How long do I have to transfer a vehicle title in Alaska?

30 calendar days from the date of sale. AS 28.10.321(a) requires the new owner to present the endorsed certificates, apply for a new title and register the vehicle within 30 days, and AS 28.10.451 makes it unlawful to wilfully fail to title or register a vehicle. Alaska publishes no late-title fee.

How much does a title transfer cost in Alaska?

The base title fee is $15. The Alaska certificate of title fee, which AS 28.10.441(1) sets at $15 'including transfer of title'. It does not include registration, the municipal motor vehicle registration tax, the $15 lien recording fee, the $10 walk-in surcharge or any plate charge. There is no state sales or use tax in Alaska, so the DMV collects nothing on the price you paid. What it does collect at registration is the municipal motor vehicle registration tax, for those municipalities and boroughs that have adopted it.

Does a vehicle title transfer need to be notarized in Alaska?

Sometimes required. Nothing in an ordinary Alaska sale is notarised - not the title assignment, not the V1, not the odometer disclosure. Notarisation attaches only to particular affidavits and letters, and on three of the DMV's own forms a DMV representative may take the oath instead of a notary public.

Does the seller have to notify the title authority in Alaska?

Yes. Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Department of Administration. 10 calendar days from the transfer or assignment of the owner's title or interest. The notification is what makes the transfer valid under AS 28.10.321 and 28.10.361; combined with delivering the endorsed title, it ends the seller's liability as owner for how the vehicle is driven afterwards. The DMV also holds the registration renewal once a pending sale is reported.

Transferring a vehicle title in Alaska

Issued by Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Department of Administration. Choose your situation below — the buyer’s and seller’s obligations are listed separately, and every answer links to the official source.

Title fee: $15base title fee
Deadline: 30 daysfrom the date of sale
Documents: 3incl. V1
Where: State officein person

The seller signs the Assignment of Vehicle Title by Owner on the Alaska title, fills in the odometer reading and hands the original title over when the vehicle is delivered. No notary is involved in an ordinary sale. The buyer then has 30 days from the date of sale to apply for an Alaska title on Form V1 and pay the $15 title fee plus registration; the seller has 10 days under AS 28.10.271(c) to tell the DMV the vehicle is sold, which is what ends their liability for how it is driven afterwards.

8 things this answer does not settle

Four current Alaska DMV publications state the odometer-disclosure thresholds differently. Form V6 and the Odometer Requirements page use an unladen weight of more than 12,000 pounds; the Mailed In Title Procedures page uses a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 16,000 pounds. On age, Form V6 and the Mailed In Title Procedures page use the 20-year test for model year 2011 and newer, while the Selling a Vehicle and Odometer Requirements pages say to certify a vehicle less than ten years old and the New Vehicle page says 'less than 20 years old'. If your vehicle falls between the two tests, complete the disclosure anyway - once Alaska records an odometer as 'Unknown' it can never be changed back.
Alaska publishes no single fee schedule for a title transfer. The flat figures are statutory - $15 title, $15 lien filing, $15 duplicate title, $5 plate replacement, $2 duplicate registration in AS 28.10.441 - but registration and the municipal motor vehicle registration tax come only from the DMV's own calculator, which needs your city and model year before it returns a number.
The $10 walk-in charge is published two ways. AS 28.10.421(a)(2) makes it a mandatory addition to the registration fee for any registration not done by mail, online, or at an emissions inspection station or contract office, subject to a good-cause waiver; the DMV's calculator only warns that in-person transactions 'may be charged' it. Alaska publishes no list of which counters charge it.
The Changes to Registration or Title page still directs applicants to 'an Application for Title and Registration (Form 812)', but no Form 812 appears in the DMV's current forms index and every other page uses Form V1. Use V1.
The Selling a Vehicle in Alaska page links its 'duplicate title' reference to doa.alaska.gov/dmv/titles/duplicate.htm, which now redirects to the DMV home page rather than to the Duplicate Vehicle Title page.
Whether the seller must complete the odometer disclosure at all depends on thresholds that four current Alaska publications state differently - 12,000 pounds unladen against a 16,000-pound GVWR, and a ten-year against a twenty-year age test. Complete it unless you are plainly outside every version.
The DMV's online Report the Sale service quotes AS 28.10.271(c) without the words 'within 10 days' that appear in the statute itself, so the deadline on this page comes from the Alaska Statutes rather than from the DMV's own page.
Registration and the municipal motor vehicle registration tax are not published as figures for a particular vehicle. Only the $15 title fee, the $15 lien fee, the $5 plate transfer and the statutory biennial registration bands are fixed; the rest needs the DMV's calculator and your city.

