Alaska Judgment Expiration: How Long Is a Judgment Good For? — Best Proven Guide (2026)

Alaska judgment expiration is the question behind “how long is a judgment good for in Alaska”: a money judgment entered by an Alaska court is enforceable for a fixed number of years, it cannot simply be renewed, and it earns interest the whole time.

This guide gives the Alaska figures in a dated table, explains what “dormant” means, how a creditor renews or revives a judgment, how the judgment becomes a lien on real property, what each side can do while it is alive, and how a paid judgment is cleared.

The Alaska judgment expiration figures on this page were verified against a dated 50-state compilation and Alaska sources as of October 2026; the statute named here is where to check them yourself.

What a Money Judgment Is Before the Alaska Judgment Expiration Clock Starts

A money judgment is a court’s final order saying one party owes another a set amount. In Alaska, these are entered by the district court (including small claims) or the superior court. The judgment is the court record of the debt.

A judgment lien is a separate claim against real property, and it only exists once a certified copy of the judgment is recorded with a state recording district (AS 09.30.010).

The Alaska Judgment Expiration Figures

The Alaska Judgment Expiration figures in the table above apply to this part as well.

The Alaska judgment expiration figures on this page were verified against a dated 50-state compilation and Alaska sources as of October 2026; the statute named here is where to check them yourself.

What Alaska Judgment Expiration Actually Means

This part of the Alaska Judgment Expiration guide uses the same sources listed at the end of the page.

Alaska has no formal “dormant judgment” status. Instead, two things happen over time. After the first period, the clerk can no longer issue a writ of execution unless a judge approves it. After the outer limit, enforcement through the courts generally ends and any recorded lien expires. In most cases the underlying debt is not erased, but the court’s collection tools stop working.

Confirm the details with the statute, the court clerk or an attorney.

Renewal and Revival Under the Alaska Judgment Expiration Rule

Check each Alaska Judgment Expiration point here against your own court papers before you act.

1) Alaska has no renewal form. While the early window is open, the creditor asks the clerk for a writ of execution (CIV-501, or CIV-506 for garnishment or a PFD writ) in the court that entered the judgment. 2) Once that window closes, the creditor files a motion for leave to issue execution and explains the delay. The motion is served on the debtor, who may oppose it.

The judge decides on the filings or at a hearing. 3) Separately, the creditor may file a new lawsuit on the judgment before the outer limit, and the debtor is served with it like any other case.

The Judgment Lien in Alaska

If your paperwork differs from this Alaska Judgment Expiration summary, the court record controls.

A creditor creates the lien by recording a certified copy of the judgment with the Department of Natural Resources Recorder’s Office for each recording district where the debtor owns land. The lien covers non-exempt real property the debtor owns now and property acquired later, until the lien ends. It lasts only as long as execution may issue and never longer than the judgment’s own outer enforcement limit (AS 09.30.010).

After that, a new lien requires a court order granting leave.

Interest on an Alaska Judgment

Every Alaska Judgment Expiration figure on this page is dated and tied to a source below.

The rate is set in the year the judgment is entered and stays fixed for the life of the judgment. Civil Rule 58.2 requires the rate to be written on the judgment. Interest is simple, not compounded, and runs only on the original judgment balance. Payments go first to post-judgment costs, then to interest, then to that balance (Administrative Bulletin No. 68).

The Alaska Court System publishes the annual rate table at courts.alaska.gov.

What a Creditor Can Do While the Alaska Judgment Is Alive

A creditor may take money from a bank account using a general writ of execution (Request for Writ, CIV-501), which a peace officer serves on the bank. A creditor may take part of a debtor’s wages through a writ of execution for garnishment of earnings (CIV-506). The debtor gets a Notice of Garnishment and Right to Exemptions (CIV-530).

A creditor may levy on the debtor’s Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) through a PFD writ, which cannot be served on the Department of Revenue before April 1 of the dividend year. Non-exempt property may be seized and sold through a writ of execution (AS 09.35; Civil Rule 69). A creditor may request a judgment debtor hearing (CIV-540), where the debtor answers questions under oath about income and assets.

