Alaska Court System Self-Help

There are two main ways to register an order from a tribe, another state court, or another country. These are called the full faith and credit doctrine and the comity doctrine. State and federal laws tell state courts which types of orders are registered under full faith and credit and which are registered under comity.

When someone asks the state court to register an order that the law says gets full faith and credit, it is automatically registered, unless someone in the case objects and points out one of the limited exceptions applies. For example, if someone asked the court to register an order, and someone else in the case told the court that there was a newer order that changed the order, the first order can’t be registered. But if no one objects, the order is registered automatically without a judge reviewing it.

When someone asks the state court to register an order that does not get full faith and credit, the courts use the comity doctrine. A state court judge must review the order for certain legal requirements, even if everyone in the case wants it registered. For example, the judge would not register an order that affected someone who was not involved in the tribal court case. When an order is registered under comity, the Alaska state courts recognize and enforce the order in the same way they recognize and enforce an order from an Alaska state court.

The Alaska state courts give full faith and credit to:

• Child support orders from tribal courts or other states.
• Domestic violence protective orders from tribal courts or other states.
• Tribal court child protection orders (orders that would fall under the Indian Child Welfare Act if they were in state court) are given full faith and credit.

• Divorce or dissolution (ending a marriage)
• Child Custody
• Paternity (determining the biological father of a child)
• Name Change (both adults and minors)

Alaska Civil Rule 5.4 has a process for registering tribal court orders in these case types as long as the tribal court is part of a federally recognized tribe:

1. Fill out court forms
   • To register a tribal court divorce, dissolution, custody, or paternity tribal court order, fill out Request to Register Tribal Court Order, DR-980.
   • To register a tribal court name change order, fill out Request to Register Tribal Court Name Change Order, CIV-686.
2. Copy
   • Make a copy of the forms for your records.
3. File
   • Mail or hand-deliver the form (including all attachments) to the court. Or you can send it electronically, using either the court’s TrueFiling program (if available at your court) or email (if your court accepts email filings). This is called filing the form.
   • File at an Alaska Superior Court in the location closest to where a party lives or the tribal court is located. See the List of Superior Court Filing Locations to find the closest court.
   • The court will send a copy to the other parties in the case and to the tribal court.

1. Service.
   • The court will send a copy of your request to register and a notice of registration request, to the other parties and the tribal court using first-class mail (this is called “service”). The court will also send you a copy of the notice. If you want, you may also serve the other parties using any method authorized under Civil Rule 4. You must arrange and pay for this other service. Do not file proof of Civil Rule 4 service with the court unless requested.
2. Wait to see if a hearing is requested.
   • The other parties have 20 days to request a hearing to object to the registration. The 20 days begins on the date the court mailed the notice.
3. Attend the hearing, if the court schedules one.
   • If any party requests a hearing, the court will schedule one and notify all parties of the date, time, and location. If the notice does not already give information about attending by phone or Zoom, and it will be difficult for you to attend the hearing in person, file form TF-710, Request to Appear by Telephone.
   • See form DR-981, Notice of Registration Request, for a list of legal defenses the other party could argue to stop registration of the tribal court order. Or read the other party’s request for hearing to see why they are objecting to the registration. If the other party cannot prove one of these legal defenses, the judge may register it after the hearing.
   • You can testify and present your own evidence at the hearing. Bring any evidence (such as documents, emails, text messages, photographs, etc.) that shows that the tribal court order should be registered. You may also call witnesses. This is not a hearing to redo the tribal court case or change the tribal court order.
4. Wait for the judge to act, if there is no hearing.
   • If no other party requests a hearing within 20 days, the judge will review the tribal court order and may register it based only on what is written in your request to register.

Alaska Civil Rule 5.4 lists the following reasons a tribal court order might not be registered under comity.

• The person or entity who requested the registration did not follow the procedures in Civil Rule 5.4(a)-(d).
• The tribal court did not have jurisdiction (authority) over the parties, or did not have jurisdiction to decide the issues in this case.
• The tribal court order has been vacated (canceled), stayed (put on hold), or modified (changed) by a court that had jurisdiction (authority) to do these things.
• A party was required to be notified about the tribal court case, but they did not get actual notice, and any attempts to give them notice were not reasonably likely to reach them.
• A party received notice that the tribal court case was happening, but the tribal court did not give them a chance to be heard or to participate in the case.
• It would be against the public policy of the State of Alaska to recognize the tribal court order under comity.

• Register Tribal Court Change of Name Order Forms (CIV-686 - CIV-689)
• Other Comity Forms (DR-980 - DR-983)