska, Public Records Directory

Alaska Public Records

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Official Alaska sources for criminal, court, vital, business and property records.

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Alaska record topics

Open a topic page for the official Alaska offices that keep that kind of record.

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Wage Theft Records

Every U.S. Labor Department wage and hour case in Alaska by employer, with the back wages agreed and where to file a wage claim.

Open the topic page Wage Theft Records

State overview

About Alaska public records

The Alaska Court System is unified and state funded: the Superior Court and District Court are the trial courts, in four judicial districts, with appeals to the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. Agency records fall under the Alaska Public Records Act, explained below.

For an Alaska telephone or email inquiry, use the Reverse Phone Lookup and Email Search guide for contact sources and removal routes. A business connection can require checking separate entity, business-license and professional-license records; preserve the relevant numbers and dates.

State snapshot

Quick tip: deeds and other land records are recorded by the State Recorder's Office of the Department of Natural Resources, in one statewide system of 34 recording districts.

Bonus tip: Alaska vital records become public 100 years after a birth and 50 years after a death, marriage or divorce (AS 18.50.310(f)).

Open the dedicated background page for a deeper history, civic overview, and statewide public records context beyond the agency directory. Open the about page.

Find your borough or census area

Alaska boroughs and census areas, click yours

Every borough or census area on the map opens its own records page, with the courts, clerk, sheriff and offices for that borough or census area.

The front of the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, photographed by Carol M. Highsmith in 2008
The front of the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, photographed by Carol M. Highsmith in 2008. The building opened in 1931 as the federal and territorial building and became the capitol at statehood.Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. No known restrictions on publication. See the catalog record.
Aleutians East BoroughAleutians West Census AreaAnchorage MunicipalityBethel Census AreaBethelBristol Bay BoroughChugach Census AreaCopper River Census AreaCopper RiverDenali BoroughDenaliDillingham Census AreaDillinghamFairbanks North Star BoroughHaines BoroughHoonah-Angoon Census AreaJuneau City and BoroughKenai Peninsula BoroughKetchikan Gateway BoroughKodiak Island BoroughKusilvak Census AreaKusilvakLake and Peninsula BoroughMatanuska-Susitna BoroughNome Census AreaNomeNorth Slope BoroughNorth SlopeNorthwest Arctic BoroughNorthwest ArcticPetersburg BoroughPrince of Wales-Hyder Census AreaSitka City and BoroughSkagway MunicipalitySoutheast Fairbanks Census AreaWrangell City and BoroughYakutat City and BoroughYakutatYukon-Koyukuk Census AreaYukon-Koyukuk

The names are written where they fit. Hover or tap any borough or census area for its name, and click it to open its page.

Official source group

General Records

Government sites for Alaska records, licenses and public services.

Research guide

Trace Alaska records through court locations, recording districts and state files

Alaska records use several geographic systems: court locations, recording districts, boroughs and communities. Keep the relevant jurisdiction with the case, instrument or agency file number. This guide explains the search details that matter when a modern name search does not reach an older document.

The CourtView guide requires dashes and a five-digit sequence, including leading zeros, in case-number searches. Results are capped at 500 cases. Narrow a broad query by date rather than treating the first result set as complete.

When a business name is the keyword, run it three ways on the court portal: as a company name, as a last name and as a first name. In a criminal case read the disposition of each charge; a case listing does not mean a conviction on every charge.

For pre-1990 research, coverage is incomplete even when some older cases appear. Ask the clerk about both historical electronic and paper-card indexes. Identify the court location and period, then use the Alaska court directory to reach the correct office.

Use the request form for the filing location

The judiciary's copy-request directory provides different forms for Anchorage and associated locations, Fairbanks, Palmer and other courts. It separates case-file copies, hearing audio and search-warrant records. Choose the record category and filing location before submitting a request.

The general TF-311 instructions ask requesters to specify plain, certified or authenticated copies. They warn that omitting the case number can produce an hourly research charge. Identify the document and required copy type rather than asking for an unspecified court record.

Processing estimates can differ by courthouse and change with staffing. Check the current location notice and preserve the submitted request. A hearing recording and a written order are different records even when they concern the same proceeding.

