Title 40, Public Records and Recorders

When an area is subdivided and a plat of the subdivision is approved, filed, and recorded, all streets, alleys, thoroughfares, parks and other public areas shown on the plat are considered to be dedicated to public use.

A copy of a plat certified by the recorder of the recording district in which it is filed or recorded as a true and complete copy of the original filed or recorded in the recording office for the district is admissible in evidence in all courts in the state with the same effect a…

All plats filed or recorded with the recorder before March 30, 1953, whether executed and acknowledged in accordance with this chapter or not, are validated and all streets, alleys, or public thoroughfares shown on these plats are considered to be dedicated to public use. The las…

When a filed or recorded plat is missing and a present record is not available except by reference to the missing plat, a counterpart copy approved by the platting authority may be filed and recorded as of the original date of the missing plat and after filing and recording has t…

(a) If land proposed to be subdivided or dedicated is situated within a municipality that has the power of land use regulation and that is exercising platting authority, the proposed subdivision or dedication shall be submitted to the municipal platting authority for approval. A …

All subdivisions of land made by the state, its agencies, instrumentalities, and political subdivisions are subject to the provisions of AS 40.15.010 — 40.15.200 and AS 29.40.070 — 29.40.160, or home rule ordinances or regulations governing subdivisions, and shall comply with ord…

The purposes of AS 40.15.300 — 40.15.380 are to provide the public with an improved mechanism for the recording of plats for subdivisions in areas of the state identified in AS 40.15.305(a) and to ensure that provision has been made for access to those subdivisions. AS 40.15.300 …

(a) The commissioner shall exercise the platting authority for the state except within a municipality that has the power of land use regulation and that is exercising platting authority. (b) The commissioner shall review and approve each plat under AS 40.15.300 — 40.15.380 before…

(a) Each plat must show on its face a certificate of ownership, with the names and addresses of each owner listed. Each owner of record shall sign the certificate, and the signatures shall be acknowledged. (b) The surveyor preparing the plat shall sign and affix the seal of the s…

(a) In a subdivision with five or fewer lots, the existence of at least a 5/8 inch by 24 inch rebar and cap monument at controlling exterior corners of the subdivision shall be established by the surveyor. (b) In a subdivision of more than five lots, each interior corner shall be…

The commissioner shall establish plat standards by regulation.

Except for subdivisions of state land, the commissioner may not establish engineering standards for subdivisions.

A copy of a plat certified by the recorder of the recording district in which it is filed or recorded as a true and complete copy of the original filed or recorded in the recording office for the district is admissible in evidence in all courts in the state with the same effect a…

The provisions of AS 40.15.300 — 40.15.380 do not apply to maps, site plans, or other graphic representations prepared for (1) the purpose of transferring a leasehold interest; the extraction of natural resources; or solely for the issuance of licenses or permits; or (2) disposin…

The commissioner may adopt regulations to implement the provisions of AS 40.15.300 — 40.15.380, but only those that are necessary and that are in accordance with the purposes stated in AS 40.15.300.

(a) Except as provided in this section and AS 40.15.305(g), AS 40.15.300 — 40.15.380 apply to the state, its agencies, instrumentalities, and political subdivisions in the same manner and to the same extent that they apply to other landowners. (b) A plat for a subdivision created…

In this chapter, (1) “commissioner” means the commissioner of natural resources; (2) “monument” means a fixed physical object marking a point on the surface of the earth used to commence or control a survey or to establish a lot corner; (3) “plat” means a map or delineated repres…

(a) The Department of Natural Resources shall provide at each public office designated by the department (1) the documents and indices or alternative document retrieval system of the recording district or districts served by that public office; (2) a machine, device, or system wi…

(a) A conveyance that is eligible for recording under AS 40.17.030 and 40.17.110 may be offered for recording only in the recording district in which land affected by the conveyance is located. If land affected by the conveyance is located in more than one recording district, an …

(a) Except as provided in (b), (c), and (e) of this section, to be eligible for recording, a document must (1) contain original signatures; original signatures may be provided in electronic form; (2) be legible or capable of being converted into legible form by a machine or devic…

When determining whether a document may be recorded, the recorder may not (1) consider whether the contents of the document are legally sufficient to achieve the purposes of the document; (2) reject a document because the document (A) does not satisfy the current requirements for…

(a) The recorder shall maintain an index system for recorded documents in the manner prescribed by regulations adopted by the department. The system shall be designed so the public may find documents by location and by names of grantors and grantees, and the system may include ot…

A recorded master form, or a numbered paragraph of it, may be incorporated by reference in a recorded document by referring to the form by its recording information and the number of the paragraph to be incorporated. The reference has the same effect as if the master form or the …

If a document was executed in accordance with the law in effect at the time the document was executed, the document remains recordable regardless of later amendments to the law changing the manner in which that document is to be executed.

