AG-Approved Arbitration in Alaska

Alaska has no state-run arbitration board. Instead, the lemon law uses a conditional, Attorney-General-approved arbitration model: if the manufacturer maintains an approved program, you must resort to it before claiming the statutory remedy.

The AG-approved-arbitration rule

Under AS 45.45.355, if the manufacturer has established an informal dispute-settlement procedure that the Alaska Attorney General has approved (meeting FTC-style standards), the owner must resort to that procedure before pursuing the refund/replacement remedy. If the manufacturer has no approved program, you can proceed toward court without it.

This conditional model is like Delaware, South Dakota, and North Dakota — but Alaska adds the Attorney General’s approval requirement, a quality check on the program.

How arbitration works

Most large automakers run a program (often through the BBB Auto Line) that is free to the consumer:

1. File a claim with the program named in your warranty booklet.
2. Submit your repair orders, the out-of-service count, and proof of certified-mail notice.
3. Hearing — usually on documents, by phone, or in person.
4. Decision — under Alaska law the decision is binding on the manufacturer but not on the owner, so you can still sue if the result is inadequate.

Don’t lose the paper trail

Whatever the arbitration outcome, keep every document — it’s evidence for a later court action, where you can pair the lemon law with the Consumer Protection Act (treble-or-$500 + full fees) and Magnuson-Moss.

Bottom line

Alaska has no state board: if the manufacturer has an AG-approved program you must use it first (decisions bind the manufacturer, not you); otherwise you head straight to court. Get a free case review.

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