Alaska has no self storage lien act, so operators rely on the general storage lien in AS 34.35.220. If the charges stay unpaid for three months, you may sell at public auction after sending a registered letter to the owner and posting notice in three public places for 10 days (AS 34.35.225, AS 34.35.175).
Verified on October 25, 2026 against the official Alaska Statutes 2025 on the Alaska Legislature's site.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Review your notices and sale plan with your attorney before you act.
Alaska lien timeline at a glance
Most states wrote a special law for self storage. Alaska did not. The rules that exist are short and old: AS 34.35.220 gives a lien to anyone who safely keeps or stores personal property at the owner's request, and AS 34.35.225 and 34.35.175 set the sale rules. Whether they cleanly apply to a month-to-month unit rental, as opposed to a warehouse or bailment, is a legal question the statute does not answer.
| Step | Earliest timing | What the law requires | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Charges unpaid | Day 0 | You have a lien for just and reasonable charges and may keep possession until they are paid. No self storage overlock rule exists, so rely on your lease. | AS 34.35.220 |
| 2. Notice of sale | At least 10 days before the sale | Registered letter to the last known place of residence, if known. It describes the article, names the owner or reputed owner, states the amount due, and gives the time and place of the sale. | AS 34.35.225(a), AS 34.35.175(d) |
| 3. Posting | 10 days before the sale | Post the same notice in three public places in the recording district. | AS 34.35.175(d) |
| 4. Sale | Three months after the charges arose (about day 92) | Allowed if the charges are not paid within three months. Public auction in the recording district where the property is kept. Sell only enough to cover the charges. | AS 34.35.225(a), (b); AS 34.35.175(c) |
Worked example: the charges first went unpaid on January 1 and you count three months from that day, which is April 1. You mail the registered letter and post the three notices on or before March 22, so the 10 days of posting have run by April 1. The earliest sale date is April 1, which is 90 days after January 1. Three months can be 89 to 92 days depending on the months, so our schedule uses day 92 to avoid selling early. The statute does not say whether the three months run from the first missed rent or from the end of each storage period, so ask an attorney which date to count from.
What the Alaska lien notice must say and how to send it
The notice before the sale goes to the debtor by registered letter, directed to the last known place of residence if the residence is known, and is also posted. It contains a particular description of the article, the name of the owner or reputed owner, the amount due on the lien, and the time and place of the sale (AS 34.35.175(d), which AS 34.35.225(a) applies to storage liens).
The statute does not mention email and we found no authority that lets email replace the registered letter, so do not rely on it. The statute also does not say how to prove delivery when the tenant does not pick up the letter.
Alternate contacts and lienholders
The sections have no alternate contact rule and no requirement to notify other lienholders. If you know a bank or lender has an interest in a stored vehicle or other item, ask your attorney whether to notify them anyway.
Advertising the sale
There is no newspaper or online ad requirement in AS 34.35.175 or 34.35.225. The statute asks for the notice posted in three public places in the recording district for the 10 days before the sale. Online advertising is not addressed. An attorney may advise a newspaper or online notice as a cautious extra, but the general storage lien does not require it.
The UCC warehouse route
Alaska has a second statute you may see cited. AS 45.07.209 gives a warehouse a lien against the bailor on goods covered by a warehouse receipt or storage agreement, and AS 45.07.210 sets how to enforce it. A warehouse is "a person engaged in the business of storing goods for hire" (AS 45.07.112(a)(11)). AS 34.35.225(d) says the general storage lien remedies are in addition to AS 45.07.210, and AS 45.07.210(g) says the same in return.
For goods other than those stored by a merchant in the course of business, AS 45.07.210(b) asks you to notify all persons known to claim an interest, with an itemized claim, a description of the goods and a demand for payment in not less than 10 days after receipt. After that time runs out, publish the ad once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation where the sale is held, and hold the sale at least 15 days after the first publication at the nearest suitable place to where the goods are stored. Whether a self storage operator counts as a warehouse, and whether a rented unit is a bailment under a "storage agreement," is not settled by the text. Ask your attorney before relying on either route.
Late fee limits
The statute does not address late fees and sets no cap. Your rental agreement controls what you charge. Because the lien covers only "just and reasonable charges" (AS 34.35.220), keep your fees modest and written into the lease.
Sale rules, surplus and records
- Public auction. The sale must be public and held in the recording district where the article is left (AS 34.35.175(c)). Online sales are not addressed.
- Sell only what you need. You may sell only enough to cover the charges (AS 34.35.225(b)).
- Proceeds. Pay the expenses of sale first, then the lien, then give the balance to the owner (AS 34.35.175(b)). Alaska's unclaimed property rules were not part of this review.
- Penalty. If you sell, loan or dispose of goods contrary to the statute without the owner's consent, you forfeit the market value plus 50% of it as a penalty to the owner (AS 34.35.225(c)).
- Records. No retention period is stated. Keep proof of the registered letter, photos or a record of the postings, and the sale paperwork.
Vehicles and boats
We found no special self storage vehicle rules in Chapter 34.35. Titled vehicles and boats may be covered by other Alaska law that we did not research, so get legal advice before selling or towing one.
Active-duty military (SCRA)
Federal law adds protections for servicemembers, and owners must check military status before a sale. See 50 U.S.C. 3958. We found no Alaska-specific military rule in these sections.
Common mistakes checklist
- Assuming a self storage act exists and applies.
- Skipping the registered letter or sending only a regular letter or email.
- Posting in fewer than three public places, or for fewer than 10 days.
- Selling more than needed to cover the charges.
- Selling before the three-month mark.
- Holding the sale outside the recording district where the goods are kept.
- Disposing of goods without following the statute, which risks market value plus 50%.
- Selling before checking servicemember status.
Tools to help
Use the lien timeline calculator to count your dates, read about lien and auction management, and see all state lien laws. The self storage auction process guide covers the sale itself, and the lien notice template gives you a starting draft.
An Alaska sale is easier to defend when every notice, ad and sale date is recorded in one place; the best self storage software roundup compares tools that do this, and self storage software covers what Stitch includes. Owners comparing against Storable's SiteLink, Storable Edge or Storable Easy can read Storable alternatives.
What the statute does not say
We read AS 34.35.175, 34.35.220 and 34.35.225 and AS 45.07.209 and 45.07.210 on the Alaska Legislature's site on October 25, 2026. The print edition of the Alaska Statutes 2025 does not show amendment history, so we cannot give the year of the last change. Alaska has no self storage statute, and we did not research court decisions on whether AS 34.35.220 and 34.35.225 apply to a monthly unit rental. HB 97 (2024) would have added a self storage act and passed the House, but it was not enacted. We found no self storage lien bill among the bill titles of the 34th Legislature (2025 to 2026).
The statute does not say whether the three months run from the first missed rent, how to prove delivery of the registered letter, or whether email can stand in for it. Day 92 is our conservative conversion of three months. We did not research the Alaska landlord and tenant act or unclaimed property rules. Use an Alaska attorney before any sale.
Last reviewed: October 25, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Review every notice and sale with your attorney.
