How To Form A Company In Alaska

With our 5-step process, forming a company in Alaska is simple. A company may be formed by submitting formation paperwork with your state and forming a board of directors.

We’ll teach you how to form your own company in Alaska.

In Alaska, it is simple to form a corporation.

In Alaska, you may form a company by submitting the Certificate of Incorporation, drafting corporate bylaws, and naming your first director (s).

To get started, follow the steps in our How to Start a Corporation in Alaska tutorial below:

Step 1: Give Your Alaska Corporation a Name

Step 2: Select a Registered Agent.

Step 3 Hold an Organizational Meeting

Step 4: Submit your Articles of Incorporation.

Step 5: Obtain an EIN

Step 1: Give Your Alaska Corporation a Name

The first step in forming a company is to choose a business name. You must choose a distinct name that conforms with Alaska company naming regulations.

1. Alaska naming conventions:

The words “corporation,” “business,” “incorporated,” “limited,” or an acronym of one of these keywords must appear in your name.

Your name must be distinct from any other businesses in your state. The Alaska Department of Commerce has extra advice on how to choose a distinguishing company name.

Your name may not include any words or phrases that suggest or imply that the organisation was formed for a purpose other than the one specified in its Articles of Incorporation.

A corporation’s name may include the name of a city, borough, or town; but, the name may not contain the words “city,” “borough,” or “village,” or otherwise indicate that the firm is a municipality.

Your company’s name cannot include terms that may be confused with a government organisation or unit (FBI, Treasury, State Department, etc.).

Unless the company has the proper professional licence, a business name may not include a term with professional licencing requirements, such as “Engineer.”

Entity names that mislead about corporate aims are not permitted. A for-profit shop, for example, could not call itself “Jen’s Not For Profit Charity Bookstore, Inc.”

Visit the Alaska Department of Commerce’s company name website for a comprehensive description of all naming standards.

2. Is my business name accessible in Alaska?

Your Alaska company name must be distinct and distinct from existing Alaska business names. To see whether your selected company name is available, use the Alaska Department of Commerce’s Business Search Portal.

Visit our How to Name a Business guide and pick Alaska from the drop-down box for further information on Alaska corporation name searches.

3. Is the URL accessible?

Before you register your Alaska company, check to see whether an appropriate URL for your selected business name is accessible. Even if you don’t intend to create a company website right immediately, we recommend purchasing a web domain right away to avoid other companies from obtaining it.

Step 2: Select a Registered Agent in Alaska.

When you form your company with the Department of Commerce, you must choose an Alaska registered agent.

What exactly is a Registered Agent? A registered agent is a person or organisation chosen by an LLC or corporation to accept service of process, government communications, and compliance paperwork on behalf of a company.

Who Is Eligible to Be a Registered Agent? An person, a corporate organisation, or a professional registered agent service may serve as your registered agent. Any company or individual may act as your Alaska registered agent as long as the person meets the following requirements:

is at least 18 years old

has a physical address in the state where business is done

is accessible during regular business hours (in person).

Step 3 Hold an Organizational Meeting

Before filing the Articles of Incorporation formally in Step 4, you must conduct an organisational meeting to perform the following tasks:

Complete and sign the Articles of Incorporation.

Establish and approve bylaws

Choose your first director (s)

Determine your ownership structure.

Fill out an Incorporator’s Statement.

Establish and Approve Corporate Bylaws

Bylaws are the rules that regulate and control how your organisation is governed and operated. Consider the bylaws to be your corporation’s constitution. It clarifies the norms and priorities for all parties involved.

The bylaws of a company will augment any regulations established by the federal government or the state.

Include the following in your bylaws:

The governance of the company, including the roles of directors and officials

Meeting processes, voting procedures, and the election of executives or directors

How will records be preserved and managed?

How will disagreements be resolved?

How will bylaws be added/modified in the future?

The annual shareholder meeting date

Contract Negotiation Techniques

Fiduciary responsibilities to the company (i.e. acting in the best interests of the corporation)

What is a quorum for voting purposes?

What exactly is a quorum? A quorum is the minimal number of members who must be present at a meeting in order for the meeting’s actions, including any votes, to be legitimate.

Appoint the First Directors

While the original director(s) of the company are not needed in the Alaska Articles of Incorporation, you may put them in the “Optional Provisions and Additional Articles” portion of the form.

A corporate director is in charge of operational bylaw adoption, modification, and repeal, as well as the election, monitoring, and removal of officers.

Following the incorporation of the company, the incorporator(s) — or initial director(s), if listed on the formation papers — shall convene an organisational meeting. During this inaugural meeting, either the incorporator(s) or the initial director(s) will elect the board of directors.

Selecting a Share Structure and Strategy

A share of stock is a corporation’s unit of ownership. Each share of stock reflects a proportion of the company’s ownership. If a business issues one share of stock, the shareholder (stock owner) owns 100% of the corporation.

Shares may be divided into classes. Each class, known as a share class, has unique rights and advantages. There may be several classes, and each class can have an unlimited number of shares.

The Articles of Incorporation form in Alaska enables you to specify whether the company will issue more than one approved share class or series. You must specify whether the shares are common or preferred.

Preferred Stock vs. Common Stock

Preferred stock does not offer its shareholders voting rights, although common stock does. Preferred shareholders are compensated before regular stockholders when it comes to corporate assets.

Make and implement an Incorporator’s Statement

The incorporator(s) shall sign and preserve an Incorporator’s Statement with the full names and addresses of all initial directors in the corporate records book.

The first director(s) named in this agreement will serve until the board of directors is chosen at the first shareholder meeting. It should be kept with the rest of your company’s records.

Step 4: Submit the Articles of Incorporation to the State of Alaska.

To establish a company in Alaska, you must submit the Alaska Articles of Incorporation. The Articles of Incorporation are the formal documents that establish your Alaska company, and you may submit them with the Department of Commerce online, via mail, or by fax. The fee for filing is $250.

This paper will address the fundamentals of your company, such as:

Corporate identity and mission (including a NAICS Industry Grouping Code)

Name and street address of the corporate registered agent

The number of authorised shares that the company may issue, as well as the share classes (common and/or preferred).

You must also fill out the Contact Information Sheet that comes with the form, which requests basic contact information in case there are any problems with the filing procedure.

 Step 5 Get an EIN for Your Alaska Corporation in

What exactly is an EIN? The federal government uses an Employer Identification Number (EIN) or Federal Tax Identification Number (FTIN) to identify a company organisation. It is effectively the company’s social security number.

Why do I need an EIN? An EIN is necessary for the following activities:

To establish a commercial bank account for the firm

In terms of federal and state taxation

To recruit workers for the firm

How can I get an EIN? After founding the firm, the business owner obtains an EIN from the IRS (free of charge). This may be done online or in the mail.