10 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them, each with the agency, the fee and the official page, and what the Census counts of bars in Alaska say.
10 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 21, 2026.
Step 1 of 6Set up the business. Now: Articles of organization (LLC), the initial report and the biennial report
0 of 10 items done. Each step opens when the one before it is complete. Progress stays on this device. Members keep a dated, noted plan for each saved location in the workspace.
1Set up the business0 of 4
File online through the Division’s corporations portal. The articles name a registered agent with an Alaska street address and the NAICS code for the business. An LLC formed in an even year files its biennial report in even years, an odd year in odd years; a late report adds a penalty and two missed reports lead to involuntary dissolution.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Every business in Alaska, including an LLC and a sole proprietor, holds this state license before opening, and it is the prerequisite for the business name registration and for professional and alcohol licenses. Apply online with the entity number, the NAICS line of business and the owner details; the license is issued at once. Tobacco sales need an endorsement.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed when the business trades under any name other than the LLC’s registered name or the owner’s legal name; the registration gives exclusive rights to the name statewide. The business license for that name must be current before the name is registered. An LLC’s own name is protected by its articles and needs no separate registration.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed to hire, to open a business bank account and for the state unemployment insurance account. Issued at once online.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
More than a hundred cities and boroughs collect a general sales tax, each with its own registration, exemptions and filing schedule, and some add a bed, alcohol or tobacco tax, so ask the local finance office before the first sale. Alaska taxes corporate net income (AS 43.20); an LLC taxed as a partnership or a sole proprietorship files no state income tax return. There is no state employer withholding.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Approve the spaceOpens after step 2
Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and a handful of other cities review plans and issue certificates of occupancy themselves; everywhere else a commercial build-out or change of use goes to the State Fire Marshal for plan review before construction. Much of the state outside city limits has no zoning at all. Confirm the zoning allows your use before signing; the food permit and the alcohol license both ask for the approved premises.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Get the permits for your kind of businessOpens after step 3
Submit the plan review application with the menu, the floor plan and the equipment list at least 30 days before construction, then pass the pre-opening inspection. Restaurants, bars, coffee shops, bakeries and ice cream shops are all food establishments under the code, and a bar serving only drinks still holds a permit. Anchorage businesses apply to the Anchorage Health Department (907-343-4200), not the state. Ask the Food Safety and Sanitation Program, or the Anchorage Health Department inside Anchorage, for the current fee for your operation type.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
An establishment that prepares or serves unpackaged food employs a full-time certified food protection manager who is involved in daily operations, holding a certificate from an exam on the ANSI Conference for Food Protection directory. A new establishment has 45 days to hire one or designate an employee who is enrolled and certifies within 90 days, and a person in charge who can answer the inspector’s food safety questions must be on site whenever the business is open. Anchorage requires a certified manager for every risk type 2 and 3 permit.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Alcohol permitsOpens after step 4
The restaurant or eating place license is for a bona fide restaurant and allows beer and wine with meals only; a bar or cocktail bar needs a beverage dispensary license, which can add a restaurant endorsement ($200 biennial). Apply through AMCO with the approved premises, the business license and the owners’ disclosures; the application is posted at the premises, published, and sent to the city or borough, which may protest it, and the Board decides at a quarterly meeting. Local option areas may ban sales altogether. Ask AMCO for the current beverage dispensary fee and whether a license is available under the population cap before signing a lease.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Before the first hireOpens after step 5
Alaska is one of the few states where employees pay part of the unemployment tax, so payroll must withhold it. Workers’ compensation insurance is required from the first employee; Alaska has no reciprocity with other states and no exemption by type of business. Report each new hire to the Child Support Services Division within 20 days.
The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the bars already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
The full reportWhether the rules allow a bar at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
No account. The bar check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Division of Corporations forms and fees schedule (AS 10.50; form 08-484); Business Licensing FAQs and new application form (AS 43.70.020); Division of Corporations forms and fees schedule; business name registration and renewal forms (08-560); IRS EIN page; Alaska Department of Revenue Tax Division; municipal sales tax codes (Title 29); Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission; Department of Public Safety Division of Fire and Life Safety plan review pages; municipal zoning and building codes; DEC opening a new food establishment pages; 18 AAC 31.030 and 31.050 (Alaska Food Code); Anchorage Municipal Code chapter 16.60; DEC certified food protection manager page; 18 AAC 31.320 and 31.325; AS 04.09.210 and 04.09.200 (Title 04 as rewritten by SB 9, effective January 1, 2024); AS 04.11.400 (population limits); AMCO alcohol license application pages and license overview chart; Department of Labor unemployment insurance tax rates for new (industry) employers, 2026; Division of Workers’ Compensation employer information; AS 25.27.075 (new hire reporting); U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023; U.S. Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics. Fees are as published by each agency on the date checked; cities add their own.
Questions about opening here.
10 items, in order: articles of organization (llc), the initial report and the biennial report, alaska business license, business name registration (dba), employer identification number (ein), no state sales tax or personal income tax; local sales tax registration where the city or borough levies one and zoning approval, building permit, fire marshal plan review and certificate of occupancy, and 4 more.
Alaska Division of Corporations, Internal Revenue Service, Your city or borough finance office, Your city or borough planning and building departments, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office, and 1 more.
With articles of organization (llc), the initial report and the biennial report (Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, Corporations Section), then alaska business license. The steps run structure, tax, space, permits, alcohol and employer, in that order.
Yes, to sell it: restaurant or eating place license (beer and wine), or beverage dispensary license (full bar). The local license usually comes first.
Each item's fee, renewal cycle and official page are shown to members, as the agency published them on the date checked. Cities and counties add their own fees.
