Storm contractor rules in Alaska: contractor registration and bonds, administrative fines and unfair trade practice penalties

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The wider picture is on the storm contractor rules page. Every row is statute text. None of the sections names tree work or storms, and no official page on an Alaska price gouging rule or a door-to-door cancellation right was read for this page on October 9, 2026.

The sections in one table

Section	What it says
08.18.171, contractor	A person who, in an independent business, undertakes, offers, claims the capacity or bids to construct, alter, repair, move or demolish a building, highway, road, railroad or "any type of fixed structure", including excavation and site development and erection of scaffolding. It includes general, mechanical and specialty contractors and subcontractors
08.18.011, registration required	A person may not submit a bid or work as a contractor until the department has issued a certificate of registration. A general contractor may not use or contract with a specialty contractor who is required to be registered unless that person is registered
08.18.021, application	The application is under oath and lists the Social Security number, the type of contracting activity, whether general or specialty, and the names and addresses of partners, owner or corporate officers. The application information is public record
08.18.051, identification	Advertising, contracts, correspondence, cards and signs show the contractor's name, mailing address and the address of the principal place of business, and advertising and contracts also carry the registration number
08.18.071, bond	A surety bond running to the state is US$25,000 for a general contractor, US$20,000 for a general contractor with a residential endorsement doing exclusively residential work, US$10,000 for a mechanical or specialty contractor, and US$5,000 for a contractor whose work on one project totals US$10,000 or less and is not split to evade a higher bond
08.18.101, insurance	Workers' compensation insurance to the extent AS 23.30 requires it, and public liability and property damage insurance of not less than US$20,000 for property damage, US$50,000 for injury to one person and US$100,000 for injury to more than one person. The liability requirement does not apply where each project totals US$2,500 or less
08.18.111, advertising	Contractors may not advertise that they are bonded and insured simply because they met the chapter's bond and insurance requirements
08.18.041, fees	The department sets registration and renewal fees for all categories of contractors under AS 08.01.065. The section gives no dollar figure
08.18.125 and 08.18.131	The department may impose an administrative fine of not more than US$1,000 for a first violation and not more than US$1,500 for a later violation of section 08.18.011 or 08.18.025, except for a person acting as a contractor or home inspector in an area with a population of 1,000 or less not connected by road or rail to Anchorage or Fairbanks. A superior court may enjoin and impose a civil penalty of not more than US$1,000 per violation, with each day a separate violation
08.18.141, violations	A knowing violation of section 08.18.011 or 08.18.025 after an earlier conviction, finding or fine is a class B misdemeanor. Other violations of the chapter are violations punishable under AS 12
08.18.161, exemptions	Among them: government representatives, sale or installation of products that do not become a permanent fixed part of a structure, an owner contracting with a registered contractor, a person working on an existing structure on the person's own property or own residence, and an owner who acts as the owner's own contractor on one home, duplex, triplex, four-plex or commercial building every two years
45.50.471, unlawful practices	Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in trade or commerce are unlawful. The list includes using deception, fraud, false pretense or false promise with intent that others rely on it, failing to deliver at an installment sale a written contract with the seller's name and address and all terms, and "knowingly making false or misleading statements concerning the need for parts, replacement, or repair service"
45.50.531, private action	A person who suffers an ascertainable loss may recover three times actual damages or US$500, whichever is greater, for each unlawful act or practice. An action is brought within two years of discovering the loss
45.50.551, civil penalties	The Attorney General may recover a civil penalty of not less than US$1,000 and not more than US$25,000 for each violation of section 45.50.471, and not more than US$50,000 for each violation of an injunction or restraining order

What registration involves

Alaska runs a registration with a bond, insurance proof and category rules. The residential endorsement and home inspector registrations carry examinations in the chapter, and the department may set categories of contractors by regulation. The contractor definition lists structures and does not name trees, so whether a tree company is a contractor under it is a question for the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development.

The trade practices act and storm work

Alaska's practices list reaches false statements about the need for repair service and a missing written contract at an installment sale. How a storm-damaged tree fits is a question for the Alaska Attorney General. For how other states treat tree work, see contractor licences for tree work. The scam warnings that attorneys general issue after storms are on the storm tree scams page.

Storm contractor rules in Alaska: contractor registration and bonds, administrative fines and unfair trade practice penalties

The sections in one table

What registration involves

The trade practices act and storm work

Sources