GOVERNMENT SALES

Vehicles owned by the State, a municipality, or a borough government and vehicles seized by a municipal, State, or federal law enforcement agency may be sold at public auction. The purchaser of these vehicles must obtain an Alaska title in their name before the vehicles may be resold.

In order to obtain a title for a vehicle that was owned by the State, a municipality, or a borough, the purchaser must submit the following documents:

• The title is properly released by the appropriate government agency
• The last issued registration, if available
• The odometer reading at the time of sale
• A completed Application for Title & Registration
• If no MCO or Title is available a Form 811 Vehicle inspection may be required.

In order to obtain title for a vehicle under a court order or seizure, the purchaser must submit the following documents:

• A Bill of Sale or Purchase Order from the agency selling the vehicle. This Bill of Sale must contain a complete and correct vehicle identification number, the year and the make of the vehicle, and a statement about why the vehicle was sold, i.e. taxes, drug seizure, etc.
• A lien release from the lienholder of record, when shown on DMV records
• The odometer reading at the time of the sale
• A certified copy of the court order authorizing the vehicle to be sold
• A completed Application for Title and Registration (see above)

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may seize vehicles when a registered owner fails to pay taxes. These vehicles are sold to the public with a Certificate of Sale of Seized Property, US Government Form 2435. When these vehicles are sold, the IRS is only selling the taxpayer's rights to the vehicle. If there is a co-owner not affected by the seizure, and the conjunction "and" appears between the names, then the title released by the co-owner must be submitted with an Application for Title and Registration. If there is a lienholder, a lien release must also be presented to apply for title in the buyer's name. If the vehicle is less than ten years in age, the odometer reading, at the time of sale is also required.