Alaska courts launch free text reminders for state court hearings

Anyone with an Alaska state court case number can now get a free text reminder at 4 p.m. the day before a hearing. The Alaska Court System launched the service, called Court Guide Text Hearing Reminders, statewide on Sept. 15, according to its press release.

A user texts a case number to (575) 222-8484 or scans a QR code on official court flyers, then replies yes to a first message, according to the service's FAQ. Enrollment is optional. A user does not have to be a party or a lawyer, and there is no limit on cases tracked. Each reminder links to a webpage showing the case number and name, hearing type, date, time, judge, courtroom location and a map.

The court system says the service aims to help people remember hearings and reduce missed appearances. Neither document reports a measured drop in missed hearings or says whether every case type is covered. The FAQ calls the texts a courtesy and says people remain responsible for attending their hearings. The court system warned earlier this year of fake court texts demanding fines.

The court system first tested text reminders in Ketchikan in June 2018, covering criminal and minor-offense cases with reminders the night before. A 2025 Pew Charitable Trusts appendix described Alaska's statewide criminal reminders as opt-in through a written request, with 6,751 of 22,258 eligible people enrolled and reminders sent three days ahead. Pew's May 2025 brief cited a review finding they raised court appearance in 11 of 12 studies, with failure-to-appear rates falling 11% to 61% in relative terms.

Criminal defendants can still file form CR-202 to get reminders by text or email. Users can drop one case by texting its number and replying DELETE.