How to fill out Alaska Form 847

One page that lets somebody else sign a title for you - a co-owner on the North Slope for another three weeks, an owner posted out of state, a parent in hospital. It appoints an attorney-in-fact for one named vehicle and for four named acts, and its last line is the one that catches people out: the Division takes only the original, notarized document. A scan is not this form, a photograph of it is not this form, and a general power of attorney drafted by a lawyer is a different document that the counter may or may not accept.

Written against Form 847 (Revision 08/03/2018), issued under 2 AAC 92.030, under which a title may be released by the owner or the owner's legally recognized representative. The form is printed with an awkward sentence - the above named is hereby appoint the following person as my attorney-in-fact - which is the Division's own wording and not a scanning error. Read past it and notice what the sentence actually does: it names an attorney-in-fact for the vehicle described above. What it does not do is let that person sign a title that is not yet in your name, or reassign a certificate the way a dealer would.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank Form 847 from the dmv.alaska.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our Form 847 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Every line, in the order you meet it

1. 1
   You fill this in

   Plate and serial number

   The vehicle this power applies to, identified by plate and by vehicle identification number.

   Watch out: Copy the serial number off the certificate. The whole document is void for any vehicle other than the one named here.

2. 2
   You fill this in

   Year, make, model, body style, colour

   The five description boxes, filled the way the certificate fills them.

   Watch out: In full means these too. An empty colour box is a blank on a form that says it must be completed in full.

3. 3
   You fill this in

   Who is being appointed

   Full first name, full middle name, full last name and suffix of the attorney-in-fact.

   Watch out: Middle name in full, not an initial - the Division asks for it that way, and the person signing will be identified against it at the counter.

4. 4
   You fill this in

   Your printed name and licence number

   The owner granting the power, exactly as the face of the certificate names them.

   Watch out: If the title is in two names joined by AND, both owners need to appoint - one 847 releases one owner's interest, not the other's.

5. 5
   You fill this in

   Sign it in front of the officer

   The owner's signature, in ink, witnessed by a notary public or a DMV representative.

   Watch out: Take identification. This is the signature the whole document rests on, and the officer below is attesting to who wrote it.

6. 6
   You fill this in

   Date it

   The date beside the signature - the day the power was granted.

   Watch out: Give the original to the person who will use it, and keep a photocopy for yourself. Only one of you can hold the document the Division will accept.

What gets this one rejected

• •A copy. The instruction is the last thing on the page and it is unambiguous - only the original notarized document is acceptable, which means the paper you signed has to travel to the counter.
• •Typing it, or filling it in on screen and printing it. Completed in full in ink is the form's own requirement, and it applies to the whole page rather than just the signature.
• •A blank left anywhere. In full means in full: a missing middle name or an empty body style is an incomplete appointment.
• •Appointing somebody to sign for a vehicle described loosely. The vehicle block ties the power to one plate and one serial number, and a power of attorney describing the blue truck grants nothing.
• •Signing it in advance and posting it to the person who will use it. The signature is witnessed, and a notary who did not watch you sign cannot complete the block underneath.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

• •It is per vehicle, not per person. The whole form is built around one vehicle block. Two vehicles being sold by the same absent owner need two originals, each notarised.
• •The four acts are broad, but they are named. Purchase, sale, application for title or registration, and transfer of ownership. The sentence says including but not limited to, and the safest practice is still to make sure what you want done is one of the four.
• •A DMV representative can notarise it free. Like the duplicate title and the estate affidavit, this form offers the alternative on its own signature block. If the owner can get to a DMV office, the notary fee disappears.
• •It does not survive the owner. A power of attorney is authority delegated by a living owner. Where the owner has died, this form is not the answer - the estate route is, and the Division names the documents it wants for that.
• •Whoever signs on it must be the person named. The attorney-in-fact signs their own name as attorney-in-fact for the owner, not a copy of the owner's signature. A forged owner signature is not made lawful by an 847 sitting beside it.

Every line here was read off Form 847 (Revision 08/03/2018) 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.

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