Staffing agency license in Alaska: a Department of Labor permit with a $10,000 bond

Alaska still requires a permit to run an employment agency, and its law is broader than most. AS 23.15.340 requires a permit from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to operate an employment agency, and AS 23.15.520 defines that as anyone "engaged in the business of furnishing employment or help," with no exclusion for temporary staffing or for agencies paid by employers. The department's regulations carve out employer-paid search firms, but a temp or temp-to-hire desk has no clear exit. The permit costs $100 every two years plus a $10 filing fee, and the regulations require a $10,000 surety bond.

This page covers who needs the permit, what it requires, the fee caps on job seekers, the absence of PEO and health care staffing registration, and the other Alaska rules a staffing firm runs into. For other states, see employment agency license requirements.

Who needs the permit

Under AS 23.15.520(1), an "employment agency" is anyone in the business of furnishing employment or help, giving information about where either may be obtained, or offering to obtain employment or help through signs, circulars or media such as radio, television and newspapers. "Fee" means anything of value paid for the agency's services, without saying who pays it. AS 23.15.330 exempts only nonprofit educational, religious, charitable, fraternal or benevolent organizations that charge nothing, bona fide labor organizations and government agencies.

The regulations add one carve-out. Under 8 AAC 10.915(1), "agency" "does not include executive, professional or any other search agencies whose charges are paid only by employers," and 8 AAC 10.180(b) frees such search firms from the fee schedule as long as the candidate pays no deposit, retainer or other fee, directly or indirectly.

Nothing in the statute or regulations excludes temporary help firms, and a firm that employs workers and sends them to clients is, on the plain words, "furnishing help." I could not find any page, form or published policy from the department saying whether it requires permits from temp staffing firms; its wage and hour policy register lists a 1991 policy titled "Unlicensed Employment Agency Enforcement" but does not publish the text. If you run temp or temp-to-hire in Alaska, ask the Wage and Hour section in writing and keep the answer.

What the permit requires

• Application. AS 23.15.350 and 8 AAC 10.020 ask for locations, owners and everyone sharing in profits, two years of business history, convictions involving moral turpitude, prior permits anywhere, and any interest in a travel agency. Report changes within seven days.
• Fees and term. AS 23.15.390: $10 to file and $100 for each two-year permit or renewal. Under 8 AAC 10.067 a permit runs until June 30 of the second calendar year after issue; apply to renew 30 days before it expires (AS 23.15.400).
• Bond. AS 23.15.360 allows $1,000 to $10,000; 8 AAC 10.050 fixes a $10,000 numbered surety bond, one per kind of agency, not per branch.
• Business license. The permit issues only with a copy of a current Alaska business license (8 AAC 10.055), which costs $50 a year under AS 43.70.030.
• Restrictions. AS 23.15.420 bars permits for living quarters, premises tied to a bar or pool hall, anyone whose permit was revoked in the past three years, and anyone with a financial interest in a travel agency or the sale of air, steamship or bus transportation. The permit covers only the premises named on it (8 AAC 10.055(b)).
• Penalty. A willful violation is a misdemeanor: up to $1,000, six months in jail, or both (AS 23.15.510). The department may suspend or revoke a permit after notice and a hearing (AS 23.15.410).

Records and paperwork

A permitted agency keeps a numbered applicant register, a numbered job order for every employer request, and a referral receipt for every applicant it sends out, for at least two years (8 AAC 10.075, 10.110, 10.120 and 10.145). The referral receipt reflects Alaska's remote job sites: it discloses the starting wage, hours, expected length of the job, transportation costs and who pays them, board and lodging and their cost, and any strike or union requirement at the worksite. Any form an applicant must sign needs the director's approval before use (8 AAC 10.900).

