Alaska Recorder Information

Alaska Recorder's Office oversees 34 recording districts that record, index, and archive all of the documents that create the Official Public Record of the State of Alaska. Approximately 1,000 new documents are recorded and added to the record each day. Millions of documents have been recorded in the official records since prior to statehood.

All official records are public information and may be viewed by or copied for anyone. Alaska statutes and regulations govern the prices charged for recording and making copies of these records either on paper, film, CD or electronic formats. The public can find documents by accessing the statewide recording system database at one of the five DNR recording office (Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Palmer, Kenai), or on the Internet.

The Recorder's Office in Alaska allows for multiple types of searches on the website (by name, date, document number or type etc.), which reflect documents recorded from the early 1970's to current. Searching for information prior to the early 1970's requires a manual review of the original book records and indices at the appropriate district office. (Due to staffing limitations and liability risks, recording staff are not authorized to perform in-depth research of this type.)

Once a document is located from the index and the book and page number or serial number, the public may then view the actual document, and/or make paper copies, by using microfilm viewing and printing equipment. PLEASE NOTE: Most recording offices maintain microfilm records only for the districts they serve.

Anchorage maintains records for Anchorage, Kodiak, Iliamna, Chitina, Homer, Seldovia, Seward, Valdez, Kvichak, Bristol Bay, Aleutian Islands, and Cordova districts; Fairbanks maintains records for the northern region, including Fairbanks, Rampart, Fort Gibbon, Nulato, Kotzebue, Barrow, Nenana, Manley Hot Springs, Mt. McKinley, Bethel, Kuskokwim and Cape Nome districts; Juneau maintains records for the southeast region, including Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Wrangell, Haines, Petersburg, and Skagway districts.

After multiple office closures throughout the state, the two remaining smaller offices maintain records in Palmer (for Palmer and Talkeetna districts) and in Kenai (for Kenai district only).

If you need assistance in finding or obtaining a copy of a recorded document, recording personnel are available to assist you at each office, or you can email several of the recorders on the DNR website. You may order and pay for a document from another district and have the document mailed to your home address.