Find the recording district before interpreting a land search

DNR's Places of Record directory identifies 34 recording districts, each with its own jurisdiction. Its district map helps connect a community or legal description with the appropriate district.

The Recorder's search menu distinguishes name, date, document number, book/page, historic books, plats, surveys and meridian-township-range-section searches. Use the field suited to the reference already available; a survey number and a recorded instrument number are not interchangeable.

The office warns that documents enter the system in nonsequential batches, so temporary numbering gaps can appear. A missing nearby number does not by itself establish an omitted or invalid recording. Ask about the actual instrument and its recording date.

Move to Historic Books for pre-1970 recordings

The Recorder's research explanation dates its grantor/grantee and legal-description indexes from 1970 onward. Earlier inquiries require Historic Books. Once the book/page or serial reference is found, use it to locate the image or request a copy.

The same office guide explains that recordings can be searched statewide or by district and that unavailable images can be requested through its copy service or Archive Unit. It also cautions that recording staff do not perform extensive title research.

Retain the historic name spelling and geographic description exactly as written. When tracing an instrument across a later boundary or naming change, keep both references in the research notes rather than replacing the older description with a modern address.

Distinguish the survey title from its case-file number

DNR's survey reference sheet, revised March 2025, explains ASLS, ASCS, EPF, PA, ATS and EV file types. It shows that a survey title can contain punctuation that is omitted from the searchable case-file number. The type and number are usually in the plat's title block.

The guide links both the Land Records Search Utility and Land Administration System case files. It warns that a survey or plat can have more than one associated file and that some engineering and platting-authority numbers can overlap. Search with the correct file type, not the number alone.

Preserve the recorded plat reference alongside the DNR administrative file. One identifies the recorded survey; the other can supply the application, status and history supporting the agency's action.

Check the entity, business license and professional credential separately

CBPL's division guide separates corporations, business licensing and professional licensing. A corporate registration, state business license and occupational credential are distinct records with different identifying numbers.

The business-status guide explains that an owning entity's or associated professional license's status can affect the business license. If records appear inconsistent, compare the related identifiers and dates instead of assuming that one active listing settles all three.

The licensing FAQ distinguishes individual license searches from the download of current, unexpired licenses. A business missing from that current-license export may still require an individual historical search. The investigations page separately directs professional-discipline checks to the professional license search.

Read the institutional controls as well as the cleanup label

DEC's database guide supports site name, location, property type, Hazard ID, File ID and institutional-control searches. It recommends broad searches or the map when a site's indexed name is uncertain.

The site-report explanation describes a chronology, staff contact, assessments, decisions and cleanup documents. Cleanup Complete-Institutional Controls can involve residual contamination and restrictions on future activities. Preserve the decision and control requirements rather than reducing the result to a label saying clean.

The search page separately identifies a unique Hazard ID and notes that File IDs are present for many sites. Save both where shown, then use the assigned project contact for a missing report or unclear condition.

Use the collection's own coverage rather than a statewide assumption

The Archives' research guide separates state-government holdings from District and Territorial records. The latter include court and land-related material. A historical court inquiry may therefore require an archival series as well as the current courthouse route.

The naturalization guide explains that its index covers the records held by the State Archives, with some volumes unindexed and additional Alaska records held elsewhere. Retain the judicial precinct, record type, case number and box or volume from a match.

The genealogy directory lists separately dated naturalization, probate, teacher and other collections. A declaration, petition and certificate are different documents. Ask for the specific referenced item and avoid treating an index's date range as complete statewide coverage.

The law

The Alaska public records law

Five short notes on the statute, each with the code sections it rests on.

How the Alaska Public Records Act works

The Alaska Public Records Act is AS 40.25.100 to 40.25.295 (text of the law). "Every person has a right to inspect a public record in the state," including records in recorders' offices, except for the listed exceptions (AS 40.25.120).

Deadlines: the statute sets none. For state executive branch agencies, regulation 2 AAC 96.325 gives 10 working days to respond, plus one extension of 10 working days. A further extension needs the requester's agreement or the Attorney General's approval. The Legislature, the court system, the University and municipalities set their own procedures (AS 40.25.123).

