Alaska Eviction Notice
Alaska eviction notice: the 7-day pay-or-quit and 10-day cure-or-quit rules under AS 34.03.220. Free template, statute cites. Attorney review available.
Introduction
Before an Alaska landlord can ask a court to remove a tenant, state law requires a written notice to quit, and that notice is what starts the clock toward a Forcible Entry and Detainer (F.E.D.) lawsuit. This page is that fillable notice itself, built to be printed, dated, and served, not a walkthrough of how Alaska eviction law works in general. Which version applies depends on the reason for eviction. Fall behind on rent, and the period is 7 days to pay or quit. Breach a lease term or a duty under the Landlord and Tenant Act seriously enough to affect health and safety, and the tenant gets 10 days to cure or quit. Cause more than $400 in deliberate damage, or engage in illegal activity such as drug or alcohol production or sale, prostitution, or gambling, and no cure is offered: the unconditional notice period runs from 24 hours up to 5 days. A repeat of the same violation within six months of an earlier notice also loses its cure option, shrinking to a 5-day notice. Most states leave landlords to write their own notice language. Alaska does not: the Alaska Court System publishes a separate official Notice to Quit form for each cause, CIV-725 for nonpayment of rent, CIV-726 for utilities, CIV-727 for a lease violation, CIV-728 for intentional damage, and CIV-729 for illegal activity, each tied to Civil Rule 85. Behind those forms is the actual law: Alaska Statutes Section 34.03.220 sets the day counts and required content, while Alaska Statutes Section 09.45.060 through 09.45.105 governs service and the court process that follows. Personal delivery is the default; if the tenant can't be found or won't accept it, posting at the rental unit works instead, and registered or certified mail is a third option, though mailing adds 3 days to the notice period. Get the notice type wrong, miscount the days, or skip required content, and the case can be dismissed before it starts.
Key Things to Know
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State law treats the written notice to quit as a mandatory first step, not a courtesy: a landlord who wants to end a tenancy for cause must serve one before ever filing a Forcible Entry and Detainer (F.E.D.) case in court.
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Five different official notice-to-quit forms exist for Alaska evictions, one per cause: CIV-725 (nonpayment of rent), CIV-726 (nonpayment of utilities), CIV-727 (lease violation), CIV-728 (intentional damage), and CIV-729 (illegal activity), all issued by the Alaska Court System under Alaska Rule of Civil Procedure 85. Whichever one a landlord uses, the substance, amount owed, day count, and consequence language, still comes from statute, not the form itself.
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Rent nonpayment carries a 7-day pay-or-quit notice period. Only unpaid rent counts toward that number; the notice has to spell out the exact rent amount owed and leave late fees out of it, since a tenant cannot be evicted over late fees alone. (Alaska Statutes Section 34.03.220(b))
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A 10-day cure-or-quit notice applies when a tenant breaches the lease or a duty under the Landlord and Tenant Act seriously enough to put health or safety at risk. Fix the problem inside that window and the tenancy continues. (Alaska Statutes Section 34.03.220(a)(2))
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Two categories skip the cure option entirely: deliberately causing more than $400 in damage, and illegal activity on the premises such as drug or alcohol production or sale, prostitution, or gambling. Both draw an unconditional notice period as short as 24 hours and no longer than 5 days. A second instance of the same lease violation inside 6 months of the first notice loses its cure option too, collapsing to a flat 5-day notice. (Alaska Statutes Section 34.03.220(a)(1) and (a)(2))
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Two statutes do the work here: Alaska Statutes Section 34.03.220 supplies the grounds for eviction and the day counts, while Alaska Statutes Section 09.45.060 through 09.45.105 covers how the notice gets served and what the court process looks like once a tenant fails to comply.
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Personal delivery is the default way to serve the notice. When a tenant can't be found or won't accept it, posting a copy at the rental unit works instead, and registered or certified mail is a third option, though choosing to mail it tacks 3 extra days onto the notice period before an eviction action can begin. (Alaska Statutes Section 09.45.100(c); Section 09.45.090(c))
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Eviction Notice in Alaska, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Eviction Notice guide walks through them.
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Alaska Requirements for Eviction Notice
7-day pay-or-quit notice, not counting late fees. The notice must state the total amount of rent owed and that the tenant may pay in full or move; a tenant cannot be evicted for failing to pay late fees alone, only rent. If the tenant pays the full amount owed before the 7 days expire, the tenancy continues.
Personal delivery to the tenant is used first where possible. If the tenant is absent from the premises or refuses personal delivery, the landlord may post the notice at the rental unit. Registered or certified mail is also an allowed method, but if the notice is mailed, the landlord must add 3 days to the applicable notice period before starting an eviction action.
Unlike states with no government-issued notice form, the Alaska Court System publishes a distinct official Notice to Quit form for each termination cause: CIV-725 (nonpayment of rent), CIV-726 (nonpayment of utilities), CIV-727 (violation of rental agreement), CIV-728 (intentional damage), and CIV-729 (illegal activity), each cross-referenced to Alaska Rule of Civil Procedure 85. Required content, amount owed, day count, and consequence language, is set by statute regardless of which document a landlord uses.
