Permitting

For storage outside of areas with specific forms, use:

Read more about the OTC Events Over 50 People Permit in the Administrative Decision PDF .

Read more about the OTC Storage Permit in the Administrative Decision PDF .

Read more about the OTC PUWL Permit in the Administrative Decision PDF .

Read more about Winter Off Road Travel Permits in the Administrative Decision PDF .

Read more about the ROV GP in the

All commercial recreation businesses that use state uplands, shorelands, tidelands, and submerged lands on a day-use basis with no camp or facility that remains overnight, whether occupied or unoccupied, must register pursuant to 11 AAC 96.018. The level of commercial recreation activities occurring on state land is increasing. Many of these activities do not require permits, therefore DNR has not been able to obtain much of the commercial use data needed to make informed land management decisions. DNR needs to collect information about where such uses are occurring, how many clients are recreating on state land and the type of activity that is occurring. More detailed information about registration may be found on the factsheet PDF .

Please use the online system or printable form PDF to register your commercial recreation day use on state uplands, shorelands, tidelands, and fresh water bodies. Businesses are required to register their commercial recreation day use in advance of the use each calendar year.

A new regulation effective December 7, 2002, generally allows day use of state land for commercial recreation purposes without a permit only if the business registers.

Please note: Commercial operators of aircraft, vessels, or watercraft that access or navigate, including ancillary use of State uplands, on navigable waters are not required to register. An ancillary use of State uplands are activities such as portaging or having lunch but does not include more substantive activities such as camping or leading a nature hike. This exemption applies to aircraft, vessels, and watercraft that or used for navigation or transportation, and does not include platforms, structures, or other commercial facilities fixed in a location on navigable waters.

Please select your registration preference and continue

1. Complete registration via PDF PDF

   $80 (plus $4 each visitor day)

2. Complete registration online

   $80 (plus $4 each visitor day)

Commercial Recreation Permit Application (printable form) PDF

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) requires commercial business intending to operate on general state land overnight, but no more than 14 consecutive nights in one location, to obtain a Commercial Recreation Permit (CRP). This authorization allows a business registered in Alaska to legally access state-owned public land for activities such as big game guiding, commercial filming, camping and trekking on state uplands, shorelands, tidelands, and freshwater bodies.

Businesses are required to register their commercial recreation in advance of the use each calendar year.

More detailed information may be found on the factsheet page PDF .

Submit registration information using a paper form PDF.

The PDF form is provided for printing. Please complete the form and submit it by email, mail or in person, along with payment, to one of the three offices listed on the form. Payment may be made using a credit card by calling the Public Information Center at 907-269-8400 or by mailing a check/money order. Previous commercial recreation permit holders have your LAS number available before proceeding.

View Game Management Unit/Subunit Maps

A permit is required for the use of state-owned lands to establish an occupiable camp, structure, or facility that remains in the same location for more than 14 days. Camps should be temporary in nature and must be able to be removed within 48 hours. Examples include man-camps used for construction sites, scientific research camps, and set-net support camps. A camp used for private, non-commercial purposes for less than 14-days in the same location does not require a permit from DNR.

A permit is required for the commercial recreational use of state-owned lands to establish an occupiable camp, structure, or facility that remains in the same location for more than 24 hours. Commercial recreation is defined in 11 AAC 96.250(10).

Cross country travel requires a Land Use Permit when the activity will take place on State-Owned Land and will involve a highway vehicle weighing more than 10,000 pounds, a recreational-type vehicle weighing more than 1,500 pounds, or any off-road travel that could cause significant rutting or damage to the land.

Docks for commercial use can be authorized by DMLW under a Land Use Permit. Residential docks adjacent to privately owned uplands do not typically require a permit.

Commercial filming is any filming that involves the digital or film recording of a visual image or sound recording by a person, business, or other entity for a market audience. This includes recordings such as those used for a documentary, television or feature film, advertisement, or similar projects. This does not include filming intended to be used exclusively for a specific news story or item for broadcast or publication. More detailed information may be found on the factsheet PDF .

If you require a Commercial Recreation Permit (CRP) for filming on state land, please fill out the CRP Filming Application PDF .

A permit is required for the commercial placement of a mooring buoy and associated anchor-system on state-owned tide and submerged lands if the use occurs for more than 14 days in the same location and does not prevent reasonable public access. For commercial buoys placed in the Kasilof River, see Kasilof River Mooring Buoy Permit (KRMBP). A private, non-commercial mooring buoy placed within the projected sidelines of the upland owner's parcel does not require a permit from DNR.