Fees: copies cost no more than the agency's standard unit cost. When search and copying for one requester passes 5 person hours in a calendar month, the requester pays the personnel costs, and the Department of Law states that the first 5 hours then count too. An agency may reduce or waive a fee in the public interest (AS 40.25.110).

Appeals: an administrative appeal goes to the agency head within 60 working days of the denial (Department of Law guide). The final agency order can be appealed to the superior court (AS 40.25.124), and a person can ask the superior court for an injunction without first using those remedies (AS 40.25.125).

What you cannot get in Alaska

  • Full criminal histories: criminal justice information is confidential. Any person may get conviction and current offender information, but not nonconviction or correctional treatment information (AS 12.62.160(a) and (b)(8)).
  • Juvenile records: exempt unless a law allows disclosure (AS 40.25.120(a)(2)). The court seals a minor's delinquency records within 30 days of the 18th birthday, or of the end of court jurisdiction (AS 47.12.300(d)).
  • Vital records: birth records stay confidential for 100 years, and death, marriage and divorce records for 50 years (AS 18.50.310(f)).
  • Law enforcement records to the extent release could interfere with enforcement, deny a fair trial, invade the privacy of a suspect, victim or witness, or endanger a person (AS 40.25.120(a)(6)).
  • Dismissed and acquitted cases leave the court system's public website 60 days after the acquittal or dismissal, except dismissals that were part of a plea agreement (AS 22.35.030).

Set aside and sealing in Alaska

Set aside after a suspended imposition of sentence (SIS). A judge may suspend imposition of sentence and place the person on probation. When the person is discharged without a sentence, the court may set aside the conviction and issue a certificate (AS 12.55.085(e)). An SIS is not allowed for the offenses listed in AS 12.55.085(f), including most physical and sexual assaults, use of a firearm, and some cases with prior convictions. The court system states that a set aside conviction and the judgment setting it aside both remain in the public record (SIS questions and answers).

Sealing for mistaken identity or false accusation. A person may ask in writing that an agency seal conviction or offender information that, beyond a reasonable doubt, resulted from mistaken identity or false accusation. An adverse decision can be appealed to the court (AS 12.62.180). For state records, send the DPS Request to Seal Criminal Justice Information to the Chief of the Criminal Records and Identification Bureau, 5700 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 99507, with proof of the dismissal, acquittal, reversal or pardon.

No waiting period is set: an SIS lasts the probation term the court sets, and a sealing request can be made once the proof exists.

How to get your own Alaska criminal record

The Department of Public Safety's Criminal Records and Identification Bureau is the central repository. The subject of a record may receive all of it (AS 12.62.160(b)(10)), including nonconviction and sealed information.

  1. Request a name based check online through the DPS online background check, or mail the request form for the record subject.
  2. For a fingerprint based check, submit prints on a standard FD-258 FBI fingerprint card; prints in other formats are rejected.
  3. Walk in requests are taken at most DPS offices and many local police departments.
  4. Fees on the DPS background check page today: $20 for a name based check, $35 for a fingerprint based check, $5 for an extra copy ordered at the same time.

Alaska record laws to know

  • AS 12.62.160: who may receive criminal justice information, including any person, an interested person screening for work with minors or dependent adults, and the subject.
  • AS 18.65.087: the Department of Public Safety's central registry of sex offenders and child kidnappers.
  • AS 18.50.310: confidentiality of vital records and when they become public.
  • AS 22.35.030: removal of acquittals and dismissals from the court system's public website.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Answers to common questions about Alaska public records.