Do this first

Before you pay, run the VIN through the federal NMVTIS title-history service at vehiclehistory.gov, which the Alaska DMV itself points buyers to, and check that the name on the front of the Alaska title is the person selling to you.
Check the release before money changes hands: with an 'OR' conjunction between the names on the front of the title only one owner has to sign to release it, but with 'AND', any other conjunction, or a blank space between the names, every owner must sign.

Your checklist

Before you pay, run the VIN through the federal NMVTIS title-history service at vehiclehistory.gov, which the Alaska DMV itself points buyers to, and check that the name on the front of the Alaska title is the person selling to you.Official page
Check the release before money changes hands: with an 'OR' conjunction between the names on the front of the title only one owner has to sign to release it, but with 'AND', any other conjunction, or a blank space between the names, every owner must sign.Official page
Take the original title, released by the seller and assigned to you, to any DMV or business partner office within 30 days of the sale, together with Form V1 completed in full in ink - it needs both your mailing address and your residence address - and apply for the Alaska title and registration together.V1Official page
Pay the $15 title fee and the registration for the vehicle at the same visit; expect a further $10 if you register at a counter rather than by mail or online.Official page
If you are financing the purchase, write the lender's name and mailing address in the 'Other Information' section of the V1 and pay the extra $15 lien recording fee. Alaska will mail the finished title to your lienholder, not to you.Applies when: You are making payments to an individual, business or financial institution.V1Official page
If you need to drive the vehicle before the title work is finished, ask the DMV for temporary registration by presenting a completed V1 and proof of purchase such as a bill of sale - the full title and registration fees are due at that point.Applies when: You want to use the vehicle on public roads before the title is issued.V1Official page
Living somewhere remote, mail the original title, the signed V1 and a check or money order made out to the State of Alaska DMV to ATTN: CORRESPONDENCE, 4001 Ingra Street, Suite 101, Anchorage AK 99503 - registered certified mail is what the DMV recommends - and allow about two months. Never mail cash.Applies when: You cannot reach a DMV or business partner office.V1Official page

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The seller's checklist

Complete the Assignment of Vehicle Title by Owner on the Alaska title, printing your name and signing in the exact places marked, and give the original title to the buyer when you hand over the vehicle - AS 28.10.271(b) makes that delivery part of the sale.Official page
Leave no blank space anywhere on the assignment. The DMV states that federal law bars it from transferring a title where the assignment, including the odometer statement, has not been completed.Official page
Complete the Notice of Vehicle Sale for Transfer attached to the bottom of the original title and send or deliver it to the DMV, or report the sale on the DMV's online Report the Sale or Transfer of a Vehicle service. AS 28.10.271(c) gives you 10 days.Official page
If the bottom portion of the title is missing, or you have already given the whole title to the buyer, file the same notice online instead - the DMV calls this the Notice of Transfer Pending.Applies when: The tear-off notice at the bottom of the title is gone.Official page
Remove personalised or specialty plates from the vehicle at the sale. Standard-issue Alaska plates are not transferable and stay on the vehicle; where you take your personalised plate, the DMV issues the buyer a new set at no additional charge.Applies when: The vehicle carries personalised or specialty plates.Official page
To put your personalised plate on another vehicle you own, say so in the comments or affidavit section of a Form V1, give the complete plate number, attach a copy of the last registration and pay $5.Applies when: You want to keep using a personalised plate on a replacement vehicle.V1Official page
Have the buyer sign a bill of sale as well. The DMV is explicit that a bill of sale is not valid for ownership transfer, but recommends one showing the serial number, the vehicle description, both printed names, the date and both signatures, in case the buyer collects tickets on the vehicle afterwards.Official page
If you cannot find the Alaska title, apply for a duplicate on Form 809 before you sell - the DMV requires the owner shown on its records to replace a lost title before ownership can transfer, whichever party lost it.Applies when: The Alaska title is lost, stolen, destroyed or damaged.809Official page