A permit may be required for the placement of a structure, facility, or equipment on state-owned lands, tidelands, or submerged lands for the purpose of scientific research, if the use occurs for more than 14-days. Examples include fish weirs, monitoring stations, repeater sites, water gauges, and acoustic arrays.

Lands that are covered by non-tidal water (i.e., lakes, rivers) that are considered navigable under federal law.

The storage and staging of equipment on state-owned land, for periods longer than 14 days.

Lands that extend from the mean-low water mark out to sea three nautical miles. More detailed information may be found on the factsheet PDF .

Lands covered by tidal water, beginning at the mean-high tide water mark, and extending out seaward to the mean-low tide water mark. More detailed information may be found on the factsheet PDF .

Registration - There is a $160 minimum that applies to a Non-timber Forest Product Commercial Harvesting Permit.

Requirements - An End-of-Season Report PDF must be completed and returned within 31 days of the expiration or termination of this permit. Final harvest location and use records (Running Daily Log) must be kept for reporting purposes.

Responsibilties:

1. Be sure that you can identify the product that you are harvesting. Some plants can never be harvested because they are rare, endangered, or sensitive to harvest in other ways. Other plants are poisonous and may resemble edible species.
2. Know how to collect and handle the product you are harvesting. Improper collecting can damage the remaining plant parts. Improper collecting and handling can result in an unusable product.
3. Be sure that a market exists for the product you intend to harvest.
4. Know the land ownership.
5. Respect the land and others using it. Follow the Generally Allowed Uses PDF requirements when harvesting.
6. Obtain and carry the proper permit and complete the end of season report while harvesting.
7. Maintain required records, timely submit required reports, and pay fees.

What are “Non-Timber Forest Products”?

Non-timber Forest Products (NTFP) are generally defined as products derived from biological resources. Some examples include mushrooms, berries, bark, burls, conks, cones, boughs, diamond willow, landscaping transplants, and sap. Not included are rocks, minerals, soil, water, animals, or animal parts. Timber products include saw logs, poles, house logs, firewood, and Christmas trees. Harvest of timber products is permitted through the local Alaska Division of Forestry office. Harvest of NTFP for commercial purposes is managed by the Division of Mining, Land and Water.

Do I need a permit to harvest Non-Timber Forest Products?

No permit is required to harvest reasonable quantities of NTFP for personal use. If you are harvesting NTFPs for commercial purposes, you will need a “Limited Non-Timber Forest Products Commercial Harvest Permit.” Commercial use is defined as harvesting NTFPs for the primary purpose of sale, resale, or use in a manufacturing process resulting in a product that will be sold or used for business activities. The official permit to harvest commercially on general or state forest lands is available on the Division of Mining, Land & Water's NTFP web page or by visiting the office locations listed below. This permit does not authorize harvest on private, state park, University of Alaska, Mental Health Trust, Department of Transportation, Alaska Railroad, borough, or federal lands.

Why do I need a permit?

A permit is required to enable the Division of Mining, Land and Water to manage the sustainable harvest of these biological resources for their continued use by future Alaskans.

Are there fees?

Because these resources belong to all Alaskans, fees are charged to ensure that the citizens share in the benefits of the commercial use of their resources. Commercial users pay a $160 application fee and minimum permit fee. If harvest levels exceed $160, then per unit fees that apply in addition. The fee schedule for NTFPs may be found in the Limited Non-Timber Forest Products Commercial Harvest Permit and 11 AAC 05.150.

Statutes: AS 38.95.080 (Note: Legislation passed in the 2024 Legislative session will modify this statute. This update has not yet been reflected in BASIS as of November 27, 2024. You may find the bill language here: HB 125).

Regulations: 11 AAC 94

Construction of New Cabins or Use of Existing Cabins

DNR may issue a trapping cabin permit to construct and use up to three trapping cabins on state land, or to use an existing cabin on state land if the owner of the cabin approves or the cabin is not owned by another person. The applicant must demonstrate a history of trapping in the requested area, must have a trapline of sufficient length to justify the need construction of cabin or use of existing cabin, and must have an active trapping license.

An application fee of $100 must be submitted with the application, and there is an annual fee required of $25 per year. The Department may also request a performance guarantee (bond) on the cabin site. The bond is to ensure compliance by the permittee and upon removal of the cabin the bond will be relinquished to the permittee.

Current Alaska Trapping Regulations