Alaska's vital records are the official records of all births, deaths, marriages, and divorces in the State of Alaska. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services' (ADHSS), Division of Health Analytics and Vital Records, is the Alaska government agency that maintains all Alaska vital records. While these vital records are public records, access to them is limited.
Births certificates and reports of adoption in Alaska are confidential records for 100 years from birth. Anyone can obtain a copy of an Alaska birth certificate that is older than 100 years through the office of health statistics; otherwise, Alaska birth records are limited to:
To obtain a copy of an Alaska birth certificate, you should contact the department of public health, ADHSS, Division of Health Analytics, and Vital Records and make your request through the Alaska birth certificate request form. The application requires the following information:
Alaska death records are restricted for 50 years from the date of death. After 50 years, anyone can access an Alaska birth certificate by contacting the Alaska State Archives. You may visit the State Archives in person at 395 Whittier Street, Juneau, Alaska 99801. Currently, you must make an appointment at least two days in advance before visiting the State Archives.
For the first 50 years after a death, only the following people, mostly family members, can obtain an Alaska death certificate or record of Alaska fetal death, from the Alaska bureau of vital statistics:
To obtain a copy of an Alaska death certificate, you should contact the ADHSS, Division of Health Analytics, and Vital Records and make your request through the Alaska Death Certificate Request Form. The application requires the following information:
Anyone can obtain a copy of a marriage certificate in Alaska if more than 50 years old. However, access to Alaska marriage records less than 50 years old is restricted to specific persons.
Only the following people may obtain a copy of an Alaska marriage certificate that is less than 50 years old from the Alaska vital records office:
To obtain a copy of marriage records less than 50 years old, you should contact the court where the marriage license was filed or the ADHSS, the vital records section, via the Alaska Marriage Certificate Request Form. The accepted forms of identification, including a valid driver's license, are listed on the request form instructions.
Alaska divorce records are protected for the first 50 years. If the divorce record is older than 50 years, anyone can access it. During the first 50 years of the divorce decree, only the following people can access the Alaska divorce record:
In Alaska, divorce records consist of three categories: (1) the divorce certificate, (2) the divorce decree, and (3) the divorce record.
The divorce certificate states that the parties were divorced on a specific date. This document is most often used when one of the divorced parties intends to remarry or file for a name change.
The divorce decree is the judgment issued by the family court judge that declared the parties divorced. It contains the information in the divorce certificate and the terms of the divorce, such as custody, visitation, spousal support, and more.
The divorce record is the complete case file for the divorce proceeding. It contains all pleadings filed in the divorce case and the minutes of all hearings and trials. It is most often used when one of the parties wants to appeal the judgment.
You may obtain a copy of a divorce certificate from the Alaska Health Analytics and Vital Records by completing the Divorce Certificate Form.
The ADHSS, Division of Health Analytics and Vital Records charges a fee of $30, which may be made by personal check, or money order, to search for a vital record and a copy of a government-issued photo identification document is required. Additional copies may be obtained for $6 per copy.
Currently, requests for copies of Alaska vital records can be made at either the Anchorage office (only in-person requests) or the Juneau office (requests may be made in person or via mail).
For the Juneau office, requests may be made in person at 5441 Commercial Blvd, Juneau, Alaska 99801, or via mail to P.O. Box 110675, Juneau, AK 99811-0675. The telephone number for the Juneau office is (907) 465-3391.
A request may be made for the Anchorage office at 3901 Old Seward Highway, Suite 101, Anchorage, Alaska 99503. The telephone number for the Anchorage office is (907) 269-0991.