SOS Entity SearchPublic registry guideDocument services desk
A certificate of status, a certified charter copy, and an apostille each prove something different. Select the document that matches the receiving party’s requirement.
Certificate of status
Alaska calls its good-standing document a Certificate of Compliance. It costs $10.00 for domestic or foreign entities. The online certificate service posts the certificate immediately so it can be viewed, saved, or printed from the entity record; paper requests follow the Division's seasonal processing queue, commonly 10–15 business days or longer in October–February.
Open certificate service ↗Certified records
Alaska's official fee page routes copy requests through Form 08-0562 and states that the fee varies. The reviewed materials do not establish a universal certification flat fee plus per-page schedule for all records, so the exact charge must be calculated from the document request and the Division's current copy instructions. The requester should identify the entity and documents and specify whether certified copies are required.
Ask the recipient whether it needs a plain copy, a certified copy, a long-form certificate, or a certificate of authority.
Choose the evidence
A certificate of good standing or existence typically confirms that the entity appears active or current in the state registry at the time the certificate is issued. It may be needed to open a bank account, qualify in another state, satisfy a lender, complete a merger, or support a commercial contract.
A certified copy reproduces a filed public instrument with the agency’s certification. This is the appropriate request when the receiving party needs to review the entity’s formation document, a charter amendment, a conversion, a merger, or a dissolution instrument.
Neither document should be casually described as tax clearance. A state registry certificate may not establish that the entity has paid franchise, income, employment, sales, use, local, or industry-specific taxes.
International use
Alaska apostilles are handled by the Alaska Lieutenant Governor's authentication service rather than the Corporations Section. The corporate registry research did not verify a single current 2026 fee or processing SLA for every document type. Use the state's authentication instructions, submit the original certified public document as required, and follow its mailing or in-person instructions; the Corporations Section cannot apostille an entity record merely because it issued the record.
01 · Confirm destination
Ask the receiving authority whether it requires an apostille, authentication, legalization, translation, or a recently issued certificate.
02 · Certify first
Many state authentication offices require a qualifying certified document before they can authenticate the signature or seal.
03 · Preserve the chain
Keep the original certificate, apostille, receipt, delivery record, and any translation together in the transaction file.
When the transaction is material, order the document directly from the designated agency or through its official system. Commercial document vendors may add a service fee for an item that the state makes available directly.