Charity & Paid Solicitors

The Attorney General administers and enforces Alaska's charitable solicitation laws.

• Check the Registration Status of a Charitable Organization or Paid Solicitor
• Before You Donate: Information for Consumers

• Registration Requirements
• Charitable Organizations
  • Pay and File Online The annual registration form is due by September 1, every year.
  • Exempt Organizations
  • Extensions
• Paid Solicitors
  • Pay and File Online
• Frequently Asked Questions

Registration Requirements:

Alaska law requires charitable organizations and paid solicitors to register with the Department of Law prior to soliciting contributions of money or property in Alaska.

The deadline to register as a charitable organization or paid solicitor is September 1 of each year. To renew a registration, a charitable organization or paid solicitor must file a registration form with the required attachments and pay the appropriate filing fee.

Alaska does not charge late fees for charitable organization or paid solicitor registrations received after September 1; however, a charitable organization or paid solicitor will not be registered in Alaska until its registration forms have been received and approved. Charitable organizations and paid solicitors that are required to register under Alaska law cannot solicit contributions in Alaska until they are registered with the Department of Law.

Charitable organizations and paid solicitors that solicit money or property in Alaska must comply with the Alaska Charitable Solicitations Act and Alaska Charitable Solicitation Regulations. Organizations or solicitors that register or intend to register with the Department of Law should thoroughly review Alaska statutes and regulations pertaining to charitable organization registration and solicitation.

Failure to register with the Alaska Department of Law prior to soliciting charitable contributions violates the Alaska Charitable Solicitations Act and subjects the person to civil penalties under the Alaska Consumer Protection Act (AS 45.50.471 - AS 45.50.561).

• Alaska Charitable Solicitation Statutes
• Alaska Charitable Solicitations Regulations

Charitable Organizations

For the purposes of the registration requirement, a charitable organization is defined as a nonprofit organization that:

• Is operated for the relief of poverty, distress, or other condition of public concern in the state; or
• The Internal Revenue Service determines to be a tax exempt organization under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) (Internal Revenue Code)

Pay and File Online

Charitable Organizations must pay registration fees and file registration forms online, unless the Department of Law waives this requirement because the filer does not have reasonable access to the Internet, or to electronic equipment or software required to make the filing. The annual registration form is due by September 1, every year. Example: A registration would expire on September 1, .

Additional documents are not required unless requested by the Department of Law.

Exempt Organizations:

Certain types of charitable organizations are not required to register with the Department of Law. The following types of charitable organizations are exempt from the registration requirement:

• Churches or religious organizations that are not required to file federal annual information returns with the Internal Revenue Service.
• Candidates for national, state, or local office, and political parties, committees or groups that are required to file financial information with the Alaska Public Offices Commission under AS 15.13 or with the Federal Election Commission under the Federal Election Campaign Act.
• Charitable organizations with no paid employees or board members that do not intend to raise or receive contributions, excluding government grants, in excess of $5,000 annually, or that do not intend to receive contributions from more than 10 persons annually.
• An organization that has a current gaming permit issued by the Alaska Department of Revenue pursuant to AS 05.15.100. To find out if an organization has a charitable gaming permit, please visit the Alaska Department of Revenue's Gaming Program website.

A charitable organization that meets one of the exemption types above can notify the Department of Law by completing a Notice of Exemption form online. An organization is only required to submit a Notice of Exemption once. The form asks for the organization's name, FEIN, address and exemption type, and the name, phone number, and email address of the individual to contact about the notice.

• Submit a Notice of Exemption

Extensions:

Alaska does not grant extensions for charitable organization registration. Organizations that have received extensions to file Form 990s with the IRS can state that on the Alaska Charitable Organization Annual Registration form. Organizations are not required to submit copies of their form 990s or audited financial statements at the time of registration.

Paid Solicitors

For the purposes of the registration requirement, a paid solicitor is a person or company, hired and/or contracted by a charity organization, who solicits contributions of money or other property for a charitable organization for compensation. The definition of paid solicitor does not include a bona fide salaried officer, employee, or volunteer of a charitable organization.

Pay and File Online

Paid Solicitors must pay registration fees and file registration forms online, unless the Department of Law waives this requirement because the filer does not have reasonable access to the Internet, or to electronic equipment or software required to make the filing.

The following must be submitted to register as a paid solicitor or renew a registration:

Paid Solicitor Surety Bond (592KB PDF) - A ten thousand dollar surety bond (if renewing a registration, evidence of the continued bond must be submitted) on the Paid Solicitor Surety Bond form established by the department. The surety bond form sets forth the time period that a paid solicitor is required to maintain the bond and provides criteria for cancellation of the bond. New and updated surety bonds may be emailed to lawcharities@alaska.gov.

Paid Solicitor Solicitation Campaign Financial Report (25KB PDF) - After a solicitation campaign is complete, a paid solicitor must submit a campaign financial report. The campaign financial report must be submitted on the Paid Solicitor Solicitation Campaign Financial Report form established by the department.

A copy of a written contract for each charitable organization the paid solicitor contracts with to solicit contributions. The contract must state the respective obligations of the paid solicitor and the charitable organization, including the amount to be paid to the paid solicitor. Include a copy of all scripts used by the paid solicitor for fundraising in Alaska, in the same PDF.

Failure to register with the Alaska Department of Law prior to soliciting charitable contributions for compensation is a class A misdemeanor, and subjects the person to civil penalties under the Alaska Consumer Protection Act (AS 45.50.471 - AS 45.50.561) of up to $25,000 per violation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Some documents on this page require Adobe Reader (available as a free download) to view.