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Both of you, together

Fill in the odometer disclosure on the title together: the seller certifies the reading at the time of sale and the buyer signs to acknowledge it. If the title has no odometer space, complete Form V6 instead and submit it with the other documents. Do not guess - if the disclosure is missing or wrong the DMV records the odometer as 'Unknown', and once recorded that way it can never be changed back to a number.V6Official page

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Documents and official forms

The Alaska certificate of title, with the Assignment of Vehicle Title by Owner completed and released by every owner the conjunction requiresNo notarisation. With 'OR' between the names one signature releases it; with 'AND', any other conjunction, or no conjunction, all owners must sign. Only a licensed dealer may use the reassignment section - a private seller must first hold title in their own name.
V1Vehicle Transaction ApplicationCompleted in full in ink and signed by the applicant, with both mailing and residence addresses.
Odometer disclosure at the time of sale, certified by the seller and acknowledged by the buyerNormally completed on the title itself. Where the title or MCO has no odometer space, Form V6 is used instead.

Also required in some cases

The title or MCO has no odometer disclosure section, or the section was not used.

V6Odometer Disclosure Statement

Someone other than the registered owner signs the title assignment or the V1, including a leased vehicle.

847Power of Attorney

A lien shows on the title and has been satisfied.

Lien release

The Alaska title is lost, stolen or destroyed and must be replaced before the sale can be processed.

809Application for Duplicate Title

Deadlines

Deadline30 calendar days from the date of sale — Buyer: Apply for an Alaska title in your name within 30 days of the saleAS 28.10.361 provides that a transfer is not effective until the chapter has been complied with, and AS 28.10.451 makes it unlawful to wilfully fail to title or register a vehicle. The DMV publishes no late fee for a private buyer.
Deadline10 calendar days from the transfer or assignment of your title or interest — Seller: Notify the DMV of the transfer within 10 daysUnder AS 28.10.361 an owner who has delivered the vehicle, endorsed the assignment and delivered the title is not liable as the owner for anything arising from how the vehicle is driven afterwards; the DMV also says it will hold the registration renewal once the sale is reported. No penalty is published for a late notice.

Fees and taxes

Charge	Amount	Paid by
Base title fee	$15The Alaska certificate of title fee, which AS 28.10.441(1) sets at $15 'including transfer of title'. It does not include registration, the municipal motor vehicle registration tax, the $15 lien recording fee, the $10 walk-in surcharge or any plate charge.	Buyer
Alaska certificate of title fee	$15The Alaska certificate of title fee, which AS 28.10.441(1) sets at $15 'including transfer of title'. It does not include registration, the municipal motor vehicle registration tax, the $15 lien recording fee, the $10 walk-in surcharge or any plate charge.	Buyer
Alaska vehicle registration (biennial)	From $100Varies by the vehicle type, its unladen weight, the model year and the city or borough you register in. AS 28.10.421(b)(1)(A) sets the biennial fee for a non-commercial passenger vehicle, pick-up, truck or van not exceeding 10,000 pounds unladen at $100, and (b)(4) sets a motorcycle at $60; heavier non-commercial vehicles run $180 to $662 under (c)..Alaska registers vehicles for two years at a time. A vehicle keeps the expiry month it was first given, so a newly bought vehicle is charged from that month - including for a period the previous owner let lapse, unless it has been expired for over a full year.Official calculator	Buyer
Municipal motor vehicle registration tax (MVRT)	VariesVaries by whether your municipality or borough has adopted the tax by ordinance, and then on the vehicle type and its age by model year. AS 28.10.431 levies it biennially on a published age schedule; the DMV's own calculator returns the figure once you pick your city..This is a personal property tax collected by the DMV on behalf of municipalities that elected into AS 28.10.431, not a tax on the purchase price. Rates differ by location and no statewide figure exists.Official calculator	Buyer
In-person walk-in surcharge	$10Added to the registration fee, not to the title fee.AS 28.10.421(a)(2) adds $10 for a registration 'not conducted by mail, on the department's Internet website, or at an emissions inspection station or contract office offering vehicle registration services', and allows the department to waive it for good cause. The DMV's fee calculator states it more softly: 'In-Person transactions may be charged an additional $10 walk-in fee.'	Buyer
State sales or use tax on the purchase price	$0Alaska charges nothing here. The Department of Revenue states: 'The State of Alaska currently does not have a sales and use tax; however, some local jurisdictions impose local sales taxes.' The DMV collects no tax on the price you paid.A local sales tax may still apply where you buy, but it is levied and collected by the municipality, not by the DMV at the title counter.	Buyer
Lien recording fee	$15Charged once, on top of the $15 title fee, when a lienholder is recorded on the Alaska title. AS 28.10.441(2) sets the lien filing fee at $15.Applies when you are financing the vehicle. Enter the lienholder's name and mailing address on the V1; the finished title is then mailed directly to the lienholder rather than to you.	Buyer
Personalised or specialty plate transfer	$5Charged when you move a personalised or specialty plate onto another vehicle registered to you. Standard-issue plates cannot be transferred at any price.No charge for Disabled Veteran, standard Disability, Gold Star Family, Prisoner of War or Pearl Harbor Survivor plates.	Either party

