Alaska transfer-on-death deed
A transfer-on-death deed lets you name who inherits your Alaska property without probate, while you keep full control, including the power to sell or mortgage it without anyone's signature. Here is exactly what Alaska requires, what it costs, and where to file it.
- Recording office
- State Recorder's Office (District Recorder)
- Witnesses
- Notary only
- Transfer tax
- None
- First-page margin
- 3″ top
- Recording fee
- $20 first page
- E-recording
- Approved submitters
What a transfer-on-death deed does in Alaska
A transfer-on-death deed (a beneficiary deed in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado and Missouri) names the person who should receive your real estate when you die. You record it now, but it transfers nothing until death: you keep full ownership, you can sell or mortgage the property, and you can revoke the deed at any time without your beneficiary's consent. When you die, the property passes outside probate. Your beneficiaries then record the documents your state requires to show them as the owners; in a few states that filing has a deadline, or is what completes the transfer.
In Alaska the governing statute is Alaska Stat. § 13.48.010 et seq. Alaska adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act.
The Alaska law behind this deed
Start with Alaska Stat. § 13.48.010 et seq. if you want to read the statute's own language. The table below lists the main statutes behind the rules on this page.
| What it governs | Citation |
|---|---|
| Transfer-on-death deeds specifically | Alaska Stat. § 13.48.010 et seq. |
| Conveyances generally | Alaska Stat. § 34.15.010 |
| Recording with the State Recorder's Office (District Recorder) | Alaska Stat. § 40.17.030 |
When Alaska property owners use a transfer-on-death deed
- Leave a house to your children without probate
- Keep real estate out of a will contest
- Get probate avoidance without paying for a full living trust
- Name a backup beneficiary in case your first choice dies first
- Revoke or change an earlier beneficiary designation
What Alaska requires on the deed
These are the execution and formatting rules for Alaska deeds. The Recorder will not accept a deed that does not name its recording district, give a return name and address, and give the mailing address of everyone who grants or acquires an interest (Alaska Stat. § 40.17.030(a)). A deed that misses the margin rules is still recorded, as a nonstandard document, for $50 more (11 AAC 06.040(a)(3); 11 AAC 05.200).
| Requirement | What Alaska says |
|---|---|
| Recording office | State Recorder's Office (District Recorder) |
| Recording district | Required. Every Alaska document must name the recording district where it is to be recorded, such as Anchorage Recording District (Alaska Stat. § 40.17.030(a)(9)). Deedly prints it under the title on page one. |
| Notarization | Required. Each signer must appear before the notary and acknowledge the signature. Signing in front of the notary is the safest practice. |
| Witnesses | None required. A notarial acknowledgment is enough. |
| Legal description | Required, copied exactly from the prior recorded deed. A street address is not sufficient. |
| Grantee's address | Required. An Alaska deed must give the mailing address of everyone who grants or acquires an interest (Alaska Stat. § 40.17.030(a)(8)). Deedly prints each owner's address, and each beneficiary's and alternate's address with their name. |
| Return address | Include a 'when recorded, return to' block so the original comes back to you. Deedly always prints one. |
| Preparer statement | Not required, but customary. |
| Prior deed reference | Not required, though it keeps the chain of title clean. |
| Page setup | Alaska requires at least 2 inches of blank space across the top of page one, 1-inch margins everywhere else, and type no smaller than 10 point (11 AAC 06.040(a)(3)). Deedly prints 8.5 × 11 in pages and leaves 3 inches at the top of page one. |
| Timing | Must be recorded before the owner's death. Recording it afterwards has no effect. |
| Marital status | Alaska's form for this deed asks for the marital status of each owner and beneficiary (Alaska Stat. § 13.48.120), and a conveyance must state the marital status of the people acquiring title (§ 34.15.110(b)). Deedly prints it after each beneficiary's name, or a blank to fill in before signing. |
| Beneficiaries | Name each beneficiary individually. An Alaska transfer-on-death deed that names beneficiaries only as a group, such as my children, is void (Alaska Stat. § 13.48.050(3)). |
How to complete and record it in Alaska
- Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the State Recorder's Office (District Recorder) can provide one, usually for a few dollars.
- Identify everyone by full legal nameNames must match the current deed and government ID exactly, middle names included. A mismatch creates a gap in the chain of title that shows up years later at closing.
- Complete the deedDeedly builds it with the wording, notary certificate, and 3-inch first-page margin used for Alaska deeds.
- Sign in front of a notaryBring photo ID. Wait to sign until you are in front of the notary: you have to appear before the notary anyway, and signing there leaves no question about who signed.
- Record it with the State Recorder's Office (District Recorder)File in the recording district where the property is located and pay the recording fee. Alaska's Recorder's Office accepts e-recording statewide through Simplifile, CSC and ePN, usually only from title companies, attorneys, lenders and other approved submitters. A title company may e-record your deed for a fee. Otherwise, record in person or by mail. Keep the stamped receipt. It fixes your priority date.
- Tell your beneficiaries where it isAfter your death, a beneficiary records an affidavit of death with the State Recorder's Office. It names the recording district, gives the legal description and a return address, and has a certified copy of the death certificate attached.
