Phosphorus-31 NMR relaxation rates for the ternary complex of manganese-alkaline phosphatase-phosphate have been measured and their temperature dependence studied. The exchange of phosphate into the complex is exchange limited with respect to the transverse relaxation rate but is fast with respect to longitudinal relaxation. The data show that the observed phosphate relaxation is an outer-sphere effect. The activation energy for phosphate exchange is E a = 8 Kcal/mole as determined from the temperature dependence of the line width of the phosphorus resonance.