(a) The recorder shall promptly record all documents presented that are recordable under AS 40.17.030 and 40.17.110. (b) The recorder shall maintain in the central recording office a daily log and index for recorded documents. (c) As a document is recorded, the recorder shall ind…

Under AS 37.05.146(c), fees for services of the recorder collected under this chapter shall be accounted for separately, and appropriations from the account are not made from the unrestricted general fund.

(a) Subject to (c) and (d) of this section, from the time a document is recorded in the records of the recording district in which land affected by it is located, the recorded document is constructive notice of the contents of the document to subsequent purchasers and holders of …

(a) A conveyance that is acknowledged, proven, or certified under AS 34.15.150 — 34.15.250 is admissible as evidence of the conveyance without further proof. (b) An acknowledged and recorded signed document relating to title to real property creates presumptions with respect to t…

When the parties to a recorded conveyance absolute in its terms intend it to serve only as security for repayment of a debt, the conveyance is absolute as to all persons who rely upon it in good faith and for value before a reconveyance is recorded.

(a) Subject to (b) — (d) of this section, a document that meets the requisites for recording under AS 40.17.030 may be recorded. (b) If the document to be recorded is a conveyance, power of attorney, contract for the sale or purchase of real property, or option for the purchase o…

(a) Recording a memorandum of lease substantially complying with (b) of this section has the same effect as recording the lease. (b) A memorandum of lease is a document signed by the lessor and lessee and containing a reference to an unrecorded lease, sublease, or agreement to le…

(a) A recorder shall record an affixation affidavit and a severance affidavit if the affidavit meets the requirements for recording under AS 40.17.030 and is offered for recording in the recording district where the real property to which the manufactured home affixed is located.…

If the recorder fails to record and index a document properly, the recorder may be compelled to record and index the document properly by an action filed in the superior court.

(a) The provisions of AS 09.80 (Uniform Electronic Transactions Act) apply to this chapter. (b) In applying this chapter, the department shall accept notarial acts performed for remotely located individuals under AS 44.50.075.

In this chapter, (1) “acceptance” means the determination by the recorder that a document is recordable under this chapter accompanied by marking an identifying code on the document and entering the document in a daily log; (2) “certified copy” means a copy of a document certifie…

The provisions of this chapter apply to federal tax liens and to other federal liens notice of which under an Act of Congress or a regulation adopted under the authority of an Act of Congress is required or permitted to be filed or recorded in the same manner as a notice of feder…

(a) Notices of liens, certificates, and other notices affecting a federal tax lien or other federal lien shall be recorded under this chapter. (b) Notices of lien upon real property for obligations payable to the United States and certificates and notices affecting the lien shall…

Certification of notices of lien, certificates, or other notices affecting federal liens by the United States Secretary of the Treasury or by the designee of the United States Secretary of the Treasury, or by an official or entity of the United States responsible for filing, reco…

(a) If a notice of federal lien, a rerecording of notice of federal lien, or a notice of revocation of a certificate described in (b) of this section is presented to the recorder under AS 40.17, the recorder shall endorse on the notice an identification and the date and time of r…

To the extent the provisions of this chapter follow the Uniform Federal Lien Registration Act (1978) they shall be applied and construed to effectuate their general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this chapter among the states enacting it.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the orderly management of current state and local public records and to preserve noncurrent public records of permanent value for study and research.

There is established in the Department of Education and Early Development the Alaska State Archives. The department shall establish and administer a state archives and records management program. To implement the program and head the Alaska State Archives, the department shall cr…

(a) In order to carry out the archival program, the state archivist shall (1) negotiate for, acquire, and receive public records of permanent value including public records of the state and political subdivisions of the state and of defunct public agencies; (2) establish and oper…

Gifts, bequests, or endowments of money shall be deposited in a separate account in the general fund and may be invested in a manner not inconsistent with the investment of other state funds. Proceeds of invested funds shall be used to carry out the purposes for which the money w…

The department shall adopt regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

The chief executive officer of each state agency shall (1) make and preserve public records containing adequate and proper documentation of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of the agency, and designed to furnish the informat…