What it costs in Alaska
| Cost | Typical amount |
|---|---|
| Recording fee | $20 for the first page and $5 per additional page |
| Transfer tax | None in this state |
| Notary | Alaska law sets no maximum notary fee, but a notary must give you a fee schedule before notarizing (Alaska Stat. § 44.50.062(4)). |
| Deedly | $49, one time (launch price, regular $69) |
| Attorney (for comparison) | $150–$700 for the same statutory document |
Alaska imposes no state real estate transfer tax, so the recording fee is normally your only cost beyond notarization.
Where to record it in Alaska
Alaska deeds are recorded with the State Recorder's Office (District Recorder) in the recording district where the property sits, not where you live. There are 34 recording districts in Alaska.
Alaska's Recorder's Office accepts e-recording statewide through Simplifile, CSC and ePN, usually only from title companies, attorneys, lenders and other approved submitters. A title company may e-record your deed for a fee. Otherwise, record in person or by mail.
Recording offices we cover in Alaska: Anchorage Recording District, Palmer Recording District, Fairbanks Recording District, Kenai Recording District, Juneau Recording District, Ketchikan Recording District. See all Alaska recording offices.
What a transfer-on-death deed does NOT do
Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.
- Only 34 states plus DC recognize it. Recording one in a state that does not accept it accomplishes nothing.
- It does not clear the mortgage. Your beneficiary takes the property subject to any loan, lien, or judgment against it.
- It doesn't protect the property from your creditors, and in many states it doesn't shield the property from Medicaid estate recovery.
- The beneficiary receives no ownership interest until you die. They cannot be added as a co-owner this way.
- In Alaska, a beneficiary must outlive you by 120 hours (Alaska Stat. § 13.12.702). If a beneficiary dies first, the alternate you named takes that share. If you named none, it goes to your other beneficiaries, and if no beneficiary survives you, the transfer fails (Alaska Stat. § 13.48.090(a)(2), (4), (5)).
Quirks of Alaska law that catch people out
- Alaska has no counties. Deeds are recorded by the State Recorder's Office in one of 34 recording districts, which do not follow borough lines. The deed must name the district where the property sits.
- The State Recorder's Office has two offices, in Anchorage and Fairbanks, and each records documents for its own set of districts. Both take deeds in person and by mail.
- The Recorder will not accept a deed that does not name its recording district, give a return name and address, and give the mailing address of everyone who grants or acquires an interest (Alaska Stat. § 40.17.030(a)(7)-(9)). Deedly prints all three.
- All Alaska recording districts are administered by the Department of Natural Resources, so formatting rules are uniform statewide.
- Alaska has no state real estate transfer tax, and state law bars municipalities from levying a sales or use tax on the transfer of real property (Alaska Stat. §§ 29.45.650(l), 29.45.700(h)).
$49, one time. Your finished deed appears in full before you pay, with Alaska's witness rules, margins, and recording instructions already applied.
Common questions
No. Alaska has no requirement that an attorney prepare a deed. What matters is the correct statutory language, an accurate legal description, proper notarization, and recording with the State Recorder's Office (District Recorder). Deedly produces all of that for $49, versus roughly $150–$700 for an attorney to draft the same document. If ownership is disputed, the current owner has died without probate, or the transfer is tax-sensitive, use an attorney.
Expect $20 for the first page and $5 per additional page. Alaska has no state real estate transfer tax, so the recording fee is normally the whole cost. These fees are set statewide by 11 AAC 05.200. Add $2 for each name over six that has to be indexed. Make checks payable to the Department of Natural Resources.
No. Alaska requires only that the grantor's signature be acknowledged before a notary public. Forms that show witness lines are usually generic templates borrowed from another state.
With the State Recorder's Office (District Recorder) in the recording district where the property is located, not where you live, and not where the buyer lives. Alaska has 34 recording districts. Alaska's Recorder's Office accepts e-recording statewide through Simplifile, CSC and ePN, usually only from title companies, attorneys, lenders and other approved submitters. A title company may e-record your deed for a fee. Otherwise, record in person or by mail.
Yes. Transfer-on-death deeds are revocable during your lifetime. You can record a revocation, record a new one naming different beneficiaries, or simply sell the property. You don't need your beneficiary's permission for any of it.
Yes, for this property. On your death the property passes directly to the people you named, outside probate. They then record proof of your death with the State Recorder's Office (District Recorder) so the public record shows the change. It doesn't avoid probate for anything else you own, it doesn't clear the mortgage, and it doesn't protect the property from your creditors.
Keep reading
- Alaska quitclaim deedTransfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title.
- Alaska general warranty deedTransfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows.
- Alaska special warranty deedTransfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it.
- Alaska life estate deedYou keep the right to live in the property for life; named remaindermen own it after you.
- All deed rules for AlaskaRecording offices, transfer tax, witness rules, and fees.
- Alaska recording officesWhere to file in each recording district.
Deedly is not a law firm
Its software and documents are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. We provide self-help software and state-specific deed forms; you make your own decisions about your property. Using Deedly does not create an attorney-client relationship, and nothing here is legal advice. If your situation is complex or contested, talk to a licensed attorney in your state.