What is included in an Alaska background check?
A check from the DPS Criminal Records and Identification Bureau covers Alaska criminal justice information only. For any person, the report shows past convictions, current offender information and identification information; nonconviction information is left out (AS 12.62.160). Employers screening for positions with power over minors or dependent adults get more, and the subject gets the whole record. Registry status is on the Sex Offender and Child Kidnapper Registry, and court cases are on CourtView.
Where can I find police reports in Alaska?
Alaska State Trooper incident reports, collision reports and body worn camera footage are requested from the Department of Public Safety through its records request page. DPS states that most police report requests have no cost and that it does not hold the records of city police departments, so ask the city police department that took the report. Law enforcement records can be withheld in part under AS 40.25.120(a)(6).
What are the procedures to obtain Alaska vital records, and what information is included?
Birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates come from the Department of Health's Health Analytics and Vital Records section. Order with the state request forms by mail or fax, or in person at the Anchorage or Juneau office, as shown on the Vital Records Orders page. People named on a record or their authorized representatives may order; birth records become public after 100 years and other records after 50 years (AS 18.50.310(f)).
Where is Alaska school performance data published?
The Department of Education and Early Development publishes the Report Card to the Public for the state and each school district, and statewide test scores on its Assessment Results page. For help, the department lists 907-465-2800.
Where are Alaska crime statistics published?
The Department of Public Safety posts official reports and statistics on its Reports and Data page. The annual Alaska Crime Report there gives a statewide overview of reported crime and law enforcement activity, compiled from information that law enforcement agencies across the state submit. The same page has the Troopers' drug seizure reports and the quarterly missing Indigenous persons reports.
Where is a person taken after an arrest in Alaska?
Officers take the person to the closest local jail or Alaska Department of Corrections facility, where bail may be posted (Alaska State Troopers). DOC runs the correctional centers and pretrial facilities, and some towns run community jails (court system list of facilities). A person held in jail goes before a judge within 24 hours: a misdemeanor arraignment or a felony first appearance (Steps in a Criminal Case).
Can I find public records at an Alaska library?
The Alaska State Library in Juneau keeps state government publications and, through its Historical Collections, books, documents and photographs on Alaska history. The Alaska State Archives preserves government records of lasting value to Alaska history and makes them available to the public. Current records are requested from the agency that holds them under the Alaska Public Records Act (Department of Law guide).
Where is the Alaska State Library located?
The Alaska State Library is on the 2nd floor of the Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building, 395 Whittier St., Juneau, AK 99801. Mail goes to PO Box 110571, Juneau, AK 99811. Phone numbers listed by the library: Reference 907-465-2920, Historical Collections 907-465-2925 and Government Publications 907-465-1300.
Where can I get fingerprinted in Alaska?
Fingerprints for an Alaska background check must be on a standard FD-258 FBI fingerprint card (DPS background checks). DPS keeps a list of approved fingerprinters, private businesses and individuals in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Wasilla, Juneau, Kenai and other towns approved for concealed handgun permit applications; DPS notes that some also take prints for employment or licensing. Contact the provider for hours and appointments.
Can Alaska CourtView reliably cover every case filed before 1990?

No. The CourtView guide describes incomplete coverage and directs historical inquiries to the clerk's electronic and paper indexes.

Why does Alaska CourtView reject a shortened case number?

The search instructions require dashes and leading zeros in the five-digit sequence. Copy the complete court reference.

Where do I start an Alaska deed search for a pre-1970 recording?

The Recorder's guide directs earlier research to Historic Books. Use the resulting book/page or serial reference to locate or request the document.

Can an Alaska survey title differ from its searchable DNR file number?

Yes. The reference sheet distinguishes title punctuation and file-number formats, and identifies the required file type.

Does Alaska's downloadable current-business-license list include expired licenses?

No. The licensing FAQ describes that download as current, unexpired licenses. Use the individual search for a different inquiry.

Can an Alaska cleanup-complete site still have use restrictions?

Yes. DEC's status guide explains Cleanup Complete-Institutional Controls. Read the site decision and continuing controls.

City pages

13 Alaska cities with standalone pages

These Alaska cities have their own record pages. Each county page also links to city and town pages in that county.

AnchorageBethelCoffman CoveDelta JunctionDillinghamJuneauMcGrathNomeSitkaUnalaskaValdezWhittierWrangell

Borough or census area pages

Alaska Counties

Every borough or census area page lists the courts, clerk, sheriff and offices of that borough or census area.

Aleutians EastAleutians WestAnchorageBethelBristol BayChugachCopper RiverDenaliDillinghamFairbanks North StarHainesHoonah-Angoon

See all: 30 Alaska boroughs and census areas

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