There is no state sales or use tax in Alaska, so the DMV collects nothing on the price you paid. What it does collect at registration is the municipal motor vehicle registration tax, for those municipalities and boroughs that have adopted it.

Inspection, emissions, notary and odometer

Inspection: Sometimes required
You have no certificate of title and no Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin - a DMV vehicle inspector completes Verification of Vehicle (Form 811), free at a state DMV office.
The ownership documents are foreign: 'All vehicles with foreign ownership documents must be inspected by an authorized Alaska DMV inspector, law enforcement, or State Trooper using Form 811.'
You are applying for a title on a surety bond, where the vehicle must be inspected on Form 811 by an Alaska DMV representative or an Alaskan peace officer and must be operational with all state and federal required equipment.
Alaska runs no periodic safety inspection. The only vehicle inspection in the titling process is a VIN verification on Form 811, and it is triggered by missing or foreign paperwork rather than by the vehicle itself.
Emissions: Not requiredNo emissions test is required anywhere in Alaska. The Department of Environmental Conservation states that both inspection and maintenance programmes have been suspended - Fairbanks North Star Borough on 1 January 2010 and the Municipality of Anchorage on 1 March 2012.
Notarization: Sometimes required
Someone other than the registered owner will sign the title assignment or the V1 - a notarised Power of Attorney (Form 847) is then required, and 'Only the original, notarized document is acceptable'.
You are applying for a duplicate title on Form 809, which must be signed in front of a notary public or a DMV representative.
A lienholder is releasing its interest by letter rather than by signing the front of the title - the release letter must be notarised and on the lienholder's letterhead.
An heir is using Form 827 for a small estate, which the DMV says must be notarised.
You are buying a repossessed vehicle, where the Repossession Affidavit must be notarised.
You are applying for a bonded title, where the Affidavit of Ownership inside Form 824 must be notarised.
Nothing in an ordinary Alaska sale is notarised - not the title assignment, not the V1, not the odometer disclosure. Notarisation attaches only to particular affidavits and letters, and on three of the DMV's own forms a DMV representative may take the oath instead of a notary public.
Odometer disclosure: Required, unless you are exempt
The vehicle is not self-propelled - the DMV names trailers, and adds that boats and trailers receive no odometer disclosure but the seller must still reassign the title.
The vehicle is over the published weight cut-off. Alaska publishes two different cut-offs: Form V6 and the Odometer Requirements page use an unladen weight of more than 12,000 pounds, while the Mailed In Title Procedures page uses a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 16,000 pounds.
The vehicle is old enough. Again Alaska publishes two tests: Form V6 and the Mailed In Title Procedures page exempt model year 2010 and earlier transferred before 1 January 2021 that are at least 10 years old, and from 1 January 2021 vehicles model year 2011 or newer that are at least 20 years old; the Selling a Vehicle and Odometer Requirements pages instead say to certify the reading on a vehicle less than ten years old.
The exemption is lost if a previous Alaska title already recorded the odometer as 'Unknown'.
A new vehicle before its first transfer other than for resale, and a new vehicle sold by the manufacturer to a United States agency, are exempt on the face of Form V6.
The seller must disclose the odometer reading at the time of sale on the title or MCO, and the buyer must sign to acknowledge it. Alaska publishes exemptions by weight and by age - but states them inconsistently across four current publications, so complete the disclosure unless you are plainly outside every version.

