PFD Garnishments by the Department of Law
I did not receive my Permanent Fund Dividend—what do I do?
If you did not receive your PFD, you can check the status of your application on the PFD website, www.pfd.alaska.gov. Click on "myPFDinfo" and follow the instructions. Do not contact the Department of Law unless the Department of Law/Attorney General's Office garnished your PFD.
How do I know if the Department of Law/Attorney General's Office garnished my PFD?
There are two ways to determine if the Department of Law/Attorney General's Office garnished your PFD. First, the PFD office will mail a notice to you at the address you listed with the PFD office on your application. This notice will list the party or state agency that garnished your dividend as well as the amount of the garnishment. Second, you can find out if your PFD was garnished by checking the status of your application on the PFD website, www.pfd.alaska.gov. Click on "myPFDinfo" and follow the instructions. The website will list the party or state agency that garnished your dividend as well as the amount of the garnishment. Also the restitution judgment will be listed on the "dockets" tab, but it might not be listed on the "financial" tab.
The Department of Law/Attorney General's Office garnished my PFD—why?
If the PFD notice or PFD website lists the Department of Law/Attorney General's Office as the garnishing agency, you owe money to a state agency or a restitution recipient.
All Department of Law garnishments are based on a court judgment. The notice or "myPFDinfo" PFD link should contain a court case number. You can look up information on the court case through the court system's website: www.courtrecords.alaska.gov. You can find the case by going through the search function. Note that the search function for the court case number is very specific so it may be easier to find your court case by entering your name into the search page. For example, the notice may list the court case number as 3PA-S07-12345, but CourtView does not include the "S" in the court case number. Once you find the court case, click on the court case number to get additional information. The court case detail page will contain several "tabs" near the top of the page. The "dockets" tab will list any judgments and any transfer of the judgment to the Collections Unit. Also, please note the "Financial" tab will reflect the amount of the court judgment, any adjustments and the amount owed to the court. The amount owed to the Attorney General's Office-Collections Unit is in the "Adjusted" column (as well as other adjustments). Place your curser on the “i” icon in the “Amount Adjusted” column to determine when the court transferred the judgment to the Collections Unit and the amount transferred to the Collections Unit.
I paid the court—what do I do?
If you made payments to the court, check the CourtView records (explained above) to determine if the court has a record of your payment. Click on the "Financial" tab. The court only forwards unpaid judgments to the Collections Unit. If there is no record of your payment, you need to contact the court system. You can find contact information for the court at: www.courts.alaska.gov. Click on "Court Directory." You will need your court case number.
I paid the Department of Law/Attorney General's Office—what do I do?
If you paid the Department of Law/Attorney General's Office, you need to contact our office. Please note if you made a payment after July 3, this payment is not reflected in the garnished amount. Our garnishment is based on active account balances as of July 5. If you made a payment after July 3 and if you don't have any other accounts we garnished on, we will issue a refund. You can contact our office by phone, fax, e-mail, or mail:
E-mail:
lawcollectionsunit@alaska.gov
Fax:
907-278-3458
Phone:
Anchorage: 269-5205
Within Alaska (toll-free): 1-800-580-5205
Outside Alaska: 907-269-5205
Mail:
Attorney General's Office—Collection Unit
1031 W. 4th Ave, Suite 200
Anchorage, AK 99501
Please note we have an extremely high volume of telephone calls during October due to the PFD garnishment. At times, we receive over 100 phone calls a day. We will return your call. Please be patient.
I don't owe any money because I performed community work service, participated in electronic ankle monitoring or paid for alcohol treatment costs—what do I do?
For certain types of criminal judgments, you may be entitled to a credit against the amount you owe. The court enters the judgment and only the court can grant a credit against the judgment. The Collections Unit of the Attorney General's Office cannot grant a credit. If you believe you are entitled to a credit, you need to contact the court that issued the criminal judgment. You can find contact information for the court at: www.courts.alaska.gov. Click on "Court Directory."
I talked to a representative at the Collections Unit and I still believe that I do not owe any money on the court judgment.
We make every effort to ensure our records are accurate. Please contact us if you believe our PFD garnishment is a mistake. If you have receipts, please give your receipt information to the Collections Unit representative. If you talked to a Collections Unit representative and still believe the garnishment was a mistake, you can file a written objection with the court that issued the judgment. You can find contact information for the court at: www.courts.alaska.gov. Click on "Court Directory."
How do I contact the Department of Law/Attorney General's Office?
You can contact our office by phone, fax, e-mail, or mail:
E-mail:
lawcollectionsunit@alaska.gov
Fax:
907-278-3458
Phone:
Anchorage: 269-5205
Within Alaska (toll-free): 1-800-580-5205
Outside Alaska: 907-269-5205
By letter:
Attorney General's Office—Collection Unit
1031 W. 4th Ave, Suite 200
Anchorage, AK 99501
Please note we have an extremely high volume of telephone calls during October due to the PFD garnishment. At times, we receive over 100 phone calls a day. We will return your call. Please be patient.
How do I make a payment on my account?
If you would like to make a payment on your account, you can pay in person at our Anchorage office, make a payment on-line, mail a payment to us, or call us to make a credit card payment. Please include your court case number on your check or money order. Do NOT mail cash to our office.
In Person Payments and Mailing Address:
Attorney General's Office—Collection Unit
1031 W. 4th Ave, Suite 200
Anchorage, AK 99501
Telephone Number for Credit Card Payments:
Anchorage: 269-5205
Within Alaska (toll-free): 1-800-580-5205
Outside Alaska: 907-269-5205
Online Credit Card Payments:
www.law.alaska.gov/payments.html
