Alaska People Search

Alaska runs its courts, land recording, prisons, business filings and vital records at the state level, so these six state offices cover a search anywhere in Alaska.

• Alaska Court System CourtViewFree statewide case search by name, case number or citation
• DNR Recorder's OfficeDeeds, liens and UCC filings for all 34 recording districts
• Alaska CBPL Business Entity SearchCorporations, LLCs and trade names with officers and registered agents
• VINELink custody statusCustody status of people held by the Alaska Department of Corrections
• Alaska Sex Offender and Child Kidnapper RegistryPublic registry kept by the Department of Public Safety
• Alaska Health Analytics and Vital RecordsBirth, death, marriage and divorce certificates for eligible requesters

The Alaska Public Records Act (AS 40.25.110 and the sections after it) opens state and municipal records to any person, resident or not. Agencies have 10 working days to answer a request.

Article I, Section 22 of the Alaska Constitution names a right of privacy outright, which the U.S. Constitution does not. Courts weigh it against the public right to know, so records with home addresses, finances or juvenile histories are often released with parts blacked out.

Records in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau are mostly online, but many villages reachable only by air or water keep paper records, so a search there often needs a mailed request.

Common Mistake: Searching for "Alaska Counties"

Alaska has no counties. It is divided into 19 organized boroughs and the Unorganized Borough, so look for a borough office, not a county assessor or a county court.

The Permanent Fund Dividend pays a yearly dividend to residents who meet the residency rules. Applications and payments are confidential, but the published rules show how long a resident may be away from the state.

Alaska has no state income tax and no state sales tax. Commercial fishing permits are public: the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission search shows the permit holder, the vessel and a mailing address.

• Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend DivisionDividend rules, including the residency and absence limits
• Commercial Fisheries Entry CommissionPublic permit and vessel license search for commercial fishing

The Alaska Court System is one state system with four judicial districts: the 1st (Southeast), 2nd (Northern), 3rd (Southcentral, the busiest) and 4th (Interior). Cases are heard in the superior court (felonies, larger civil cases, family law), the district court (misdemeanors, small claims) or by magistrates in rural areas.

Because the system is unified, there are no city or borough court databases: CourtView searches party names across all state trial courts at once. It shows the docket; copies of filings usually have to be ordered from the courthouse.

Federal matters are handled by the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, part of the 9th Circuit. The federal court has divisions in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Nome. Federal civil, criminal, and bankruptcy cases are accessible exclusively through the federal PACER system, not CourtView.

• PACER, U.S. District Court for AlaskaFederal criminal, civil and bankruptcy cases for a per page fee

Alaska records deeds at the state level, not with a county clerk. The Department of Natural Resources Recorder's Office keeps them in 34 recording districts, such as Anchorage and Fairbanks, and these districts do not follow borough lines.

After a deed is recorded, the borough assessor (where there is an organized borough) uses it for assessment and tax. For the owner and the assessed value, check the borough assessor; for the chain of title, mortgages and liens, check the DNR Recorder's Office.

The Unorganized Borough, about 57 percent of Alaska's land, has no borough assessor, so property records there come only from the state: the DNR land records and the recording district.

Common Mistake: Recording Districts ≠ Boroughs

A single organized borough may contain multiple recording districts, or a single recording district may span multiple boroughs. Always determine the exact Recording District of a property via the DNR index before attempting to pull a deed.

• DNR Alaska MapperMaps of land status and state land records

The Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing in the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development registers corporations, LLCs and trade names and licenses professionals across the state.

Business records list officers, registered agents and filing dates, and a registered agent must keep a street address in Alaska. The professional license search covers dozens of boards, from nursing and real estate to big game guides and contractors.

• Alaska CBPL Professional License SearchLicense status and discipline for state licensed professionals

The Alaska Department of Corrections runs every jail and prison in the state, since there are no counties and so no county jails. People held before trial and people serving sentences are all in state custody, so one state search covers them.

The Department of Corrections uses VINELink for public custody lookups. The Department of Public Safety keeps the Sex Offender and Child Kidnapper Registry, linked in Where to Look above.

