SELLING A VEHICLE IN ALASKA

The seller is required to give the title to the buyer when the vehicle is delivered to the new owner. To properly transfer a title, the seller(s) must sign where indicated on the title and complete the assignment to the new owner.

Please Note: If there is an "AND" conjunction on the front of the title, ALL owners must sign where indicated to release the title. With an "OR" conjunction, only one of the owners is required to sign to release the title.

Then the seller should notify us that the sale (title transfer) is pending and we will not renew the registration until the transfer has taken place.

Steps to Sell a Vehicle

To protect yourself from further liability for the vehicle after you have sold it, take the following precautions:

1. Complete the Notice of Vehicle Sale for Transfer attached to the bottom of the original title. Send or deliver this to DMV as soon as possible. The mailing address is shown at the bottom of this page. You are also welcome to send an email message to DMV or to record the sale online.
2. Complete the Assignment of Vehicle Title by Owner on the title where indicated, paying close attention to specific locations for printed name and signature of the owner.  Give the original title to the buyer.

   Please Note: A Bill of Sale is not valid for ownership transfer, however, it is a good idea to have the buyer sign a bill of sale stating that they purchased the vehicle from you on a specific date. Be sure it includes the serial number and description of the vehicle, the buyer and seller's printed names, the date of the sale, and the signatures of both the buyer and seller. This could be invaluable if the buyer receives parking tickets, etc. on the vehicle after the vehicle is no longer in your possession.

3. If your vehicle has personalized/specialty plates, remove the plates upon sale.   The buyer will be issued a new set of plates at no additional charge and can pick up the vehicle after transferring it to their name.

Other Important Information

Federal law prohibits us from transferring the title if the assignment, including the odometer statement, has not been completed, so please consider the following when completing the Assignment of Vehicle Title by Owner.

• Do not leave any blank spaces on the assignment
• Certify the odometer reading of a vehicle that is less than ten years old.
• Please sign the reassignment portion to release interest in the vehicle

If the bottom portion of the title is missing or you have already given the title to the purchaser, you can complete Notice of Transfer Pending.

If the title to the vehicle has been lost, regardless of whether the buyer or the seller lost it, the owner shown on the DMV records must apply for a duplicate title before ownership can be transferred. If the title was issued by a state other than Alaska, the owner must apply to that state to obtain a duplicate title.