Corporate Shareholder Books-and-Records Inspection Requirements in Alaska

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Alaska combines a purpose-tested general books route with separate bylaw, meeting-list, annual-report, and requested-financial provisions.

The general demand belongs to the record shareholder

Alaska defines shareholder as a holder of record. The books statute states no ownership-duration, percentage, or documentary-proof floor and does not grant an automatic independent route to a beneficial owner (§§ 10.06.430, .990(40)).

The demand must be written and state the inspection purpose with reasonable particularity. Inspection occurs personally or through an agent or attorney, at a reasonable time for a proper purpose, and reaches only records directly connected with the stated purpose (§ 10.06.430(b)). The statute states no signature, oath, verification, named recipient, delivery method, or waiting period.

Account books, minutes, and the shareholder record are covered

The corporation keeps correct and complete account books, minutes of shareholder, board, and board-committee proceedings, and a shareholder record showing names, addresses, holdings, and classes. Those are the categories the purpose-tested inspection and copying route names (§ 10.06.430(a)-(b)).

The records may be written or convertible into writing within a reasonable time. The statute does not separately identify internal email, texts, metadata, native-format files, informal messages, subsidiary records, remote production, copying costs, or confidentiality conditions (§ 10.06.430).

Current bylaws follow a separate rule. They are open during reasonable office hours at the specified Alaska office, or furnished on written request when the corporation has neither its principal executive nor principal business office in Alaska (§ 10.06.233).

Books refusal carries a greater-of penalty and defenses

A refusing corporation, officer, or agent is liable for the greater of 10% of the shareholder's share value or $5,000, in addition to other damages or remedies (§ 10.06.430(c)).

The penalty has defenses. Within the preceding two years, the claimant may not have sold or offered to sell a shareholder list, helped another obtain one for sale, or improperly used information from a prior corporate-record inspection. Lack of good faith or proper purpose for the current demand is also a defense (§ 10.06.430(c)).

Court compulsion requires a proper demand and purpose

A court may compel production of account books, minutes, and the shareholder record after the shareholder proves a properly made demand and proper purpose. The section states no venue, fixed demand-to-court wait, summary or expedited procedure, attorney-fee formula, appeal rule, or protective-order authority (§ 10.06.430(d)).

The meeting list opens twenty days before the meeting

The voting list remains open at the registered office during usual business hours for twenty days before the meeting and must be available during the meeting, physically or on a reasonably accessible electronic network. An officer or agent who fails the listed preparation or availability duties owes a $5,000 penalty to a shareholder who made a written performance request (§ 10.06.413).

Noncompliance does not invalidate meeting action. The section states inspection but does not expressly grant a premeeting copying right or a list-specific court compulsion route (§ 10.06.413).

Financial access depends on corporation and requester thresholds

Ordinarily, the board sends an annual report by the earlier of 180 days after fiscal-year close or notice of the following fiscal year's annual meeting. A corporation with fewer than 100 record holders is exempt unless its articles or bylaws require the report (§ 10.06.433(a)). For a corporation with subsidiaries, the chapter's general construction rule treats financial-statement references as consolidated statements (Alaska Stat. § 10.06.970(5)).

Holders of at least 5% of the outstanding shares of a class may request current three-, six-, or nine-month statements for a period ending more than 30 days before the request. Delivery or mailing is due within 30 days, and a copy stays at the principal office for twelve months. Any shareholder may request the last annual, semiannual, or quarterly income statement the corporation prepared and the corresponding balance sheet, but that general route states no response deadline (§ 10.06.433(c)-(d)).

Failure to prepare or submit required statements carries $25 per day beginning 30 days after a qualifying written request, capped at $1,500. A court may enforce the duty and extend the statutory time limits for good cause (§ 10.06.433(f)).

What trips people up

• The 10% books penalty has a $5,000 floor. The shareholder receives whichever amount is greater, subject to the statutory defenses.
• The annual-report exemption does not erase every request right. A small corporation may be exempt from automatic annual reporting while Section 10.06.433(c)-(d) still supplies qualifying request routes.
• The financial clocks answer different questions. The 30-day interim- statement clock belongs to the 5%-of-class request; the last-prepared- statement request has no stated deadline.

Common questions

Can a beneficial owner demand books directly?

Not solely as a beneficial owner under the general statute. Alaska defines shareholder as the record holder, although a corporation may establish a separate procedure recognizing nominee-held beneficial owners (§§ 10.06.356, .990(40)).

Must the demand name the requested records?

Section 10.06.430 requires reasonable particularity as to the purpose and limits access to records directly connected with that purpose. It does not separately say the demand must list each record category.

Does the statute require electronic copies?

No. It permits records in a form convertible to writing and permits an electronic-network meeting list, but states no general electronic-copy or remote-production right.

Statutes and sources

• Alaska Stat. § 10.06.233 — current bylaw location and inspection.
• Alaska Stat. § 10.06.413 — twenty-day meeting list and $5,000 penalty.
• Alaska Stat. § 10.06.430 — retained records, demand, purpose, scope, greater-of penalty, defenses, and court power.
• Alaska Stat. § 10.06.433 — annual reports, requested statements, clocks, thresholds, daily penalty, and enforcement.
• Alaska Stat. § 10.06.990 — entity, shareholder, electronic, subsidiary, and writing definitions.

All were fetched from the current official Alaska Statutes and accessed August 25, 2026.