The statutory basis for every notice type on this page and the Forcible Entry and Detainer (F.E.D.) court process that follows if the tenant does not comply: Alaska Statutes Section 34.03.220 (notice grounds and content) together with Alaska Statutes Section 09.45.060 through 09.45.105 (Forcible Entry and Detainer, notice form and service, and the court filing process).
10-day cure-or-quit notice for a material breach of the rental agreement or the tenant's duties under the Landlord and Tenant Act, serious enough to affect health and safety. Correcting the violation before the 10 days expire lets the tenancy continue. If the tenant commits substantially the same violation again within 6 months of an earlier notice, the landlord may instead give a no-cure 5-day notice.
Distinct from the for-cause notices above: ending a month-to-month tenancy without cause requires 30 days' written notice before the next rental due date, and ending a week-to-week tenancy requires 14 days' written notice. No reason for the termination is required, and a termination notice may not be used to end a fixed-term lease before the lease term expires without cause.
Notice of 24 hours to 5 days with no cure option, for deliberate infliction of more than $400 in damage to the premises, or for illegal activity on the premises by the tenant or a household member or guest (drug or alcohol production or sale, prostitution, or gambling; mere possession of illegal drugs or alcohol does not qualify). No opportunity to cure is provided by the statute for this category.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the reason. Nonpayment of rent requires a 7-day notice to pay or quit (Alaska Statutes Section 34.03.220(b)). A curable violation of the lease or the tenant's duties requires a 10-day notice to cure or quit (Section 34.03.220(a)(2)). Deliberate damage over $400 or illegal activity on the premises requires an unconditional notice of 24 hours to 5 days, with no chance to fix the problem (Section 34.03.220(a)(1)). A repeat of the same violation within 6 months of an earlier notice can also draw a no-cure 5-day notice.
No. Alaska law requires a written notice to quit before filing a Forcible Entry and Detainer lawsuit for any of the causes in Alaska Statutes Section 34.03.220, including nonpayment of rent, lease violations, damage, and illegal activity. Skipping the notice, or using the wrong day count, can get the eviction case dismissed.
The notice must state the reason for termination and be specific to that reason. For nonpayment of rent, it must state the exact amount of rent owed, not counting late fees (Alaska Statutes Section 34.03.220(b)). For a curable violation, it must describe the lease term or Landlord and Tenant Act duty that was violated (Section 34.03.220(a)(2)). For an incurable violation, it must describe the damage or illegal activity involved. Every notice must also state the deadline to pay, cure, or vacate and the statutory basis for the action, so the tenant knows exactly what is required and by when.
The Alaska Court System publishes an official notice-to-quit form for each cause, CIV-725 for nonpayment of rent, CIV-726 for nonpayment of utilities, CIV-727 for lease violation, CIV-728 for intentional damage, and CIV-729 for illegal activity, tied to Alaska Rule of Civil Procedure 85. These forms are made available for landlords to use rather than mandated word-for-word, but the required content, amount owed, day count, and consequence language, is set by statute regardless of which document a landlord uses to convey it.
A curable violation is a breach of the lease or the tenant's duties under the Landlord and Tenant Act serious enough to affect health and safety; common examples include unauthorized pets, disturbing other tenants with excessive noise, or failing to maintain the unit, and minor or inconsequential violations don't qualify. Correcting a curable violation within the 10-day notice period lets the tenant stay (Alaska Statutes Section 34.03.220(a)(2)). An incurable violation gets no chance to fix the problem: deliberate damage over $400, illegal activity such as drug or alcohol production or sale, prostitution, or gambling, or a repeat of substantially the same violation within 6 months of an earlier notice (Section 34.03.220(a)(1)).
Count the applicable notice period, 7 days for nonpayment, 10 days for a curable violation, or 24 hours to 5 days for an incurable violation, from the date the notice is served on the tenant. If the notice is served by registered or certified mail rather than personal delivery or posting, add 3 days to that count before the deadline to pay, cure, or vacate (Alaska Statutes Section 09.45.100(c); Section 09.45.090(c)). Write the exact deadline date and time on the notice itself so the tenant knows precisely when the notice period ends.
If the tenant hasn't paid the rent owed, corrected the violation, or vacated by the deadline stated on the notice, the landlord may file a Forcible Entry and Detainer (F.E.D.) complaint in the District or Superior Court for the judicial district where the property is located (Alaska Statutes Section 34.03.220; Section 09.45.060 to 09.45.105). The notice's own service and signature sections, who served it, on what date, and by what method, become part of the record the landlord relies on when filing.
The notice should show the date it was written at the top, and the landlord or property manager should sign and date it at the bottom before serving it on the tenant. Separately, the person who serves the notice should record their name, the date served, and the method used, personal delivery, posting, or mail, since that service record and the written notice date together establish when the notice period, and any 3-day mailing extension, begins running (Alaska Statutes Section 09.45.100(c)).