Alaska background check laws for employers (2026): what you can check and when

Alaska employers may run background checks, and Alaska law treats the state's criminal record as open for convictions and closed for everything else. As of October 2026, the Alaska rules that matter most are AS 12.62.160, which lets the Department of Public Safety release conviction information to anyone for any purpose but withholds nonconviction records from most employers; a court rule and statute that pull acquittals, dismissals and some set-aside cases off the public CourtView site; set-aside convictions that stay in the public record; and the Background Check Program, which bars people with "barrier crimes" from health and social services jobs. There is no state ban-the-box, credit check or salary history law for private employers.

The federal steps (stand-alone disclosure, authorization, pre-adverse and adverse action notices) apply to every Alaska hire that uses a screening company and are covered in the FCRA background check process. This page covers what Alaska law adds, with each statute linked. The wider state picture is on hiring employees in Alaska.

Does Alaska have its own background check law?

Not one that adds steps to the federal FCRA. We found no Alaska statute that adds disclosure, consent or adverse action requirements for employment screening by a consumer reporting agency, and no state lookback limit, so the federal rules apply: arrests and other non-conviction items older than seven years may not be reported for jobs paying under $75,000 a year, and convictions have no time limit (15 U.S.C. § 1681c). Alaska's own rules govern the state's records: what the Department of Public Safety releases, what the courts publish, and who must be checked.

What does an Alaska DPS background check show?

AS 12.62.160 starts from confidentiality: criminal justice information is exempt from public records law and may be released only as the section allows. Two paths matter to employers:

• Any employer. Under subsection (b)(8), information "may be provided to a person for any purpose, except that information may not be released if the information is nonconviction information or correctional treatment information." In practice, a general employer sees convictions, not arrests or dismissed charges.
• Jobs with children or dependent adults. Under (b)(9), information "including information relating to a serious offense" may go to an interested person deciding "whether to grant a person supervisory or disciplinary power over a minor or dependent adult," and the department may add a national FBI check if fingerprints and fees are submitted.

Before release, the requester must identify the subject by fingerprints or another reliable means the department approves, and the information "may be used only for the purpose or activity for which the information was released" (AS 12.62.160(c)).

How to request one, and what it costs

The Department of Public Safety's Criminal Records and Identification Bureau explains the process on its background checks page, as of October 2026:

• A name-based check costs $20 and a fingerprint-based check $35; both "include Alaska Criminal Justice Information only." Fingerprints are recommended because "name-based searches may miss criminal history reported to the Central Repository under aliases or other names."
• Name-based checks can be requested online, by mail or at walk-in locations; fingerprints go on the standard FD-258 card.
• Employers that check routinely can get a client number by letter, citing the statute that authorizes them to receive the information.
• National (FBI) results "may be released only to government agencies." A private employer needs a government agency that agrees to receive and review the results, or must give the bureau a list of disqualifying criteria so it can say whether a record contains a disqualifier.

What do set-aside, sealed and dismissed records look like in Alaska?

Alaska has no general expungement statute, so it matters which kind of relief a candidate received:

• Suspended imposition of sentence (SIS) and set-aside. After a successful SIS, the court "may set aside the conviction and issue to the person a certificate to that effect" (AS 12.55.085(e)). The Alaska Court System's SIS FAQ warns that a set-aside "does not mean it disappears," quoting the Alaska Supreme Court in State v. Platt (2007) that "[b]oth the conviction and the judgment setting it aside consequently remain in the public record."
• Suspended entry of judgment. A person who completes probation under AS 12.55.078(d) is discharged, the proceedings are dismissed, and the person "is not convicted of a crime."
• Sealed records. Records sealed under AS 12.62.180 because they resulted from mistaken identity or false accusation may be denied: the person "may deny the existence of the information and of an arrest, charge, conviction, or sentence shown in the information."

What CourtView shows

Many employers look up Alaska cases on the court system's public CourtView site. Under AS 22.35.030, the court system may not publish a criminal case on a public website once 60 days have passed after the defendant was acquitted of all charges, all charges were dismissed (other than as part of a plea deal in another case), or charges were dismissed after a suspended entry of judgment. The court system's CourtView information page adds, under Administrative Rule 40(a)(13), cases where the defendant completed an SIS, the conviction was set aside, and all other charges were dismissed, set aside or ended in acquittal. A set-aside case with an open or unresolved charge stays visible, so read CourtView entries carefully and confirm identity before acting on them.

When can Alaska employers ask about criminal history?

Alaska has no ban-the-box law for private employers that we found, and the Alaska Human Rights Act's list of protected categories in AS 18.80.220 does not include arrest or conviction records. That leaves federal law. The EEOC rescinded its 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records on October 28, 2026, effective immediately, but Title VII still governs how records are used, including its disparate impact provision (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k)). Asking about convictions only, after a candidate is otherwise qualified, and weighing the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case, Green v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it, and the nature of the job), remains a sound way to make and document a decision.

Which Alaska jobs require background checks?

• Health and social services providers. AS 47.05.310 applies to any individual or entity licensed or certified by, or paid by, the Department of Health or the Department of Family and Community Services, including public home care providers, home and community-based waiver providers and community mental health case managers (AS 47.05.300). An entity may not "hire or retain" a person charged with or convicted of a crime the departments list as a barrier, as an employee, independent contractor or unsupervised volunteer, and must submit a release for each new hire, who then provides fingerprints for state and FBI checks.
• How it runs. The Department of Health's Background Check Program lists the barrier crimes and conditions in AS 47.05.300 to 47.05.390 and 7 AAC 10.900 to 10.990, and covered entities must submit requests through the New Alaska Background Check System. Individuals cannot apply on their own; "public background check requests should be directed to the Department of Public Safety."
• Teachers. Alaska's teacher certification statute says the board "shall require teachers to submit fingerprints" for a report of criminal justice information (AS 14.20.020). A certified teacher applying to a child care facility may ask that the checks on file be used (AS 47.05.310(j)).

Charges, not only convictions, can bar employment under AS 47.05.310(a), so the Background Check Program can reach records a general employer would never see.

Can Alaska employers check credit, salary history or references?

We found no Alaska statute limiting employment credit checks or salary history questions; Alaska is not among the states in our credit check laws guide or salary history ban states list, so a credit report from a screening company follows the federal FCRA steps. For references, AS 09.65.160 presumes that an employer who discloses job performance information to a prospective employer, at that employer's or the employee's request, acts in good faith; the presumption is rebutted only by reckless, knowing or malicious disclosure of false or deliberately misleading information, or a disclosure that violates a civil right protected under AS 18.80 or federal law.

Alaska background check rules at a glance

What should recruiters and staffing agencies do in Alaska?

1. Ask about convictions, not arrests. The DPS will not give you nonconviction information anyway, and a discharged suspended entry of judgment is not a conviction.
2. Read set-asides fairly. A set-aside conviction may still appear; give the candidate a chance to explain, and record why it does or does not matter for the job.
3. Use fingerprints when the role matters. Name-based checks miss aliases, and both state checks cover Alaska only.
4. Know when the Background Check Program applies. If you place workers with providers licensed or paid by the Department of Health or the Department of Family and Community Services, the provider must run the check through the state system before the person works there.
5. Keep criminal history out of interviews and notes. If a candidate volunteers a record, do not follow up or record it. If you record or transcribe interviews, check Alaska recording consent rules and remove the passage from notes you share.
6. Put it in a policy. A background check policy that names the checks by role keeps practice consistent. Drug testing is covered in Alaska drug testing laws, agency licensing in staffing agency licensing in Alaska, and work authorization in Alaska E-Verify requirements.