What a Debtor Can Do Before the Alaska Judgment Expiration

A judgment debtor can claim the exemptions the state provides, negotiate a satisfaction for less than the face amount, pay through the court, or move to vacate a default judgment that was entered without proper service.

Out-of-State Judgments in Alaska

A judgment from another state must first be domesticated in Alaska before it can be enforced here; once it is, the Alaska rules on enforcement and expiration generally apply to it.

Clearing a Paid Alaska Judgment

Once a judgment is paid, the creditor or the creditor’s attorney signs a Satisfaction of Judgment before a notary or clerk. That is form SC-17 in small claims or CIV-860 in district or superior court. The creditor files it with the court and serves the debtor. If the judgment was recorded as a lien, a satisfaction recorded in that district must identify the recorded judgment (AS 09.30.300–.310).

The 1978 enacting law required delivery immediately after a cash payment or within 10 days after other forms of payment. It also made a creditor liable to the debtor for failing, without just cause, to file within 30 days after a written demand. Confirm with the current statute or the clerk.

Alaska creditors can levy on a debtor’s Permanent Fund Dividend through a PFD writ served on the Department of Revenue. The writ cannot be served before April 1 of the dividend year, and the department recommends it arrive by the end of August. The court has a form to request return of a PFD taken by mistake.

Any recorded lien works per recording district, not per county, because Alaska has no county recording system. Court staff can explain forms but cannot give legal advice.

Next rung: what a creditor can take from a bank account, and what is protected, is the next question — the Alaska bank-levy page joins this guide when that cluster is live; until then, the CFPB debt-collection page in the sources below is the place to read.

Alaska Judgment Expiration FAQ

How long is a judgment good for in Alaska?

An Alaska money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry (the 10-year limit on an action on the judgment). Alaska has no formal “dormant judgment” status. Instead, two things happen over time.

Can a judgment be renewed in Alaska?

no renewal filing: an action on a judgment must be brought within 10 years (AS 09.10.040(a)); if 5 years pass after entry with no execution issued, no execution may issue without a court order, which the court grants if there were just and sufficient reasons for the delay (AS 09.35.020)

Does an Alaska judgment expiration mean the debt is gone?

Alaska has no formal “dormant judgment” status. Instead, two things happen over time.

What interest does an Alaska judgment earn?

3 percentage points above the 12th Federal Reserve District discount rate in effect on January 2 of the year of entry; a written contract’s rate (up to the legal rate) if the judgment states it (AS 09.30.070(a))

Official Alaska Sources & Resources

• Statute — judgment dormancy, renewal and interest (opened and read): https://law.justia.com/codes/alaska/title-9/chapter-10/section-09-10-040/
• Statute — judgment dormancy, renewal and interest (opened and read): https://law.justia.com/codes/alaska/title-9/chapter-35/section-09-35-020/
• Statute — judgment dormancy, renewal and interest (opened and read): https://law.justia.com/codes/alaska/title-9/chapter-30/article-1/section-09-30-070/
• Alaska statute / opinion: https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp?media=print&secStart=09.30.010&secEnd=09.35.020
• Alaska Court System Self-Help Center – Debt Collection / Collecting a Judgment: https://courts.alaska.gov/selfhelp/debt/collection.htm
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: consumerfinance.gov
• CFPB — Debt collection: know your rights: consumerfinance.gov

This Alaska judgment expiration guide was last verified against official Alaska sources in October 2026. Rules change — confirm the current rule with the statute or a licensed attorney.

More Alaska Money Rights Guides

• Alaska Bank Levy Exemptions
• Alaska Debt Collection Lawsuit
• Alaska Small Claims Limit
• Money Rights Guides for All 50 States

Disclaimer: This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Bonus Bank Daily is an independent educational resource — not a law firm, not a bank, not a debt collector and not a government agency. Judgment, levy, interest-rate and debt rules change — every figure here carries the date we verified it.

Confirm the current rule with the statute, the court clerk or a licensed attorney in your state before you act.