How to Transfer a Car Title in Alaska

Alaska handles titles through the Division of Motor Vehicles, and there’s no sales tax to pay on the transfer. What catches people out is the documentation standard on liens, and how short the clock is for new arrivals.

Just moved to Alaska? You have 10 days from establishing residency to register a vehicle brought in from another state — one of the shortest windows in the country. Start with transferring your license to Alaska.

The short version

• 30 days to transfer under AS 28.10.271 — but new residents get only 10 days to register a vehicle brought from another state.
• $15 covers almost everything — transfers, duplicates, name changes, adding or removing names.
• A “paid in full” stamp won’t clear a lien. Alaska requires an original letter from the lienholder.

Alaska Title Transfer Deadlines: 30 Days and 10 Days

Situation	Deadline
Alaska resident acquiring a vehicle	30 days from the date of sale or transfer
New resident with an out-of-state vehicle	10 days from establishing residency

The 30-day rule comes from AS 28.10.271 and applies however you acquired the vehicle — purchase, gift, inheritance or any other conveyance. Missing it brings registration complications, processing delays and difficulty establishing clear legal ownership.

Alaska titles passenger vehicles, trucks, buses, vans, motorhomes, motorcycles, trailers and manufactured homes. It does not title camper shells, and ATVs and snowmachines don’t require titles at all.

How to Transfer an Alaska Car Title Step by Step

Step 1: What the Seller Does

1. Complete the assignment section on the reverse of the certificate of title. This is the seller’s responsibility and it’s what actually transfers ownership.
2. Complete the odometer disclosure, required for vehicles less than 10 years old and under 12,000 pounds. If the title’s odometer section wasn’t completed or is illegible, Form V6 is the standalone odometer disclosure.
3. Remove personalized and specialty plates. Those belong to you — see Alaska personalized plates for transferring them to your next vehicle.
4. File a Notice of Transfer Pending online with the DMV. This is what releases you from liability for the vehicle after the sale.

Step 2: What the Buyer Brings

• The signed certificate of title, or the Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin
• A completed Vehicle Transaction Application — Alaska’s title and registration form
• A bill of sale
• The vehicle’s plates
• A lien release, if one applies — see below
• Payment

If there’s no title or MCO available, a vehicle inspector can complete a Verification of Vehicle (Form 811), which is free at a state DMV office. If the vehicle can’t legally be driven to the office, the DMV can issue a one-way trip permit for the inspection trip.

A note on the form number. Alaska’s title and registration application has been renumbered — older guidance refers to Form 812 or 812A, while current DMV material uses Form V1. Pick up the current version at a DMV office rather than printing an old one.

Step 3: File at a DMV Office

Take the plates, signed title, any affidavits and your completed application to an Alaska DMV office. Our guide to Alaska DMV offices covers locations and booking.

Registration is handled at the same visit. Two things worth checking before you go, both covered in our guide to Alaska registration renewal: whether the vehicle is eight years or older, in which case you can register it permanently, and whether the previous owner let the registration lapse — because if it expired less than a year ago, you’ll be charged the full biennial fee backdated to that month.

Lien Releases: Alaska Is Strict

If the existing title carries an unreleased lienholder, the standard of proof is higher than most states.

You need a written letter from the lienholder expressly confirming the lien has been fully discharged — or conditionally released pending a new lien on the Alaska title.

Two things Alaska will not accept:

• A “paid in full” notation or stamp on the title
• A payment receipt

And the release must be an original document — photocopies are generally not accepted.

If the lienholder holds the original title in another state, contact the DMV for specific instructions before submitting your application rather than after.

Note also that a new resident whose out-of-state title carries a lien will be issued an Alaska registration only, not a title, until the lien is resolved.

Do You Need a Bill of Sale in Alaska?

The DMV is clear on both halves of this: a bill of sale is not proof of ownership for title transfer purposes — only the assigned title does that — but the DMV strongly recommends preparing one for every transfer, including gifts.

Its value is as a contemporaneous record of when possession changed hands, which protects the seller from liabilityfor anything that happens afterwards.

Include the VIN, year, make and model, purchase price, date of transaction, and the printed names and signatures of both parties. Each side keeps a signed copy. For a gift, record the price as “$0.00” or “Gift”.

Our guide to the Alaska bill of sale covers what to include in more detail.

No notarization is required for a standard transfer. Three documents do need it:

• Form 809, the Affidavit of Lost, Stolen or Destroyed Title
• A Power of Attorney, required whenever you sign a title on someone else’s behalf — including leased vehicles
• Form 826, the Claim of Ownership for an involuntary lien

Alaska Title Transfer Fees

Item	Amount
Title transfer	$15.00
Duplicate title	$15.00
Name or address change	$15.00
Adding or removing a name	$15.00
Lien recording	Additional $15.00
Manufactured home title	$100.00
Verification of Vehicle (Form 811)	Free
Sales tax	None

The $15 covers nearly everything. Alaska charges the same flat figure for transfers, duplicates, name changes and adding or removing names — one of the simplest fee schedules in the country.

Registration fees are separate and depend on vehicle type, plus any Motor Vehicle Registration Tax your borough has elected. There’s no state sales tax on vehicle purchases, so the tax line that dominates a transfer elsewhere simply doesn’t exist here.

Alaska Car Title Transfer FAQs

Two things cause most Alaska title problems: buyers accepting a “paid” stamp instead of a proper lien release letter, and new residents assuming they have 30 days when the clock for an out-of-state vehicle is only 10.