Fee limits and advertising rules

AS 23.15.470 tells the department to set maximum fees, and 8 AAC 10.180(a) does so:

The schedule is built around fees collected from applicants, and I could not find a department statement on whether it limits what employers pay. The worker protections are direct: post and file your fee schedule (AS 23.15.460), give a receipt for every fee (AS 23.15.450), and refund a cash fee within 48 hours on demand if the applicant does not get the job (AS 23.15.480). Under 8 AAC 10.400 an agency may not take advance fees other than a registration fee, may not charge the applicant anything when the employer pays the placement fee, and may not advertise jobs as "100 percent free" unless it handles only employer-paid listings. On temp-to-hire, keep any conversion fee on the client side of the contract, as described in temp-to-perm conversion fee.

For advertising, AS 23.15.490 bars false or misleading job ads and sending applicants out without a bona fide employer request. 8 AAC 10.095 requires every ad to show the licensed name, address, the word "agency" and a job order number for each position, and requires printed ads to be kept for four months.

PEO registration: none found

I found no professional employer organization or employee leasing registration statute in the Alaska Statutes; neither the Employment Security Act (AS 23.20) nor the Workers' Compensation Act (AS 23.30) uses the term. AS 23.30.250 does make "deceptive leasing practices" to evade workers' compensation premiums a violation. A co-employment contract should still say who reports wages and who carries workers' compensation.

Health care staffing: no registration, but facility rules reach you

Alaska has no registration for health care or nurse staffing agencies as of October 2026. AS 47.32.010 lists the entities the Department of Health licenses, from hospitals and nursing facilities to home health agencies, and staffing agencies are not on it. House Bill 351, filed in February 2026, dealt with nurse licensure and hospital staffing ratios, not agency registration, and never left the House Labor and Commerce Committee. Three rules still apply:

• Background checks. AS 47.05.310 requires a licensed entity to get a fingerprint-based criminal history check for anyone it retains as an employee or independent contractor, or who will have regular contact with the people it serves. Expect facilities to require this before an agency worker starts.
• Nurse overtime. AS 18.20.400 limits mandatory overtime for nurses in health care facilities. The department's nurse overtime FAQ says the law covers temporary nurses and that the facility, not the staffing agency, reports the hours.
• Licensure. Alaska is not in the Nurse Licensure Compact. The Governor's 2025 bills to join, HB 131 and SB 124, were still in Labor and Commerce committees as of October 2026, so travel nurses need an Alaska license.

Employer accounts and wage rules

• Business license under AS 43.70; knowingly operating without one can draw a civil fine of up to $300 (AS 43.70.020(e)).
• Unemployment insurance with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, as employer of record for your temps.
• Workers' compensation under AS 23.30. See staffing agency insurance requirements.
• Minimum wage. AS 23.10.065 sets $14.00 an hour from July 1, 2026 and $15.00 from July 1, 2027, with no tip credit.
• Paid sick leave. Since July 1, 2025, one hour per 30 worked, usable up to 40 hours a year under 15 full-time equivalents and 56 hours at 15 or more, per the department's sick leave FAQ. Temps' hours count toward your size.

The full setup sequence is in how to start a staffing agency. For comparison, Washington licenses employment agencies but exempts temp staffing (see staffing agency license in Washington), and Hawaii licenses agencies including employer-paid firms (see staffing agency license in Hawaii).

An Alaska checklist

ALASKA CHECK — [date] — owner: [name]

Model:
  [ ] Search, employer pays, candidate pays nothing:
      excluded by 8 AAC 10.915(1)
  [ ] Temp or temp-to-hire: written answer from DOLWD
      Wage and Hour on whether a permit is required
  [ ] Any fee from job seekers: permit ($10 + $100 per
      2 years), $10,000 bond, fee caps, 48-hour refunds

If permitted:
  [ ] Register, numbered job orders, referral receipts (2 yrs)
  [ ] Ads: name, "agency", job order number; keep 4 months
  [ ] Renew 30 days before June 30 expiry

Health care facilities:
  [ ] AS 47.05.310 background checks; Alaska nurse licenses

Employer accounts:
  Business license; UI; workers' comp; sick leave       [ ]
Next review: [date]

Re-check if you start charging candidates anything, open a temp desk, or staff Alaska hospitals, and watch for a renewed nurse compact bill, which would change who you can place without an Alaska license.