New Vehicle

A vehicle includes a passenger car, motor home, truck, van, trailer, or motorcycle.

If you have purchased a new or used vehicle, you will need to submit the following items to a DMV office to obtain title and registration in your name. Alaska Statutes require that you apply for a title in your name within 30 days of purchasing a vehicle.

If you are buying a used car you may use a title search. https://www.vehiclehistory.gov/nmvtis_vehiclehistory.html

Don’t get taken for a ride! NICB has a free service provided to the public to assist in determining if a vehicle has been reported as stolen, but not recovered. Go here for more information:

If you choose, you may mail your title to the DMV. All mailed-in transactions should go to the Anchorage DMV Headquarters (NOTE: We have updated our processes; do not use DMV addresses on old titles):

State of Alaska DMV
ATTN: Correspondence
4001 Ingra Street, Ste 101
Anchorage AK 99503

How to Properly Transfer a Title 

Requirements

• OWNERSHIP DOCUMENT(s) ~ Title, MCO or other comparable document

  MCO: When a Manufacture's Certificate of Origin (MCO) is submitted, it must either have the applicants name printed on the front, or the Dealership printed on the front must use the Dealer Reassignment to assign the vehicle to the applicant.

  TITLE: The title must be properly released from the previous owner and assigned to the applicant. A private individual cannot use dealer reassignment on a title until obtaining a title in their name. CONJUNCTION: With an OR conjunction between names, only 1 owner needs to sign to release the title. With an AND/any other conjunction/no junction (blank space) between the names, all owners must sign to release the title. For other conjunctions, contact us here.

  Odometer reading for vehicles under 12,000 pounds and less than 20 years old. Caution: Do not guess as this cannot be changed. The odometer reading at the time of sale must be on the ownership document. An owner transferring ownership of a vehicle shall complete the assignment and the odometer disclosure statement on the title and provide the title to the buyer. If the seller and buyer have not attested to the odometer reading on the title, a separate Odometer Disclosure may be required or else the odometer will go UNKNOWN.

  Special Note:  When there is a title that is already in your name in another state, and the lienholder is holding the original title outside of Alaska, we will issue a 'registration only'. The vehicle must be in Alaska per AS 28.10.201. You would just need to provide the current out of state registration showing the lienholder or a photocopy of the title to show it is in your name in the other state. The $15.00 title fee and $15.00 lien recording fees would be waived as we would not be issuing a title.

• APPLICATION  Vehicle Transaction Application Form V1  Completed in full and signed by the vehicle owner in ink.
  

  You must enter your complete mailing and residence address in the Address Information section of the Application. If you are applying for the Z permanent registration, you must have a residence address in an eligible area in the State of Alaska.

  If you are making payments to an individual, business or financial institution, you must provide their name and mailing address in the “Other Information” section. All titles with a lien will be mailed directly to the lienholder.

• Fees
• Power of Attorney - Notarized - Required when a person signed on behalf of the vehicle owner, including LEASED vehicles. Recommended when conducting a transaction on behalf of another person just in case there is a problem with the paperwork.
• LIEN RELEASE Required when a lien is showing on the MCO or title and has been satisfied. When the title is held by a bank, and you want to change the state to Alaska, you must provide the title and a letter from the lienholder stating that the lien release is conditional upon placing a new lien on the Alaska title. Paid in full/paid off statements are not acceptable.
• ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR TRUCKS OVER 8,000 POUNDS
  - Please visit our Commercial page

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Transferring license plates
• Vehicles are registered for a two year period. Normally a vehicle is assigned an expiration date when the vehicle is first registered in Alaska and retains that month when ownership changes. A vehicle that has been expired for less than a full year is charged the full biennial fee beginning with the month the registration expired, even if an individual has just purchased the vehicle and the previous owner let the vehicle expire, or the vehicle has been parked while it was expired. The registration starts over when it has been expired for over an entire year or when the previous owner was exempt from registration fees (Senior Exemption, Z tab, Military/Guard, Disability Plates, etc.)

• Be aware that a vehicle may not be eligible for title and registration even if it is over 25 years old. 

  The DMV still requires that a vehicle manufactured after 1981 meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards per 2 AAC 92.020(a)(2)(A-B) (2) the vehicle model year is 1981 or newer, and (A) the vehicle lacks the permanently fixed label or tag that is required under 49 C.F.R. Part 567 and that states that the vehicle conforms to all applicable United States Department of Transportation federal motor vehicle safety standards in effect on the date of manufacture; and (B) the applicant fails to provide a letter from the vehicle manufacturer that states that the vehicle conforms to all applicable United States Department of Transportation federal motor vehicle safety standards in effect on the date of manufacture and that the vehicle was manufactured for highway use.