Sell your car in Alaska — no notary, no state sales tax, no inspections
Alaska keeps a car sale simple: the whole transfer happens on the back of the title, nobody stamps anything, and there's no state sales tax waiting at the end. The one obligation that's genuinely yours is the 10-day notice to the DMV after the sale — a tear-off stub or a free online form that keeps the buyer's future problems off your record. Here's every rule, checked against the state's own instructions.
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Pick your metro
One set of rules from Ketchikan to Utqiagvik; four very different markets. Anchorage runs on military orders and moose-country miles, Fairbanks on block heaters and Eielson's rotation cycle, the Mat-Su on Glenn Highway commutes, and Juneau on whatever the barge brought in. Find yours below.
What Alaska requires when you sell
| Notary | Not required to sell. The DMV's instructions call for a fully completed title assignment — no blank spaces — plus an odometer certification on newer vehicles, and never mention a notary. Notarization only appears when paperwork goes sideways: the duplicate-title affidavit (Form 809) and a power of attorney (Form 847) both need a stamp. |
|---|---|
| The title form | There is no separate assignment form. Ownership transfers on the back of the Alaska title itself; the buyer then files a Vehicle Transaction Application (Form V1) for a new title and registration. The title fee is $15, and state law gives the buyer 30 days to apply in their own name. |
| Lost your title? | Only the owner of record (or lienholder of record) can order a duplicate: a notarized Form 809 plus a $15 fee, filed in person at any DMV office or mailed to headquarters at 4001 Ingra Street, Anchorage. You must have the duplicate in hand before ownership can transfer — start this before you list, not after you shake hands. |
| Protect yourself after the sale | Alaska law (AS 28.10.271(c)) requires you to notify the DMV of the transfer within 10 days. Two easy routes: tear off the Notice of Vehicle Sale for Transfer stub at the bottom of the title and send it in, or file free online through the DMV's Report Sale or Transfer of Vehicle tool. Stub already gone with the buyer? File a Notice of Transfer Pending (Form 820) instead. |
| License plates | Standard Alaska plates stay with the vehicle — leave them on. Personalized and other special-issue plates are the exception: you remove those at sale, and the buyer gets a new set of plates at no additional charge. |
| Sales tax | Alaska has no state sales tax, so a private sale triggers no state tax bill for either side. Local governments can levy their own — Juneau's areawide rate is 5%, while Anchorage and Fairbanks charge none. Boroughs also collect a Motor Vehicle Registration Tax through the DMV at registration, which lands on the buyer, not you. |
| Inspections | None, anywhere in the state — no safety inspection, no emissions test, to sell or to register. Anchorage ran the last emissions (I/M) program in Alaska, and it ended March 1, 2012 after the EPA agreed the biennial test was no longer needed. |
Everything above is verified against the Alaska DMV's official instructions for selling a vehicle as of August 2026 — if a fee or form changes after that, the DMV's page wins.
Asked by Alaska sellers
Do I need a notary to sell my car in Alaska?
No. The DMV's selling instructions require a completely filled-out title assignment with no blank spaces, plus an odometer certification on newer vehicles — and a notary appears nowhere in that process. The only notarized documents in Alaska vehicle paperwork are the duplicate-title affidavit (Form 809) and a power of attorney (Form 847), which you'd only touch if something went wrong with the title itself.
What happens if I don't tell the DMV I sold the car?
Under AS 28.10.271(c) you have 10 days to notify the DMV of the transfer, and until the record changes, the vehicle is still legally connected to you — parking tickets, abandonment fees, whatever the buyer gets into. The fix takes minutes: send in the tear-off stub from the bottom of the title, use the DMV's free online Report Sale or Transfer tool, or file Form 820 if the stub already left with the buyer.
Do Alaska license plates stay with the car or come with me?
Standard plates stay bolted to the vehicle when it sells — you leave them on and walk away. Personalized and special-issue plates work the other way: those are yours, you remove them before handoff, and the buyer is issued a fresh set of plates at no extra charge when they register.
Is there sales tax on a private car sale in Alaska?
There's no state sales tax at all, so at the state level a private sale is tax-free for both sides. Local option taxes are real in some places — Juneau's areawide rate is 5% — while Anchorage and Fairbanks levy none. Boroughs also collect a Motor Vehicle Registration Tax when the buyer registers, and that bill belongs entirely to the buyer.