Alaska vital records are kept by Health Analytics and Vital Records in the Department of Health. Birth records are closed for 100 years, and death, marriage and divorce records for 50 years.

Until then only the person named, close family or a legal representative can order a certified copy, and Alaska gives no informational copies to the public. For recent events, use obituaries, CourtView divorce dockets or newspaper notices.

Privacy Note: Strict Embargo Periods

A recent birth or marriage certificate cannot be ordered for a search. The 100 year and 50 year limits are applied as written, so court dockets and archived newspaper notices are the sources for recent events.

The Alaska Division of Elections keeps voter registration. Basic voter lists with names and party are public, but state law limits their commercial use. The record shows which elections a voter took part in, never how they voted, and birth dates and Social Security numbers are withheld.

The Alaska Public Offices Commission publishes reports from candidates, lobbyists and political committees, which can show a donor's employer and address.

• Alaska Public Offices Commission reportsCampaign contributions, lobbyist filings and candidate disclosures

The Alaska State Archives in Juneau hold territorial records, naturalizations and early vital record indexes. Alaska's Digital Archives, run by the University of Alaska and the state libraries, holds historical photographs, diaries and other documents.

For obituaries and marriage notices, search historical Alaska newspapers in Chronicling America at the Library of Congress. FamilySearch also has early Alaska church records and territorial census records online.

• Alaska's Digital ArchivesHistorical photographs, maps and documents from Alaska libraries and museums
• Alaska State ArchivesTerritorial and state records, probate, naturalization and early court cases

Local records sit with the organized boroughs and unified municipalities. These four hold about three quarters of Alaska's people, and each has its own property search.

• Municipality of Anchorage property searchAnchorage, Eagle River, Chugiak and Girdwood assessment records
• Matanuska-Susitna Borough MyPropertyPalmer, Wasilla and Houston area parcels and values
• Fairbanks North Star Borough property searchFairbanks and North Pole area parcels and assessments
• Kenai Peninsula Borough parcel informationKenai, Soldotna, Homer and Seward parcels

Southeast Alaska is served mostly by unified city and borough governments, such as the City and Borough of Juneau (the state capital) and the City and Borough of Sitka, and by boroughs such as the Ketchikan Gateway Borough. All are in the 1st Judicial District.

Other organized boroughs include the North Slope Borough (Utqiagvik), the Northwest Arctic Borough (Kotzebue), the Kodiak Island Borough, the Bristol Bay Borough (Naknek) and the Aleutians East Borough.

The Unorganized Borough has no borough government. The Census Bureau splits it into 11 census areas, such as Bethel, Nome, Dillingham and Yukon-Koyukuk, for statistics only, so records there come from the state: DNR, CourtView and the Division of Corporations.

Many surnames in Southeast Alaska and the Aleutians date from the Russian era, and towns such as Petersburg and Kodiak have many Scandinavian names, so common names like Jensen or Hansen need a second identifier such as a birth year or middle name.

Many people live in Alaska only for a military posting of three or four years at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Fort Wainwright, Eielson Air Force Base or a Coast Guard station, or for a fishing, tourism or North Slope season, which leaves gaps in address histories.

Some residents spend winters in Washington, Oregon or California, so property and court records in those states can fill gaps in an Alaska address history.

Article I, Section 22 of the state constitution reads: "The right of the people to privacy is recognized and shall not be infringed." State courts apply it to keep personal details out of released records, a higher bar than in states where privacy rests only on statute.

Alaska has no general consumer data privacy law like California's CCPA. Crime victims' rights have been in the state constitution since 1994 (Article I, Section 24); Alaska has not adopted Marsy's Law.

Unlike most states, Alaska has no address confidentiality program in law; bills to create one are pending in the Legislature.

Common Mistake: State vs. Tribal Court Jurisdiction

Alaska has 229 federally recognized tribes. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 settled land claims through regional and village corporations, and many villages also have tribal councils that run tribal courts for child welfare, adoption and family matters. A clean CourtView search does not rule out a record in a tribal court.