What happens to the plates

Alaska issues one plate, displayed on the back, and by statute the plates stay on the vehicle when it is sold. Standard-issue plates cannot be transferred between vehicles; personalised and specialty plates are taken off at the sale and the buyer is issued a new set at no additional charge.

The plates stay with the vehicle
The seller keeps the plates
The seller may move the plates to a replacement vehicle
The buyer gets new plates

AS 28.10.171 requires one plate on the back of passenger vehicles, motorcycles, motorhomes, trucks, vans, trailers and APVs, with a month and year tab; commercial vehicles over 10,001 pounds display it on the front. AS 28.10.271(a) provides that on transfer the registration expires but 'the registration plates remain on the vehicle'. Moving a personalised plate to another vehicle you own costs $5 and is requested in the comments or affidavit section of the V1 with the complete plate number; replacing any plate costs $5 under AS 28.10.441(3). There is no transfer fee for Disabled Veteran, standard Disability, Gold Star Family, Prisoner of War or Pearl Harbor Survivor plates.

How to submit

In person at a state title office
In person at an authorized third-party office
By mail

One errand and one form. Form V1 is the 'Vehicle Transaction Application' for both, and AS 28.10.201(d) forbids the department from registering a vehicle unless the applicant applies for and obtains a title at the same time, or shows a title was already issued to them.

Official state links

Source: Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Department of Administration. Checked July 31, 2026. Report a correction

Common questions about Alaska

How long do I have to transfer a vehicle title in Alaska?: 30 calendar days from the date of sale. AS 28.10.321(a) requires the new owner to present the endorsed certificates, apply for a new title and register the vehicle within 30 days, and AS 28.10.451 makes it unlawful to wilfully fail to title or register a vehicle. Alaska publishes no late-title fee.
How much does a title transfer cost in Alaska?: The base title fee is $15. The Alaska certificate of title fee, which AS 28.10.441(1) sets at $15 'including transfer of title'. It does not include registration, the municipal motor vehicle registration tax, the $15 lien recording fee, the $10 walk-in surcharge or any plate charge. There is no state sales or use tax in Alaska, so the DMV collects nothing on the price you paid. What it does collect at registration is the municipal motor vehicle registration tax, for those municipalities and boroughs that have adopted it.
Does a vehicle title transfer need to be notarized in Alaska?: Sometimes required. Nothing in an ordinary Alaska sale is notarised - not the title assignment, not the V1, not the odometer disclosure. Notarisation attaches only to particular affidavits and letters, and on three of the DMV's own forms a DMV representative may take the oath instead of a notary public.
Does the seller have to notify the title authority in Alaska?: Yes. Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Department of Administration. 10 calendar days from the transfer or assignment of the owner's title or interest. The notification is what makes the transfer valid under AS 28.10.321 and 28.10.361; combined with delivering the endorsed title, it ends the seller's liability as owner for how the vehicle is driven afterwards. The DMV also holds the registration renewal once a pending sale is reported.
What happens to the license plates in Alaska?: Alaska issues one plate, displayed on the back, and by statute the plates stay on the vehicle when it is sold. Standard-issue plates cannot be transferred between vehicles; personalised and specialty plates are taken off at the sale and the buyer is issued a new set at no additional charge.

About this page

Everything here is a summary of procedures published by official state title authorities, with a link to the source for each answer.

Unusual ownership, probate, lien, salvage, court-order or identity situations commonly require steps beyond those listed here.

We do not file anything with any agency, and we cannot submit, expedite, or check the status of a transfer. Ticking a box on this site records your own progress in your browser and nothing more.

37 official sources · last checked July 31, 2026 · How this was compiled · Report a correction