How to fill out Alaska Form 825

The document that sets the number everything else in a bonded-title packet is built on. An appraiser looks at the vehicle in person, in Alaska, writes down what it is worth at fair market retail - not trade-in, and the form says so in capitals - and signs. The bond is then written for one and one-half times that figure. Two pages: the appraisal itself, and a page of instructions that is really a list of the ways an appraisal gets rejected. Read the second page first, because it is where the disqualifications live.

Written against Form 825 (Rev 04/2025), issued under 2 AAC 92.010(b), which requires a bona fide appraisal reasonably conforming to nationally recognized used-vehicle valuations, for a complete street legal vehicle physically present in this state. The number written in the fair market retail box is not a negotiating position - it is multiplied by one and a half and becomes the bond you buy, so a generous appraisal costs you money and a mean one costs you the whole application. What the Division is checking is whether the figure reasonably conforms to nationally recognised used-vehicle valuations for a vehicle in that condition, which is exactly what the attached printout and the four condition lines are for.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank Form 825 from the dmv.alaska.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our Form 825 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank Form 825 — Vehicle Appraisal Form for Surety Bond PDF at dmv.alaska.gov · new tab Step 2 · how to fill it in Our filled-in Form 825 guide PDF · print and keep beside you

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual Form 825, rendered from the PDF the Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Administration publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.

Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below

A completed Alaska DMV Form 825, Vehicle Appraisal Form for Surety Bond. The owner is Talia R. Sturdevant with an Alaska driver licence number, email and phone. The appraiser is Rowena B. Kalmakoff of Knik River Auto Sales, dealer number AK-D-04188, appraising at 2201 Palmer-Wasilla Hwy, Wasilla, AK 99654. The vehicle comb carries the identification number 6B4TLD8H2RK105372 for a 1994 Toyota Land Cruiser, 4D SUV, white, odometer 186,904 miles, no plate. The fair market retail value box reads $ 9,800.00, and the four explanation lines describe a straight body with a dented tailgate and chalked paint, a working four wheel drive and dry transfer case, a sound frame with no collision damage, and an attached NADA clean retail printout dated 24 August 2026 with value reduced for mileage and paint. The appraiser has signed and dated it 08/27/2026. — Rendered from the Division's own PDF. Grey is almost the whole sheet, because almost the whole sheet belongs to the appraiser - the owner block at the top is the only part the applicant writes. The value shown is what the bond on the surety-bond page of this state's set is computed from. Every person, firm, credential number and vehicle identification number is invented.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
You fill this in
Owner's full legal name
Your name, licence number and contact details in the owner block at the top.
Watch out: The same name that will appear on the bond and the affidavit. This is the only block on the form that is yours.
2
Somebody else fills this in
The appraiser identifies themselves
Their full legal name, licence or ID number and state, and the company they appraise for.
Watch out: Get this filled in properly at the time. Chasing an appraiser for a missing credential number a fortnight later is how appraisals expire.
3
Somebody else fills this in
The credential line
An Alaska dealer number, insurance adjuster number, bank business licence number or badge number - whichever applies to them.
Watch out: If the person looking at your vehicle cannot fill this line in, they are not one of the three kinds of appraiser the instructions allow.
4
Somebody else fills this in
Where the appraisal happened
The address at which the vehicle was physically viewed, with city, state and zip.
Watch out: It has to be an Alaskan address. This line is the evidence for the regulation's requirement that the appraiser saw the vehicle here, in person.
5
Somebody else fills this in
The vehicle identification comb
One character per cell across the sheet.
Watch out: Watch for the characters that are never used in a VIN. An I where a 1 belongs makes this appraisal describe a different vehicle from the bond.
6
Somebody else fills this in
Year, make, model, body style
The description row, written as the rest of the packet writes it.
Watch out: Agree the wording with whoever is preparing the bond. Small differences across the packet are what the counter notices first.
7
Somebody else fills this in
The odometer reading
Current mileage, with a tick beside it where the odometer does not work or the item is a trailer or boat.
Watch out: On a vehicle old enough to be exempt from odometer disclosure, the reading still belongs here - it is part of what the value is being justified by.
8
Somebody else fills this in
Fair market retail value
The figure, in the box marked NOT TRADE IN VALUE.
Watch out: This is the number your bond is one and one-half times, so it is worth understanding how the appraiser got to it before they sign.
9
Somebody else fills this in
Body, drive train, frame
Three condition lines, each describing what actually affects the value.
Watch out: Specific beats flattering. Torn upholstery, missing components and damaged safety glass are the examples the instructions give, and they are what makes a low figure defensible.
10
Somebody else fills this in
Other, and the attachment
The fourth line, plus the guidebook or internet valuation the figure came from, attached and dated within 90 days.
Watch out: Ask for the printout in the envelope, not emailed to you later. Without it the appraisal is a number with no working shown.
11
Somebody else fills this in
The appraiser signs and dates
Signature and date of appraisal, under the certification that they have seen this vehicle personally in the State of Alaska.
Watch out: The date is the start of the ninety days. Do not collect the appraisal weeks before the surety is ready to write.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
Owner Information	Full legal name including suffix, driver licence or ID number and state, a company name where one applies, then email and phone. This is you, the person applying for the bonded title.
Appraiser Information	The same identity block for the person doing the valuing: full legal name, licence or ID number and state, and the company or organisation they work for.
Alaska Dealer Number / Insurance Adjuster Number / Bank Business License number / Badge Number	One line, four possible credentials, and it is the line that decides whether the appraisal counts at all. The instructions name who may appraise: a licensed dealer, an insurance appraiser or a bank - and if none of those is available in your area, check with DMV for other options.
Location appraisal was conducted	Address, city, state and zip. The state box has one acceptable answer, because the regulation requires the vehicle to be physically inspected by the appraiser in Alaska, not from photos.
Vehicle Identification Number	A comb of individual cells across the sheet, one character each.
Year, make, model, body style	The description row, with the form's usual worked examples printed into the labels.
Colour, odometer, plate	Colour and current odometer reading in miles, a tick for trailer, boat or a non-functioning odometer, and the plate number and state where there is one.
Fair Market Retail Value	One boxed figure, labelled in capitals with what it is not: NOT TRADE IN VALUE.
The explanation, in four parts	Body, Drive Train, Frame and Other, each on its own line, under an instruction printed in bold: provide an explanation for the appraised fair market retail value, including any mechanical, appearance, or other factors that affect the value. If this section is left blank, the appraisal will be rejected.
The attachment requirement	Printed in the same block: for any vehicle that is not an RV or trailer, a current copy of the internet source, guidebook, or document used to determine the value, dated within the last 90 days, must be attached. The instructions name the kind - Kelly Blue Book, NADA, Carfax.
Appraiser Signature and Date of Appraisal	Signed by the person who performed the appraisal, under a certification that they have seen this vehicle personally in the State of Alaska. False statements are punishable under AS 11.56.210.
The instruction page	A checklist of its own: value must be fully justified; retail rather than wholesale or trade-in; the applicant and appraiser must not be the same individual or company; the seller and appraiser must not be the same individual or company; the form must be filled out in full; appraisals must not be over 90 days old; any alterations or changes to the appraisal form after completion void the form in its entirety.

What gets this one rejected

•The explanation block left empty. The form says in its own text that a blank explanation means rejection, and it is the single most common failure on this page.
•A trade-in figure. The value box is captioned NOT TRADE IN VALUE, and a wholesale number understates the bond, which is the Division's real objection to it.
•An appraisal by the person selling you the vehicle, or by you. Two separate lines in the instructions bar both: the applicant and appraiser must not be the same individual or company, and neither may the seller and the appraiser.
•No printout attached. Everything except an RV or a trailer needs the guidebook or internet valuation it was based on, issued within 90 days, in the envelope.
•A crossed-out figure. Any alteration or change after completion voids the form in its entirety, and the instructions ask the appraiser to refrain from using crossed-out information rather than initialling it.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•In person, in Alaska, on a complete vehicle. Three conditions from the regulation and the instructions together: physically inspected by the appraiser in Alaska, not from photos; a complete vehicle; and street legal. A shell on a trailer does not get appraised, it gets reconstructed.
•Ninety days, twice over. The appraisal expires at ninety days, and the valuation printout behind it must itself have been issued within ninety days. Both clocks are running while the surety underwrites the bond.
•A dealer may only appraise what a dealer may sell. The instruction is precise: a dealer may only provide an appraisal for the types of motor vehicles which the dealer is licensed to sell. A car dealer's appraisal of a motorhome is not one the Division has to take.
•Manufactured homes go elsewhere. The instruction page ends by sending them away: this form is not intended for use to appraise a manufactured home, which has its own appraisal on Form 870.
•The appraiser keeps a copy. Also in the instructions, and worth holding them to it - if the packet goes astray in the post, the appraiser's copy is the only other one in existence.

Every line here was read off Form 825 (Rev 04/2025) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Administration pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.

Back to all Alaska seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Alaska involves.

How to fill out Alaska Form 825

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Owner's full legal name

The appraiser identifies themselves

The credential line

Where the appraisal happened

The vehicle identification comb

Year, make, model, body style

The odometer reading

Fair market retail value

Body, drive train, frame

Other, and the attachment

The appraiser signs and dates

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

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