How to Complete Alaska DMV Form V1: Application for Title and Registration

Alaska DMV Form V1, the Vehicle Transaction Application, is the single form the Division of Motor Vehicles uses for almost every title and registration action: buying a vehicle, transferring a title after a private sale, bringing a vehicle in from another state, adding or removing a lienholder, or handling certain registration-only changes. The form runs two pages, must be completed in ink, and travels with a packet of supporting documents and fees that depend on what you are asking the DMV to do.¹²

When to Use the V1

You will reach for a V1 any time ownership changes or a lien is added or removed. That covers buying new from a dealership, buying used in a private sale, receiving a vehicle as a gift, inheriting one, refinancing, or paying a loan off. The form also handles registration-only actions on a vehicle that already has an Alaska title, such as an address change or a renewal that cannot be done online.

Deadlines are short. If you buy a vehicle in Alaska, you have 30 days from the date of sale to transfer the title into your name.³ If you move to Alaska with a vehicle registered elsewhere, you have 10 days from entering the state or starting work here to apply for Alaska registration.⁴

One boundary worth flagging: initial title-and-registration transactions cannot be filed online. Online services in Alaska cover registration renewals only. A first-time title, an ownership transfer, or a lien change still requires the paper V1.⁵

Gather Your Documents First

Get the packet together before you start writing on the form. Most title-and-registration filings need:

The existing title signed over by the seller, or a Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin (MCO) from the dealership for a new vehicle. If neither is available, the DMV may require a vehicle inspection on Form 811, which is free at any state DMV office.³
The full 17-character VIN, visible on a plate through the driver-side windshield and usually repeated on a sticker in the driver-side door jamb. Copy it carefully; one wrong digit sends the packet back.
The odometer reading at the time of sale, rounded down to whole miles. Federal law requires a written odometer disclosure whenever a motor vehicle changes hands.⁶
Proof that liability insurance is in effect. By signing the V1, you certify under penalty of perjury that insurance covers the vehicle and will remain in force for the entire registration period.¹
The purchase price and date of sale, so the DMV can calculate any applicable taxes.

For a vehicle you are moving in from another state, add the out-of-state title and your current out-of-state registration.⁷

Filling Out the Form

Use ink. Pencil gets rejected.² Which blocks you complete depends on the checkbox you select at the top of page 1.

Transaction Type and Vehicle Description

Check the box that matches your transaction. The common choice is “Title & Registration (New/Used vehicles, Changes to Ownership).” Other boxes cover adding or removing a lienholder and registration-only actions.¹

Enter the year, make, model, body style, and full VIN. If you are moving plates from another vehicle you own, put that plate number in the field provided. Write in the odometer reading and mark whether the reading is actual, not actual (odometer replaced or known to be inaccurate), or exceeds the mechanical limits of the gauge.

Owners

Write each owner’s full legal name and physical residential address. If there are two owners, watch the conjunction. “AND” means both owners must sign to sell or transfer the vehicle later. “OR” means either owner can act alone.¹ That single choice can matter years later, so agree with your co-owner before you check a box.

Lienholder

If the vehicle is financed, fill in the lender’s name and mailing address. Recording a lien costs $15 on top of the title fee.³ Once processed, the DMV mails the completed title directly to the lienholder rather than to you.² If you own the vehicle outright, leave this section blank.

Certification and Signatures

Page 2 is the certification. You are swearing, under penalty of perjury, that the information is true, that insurance is in place, and that the vehicle meets applicable safety standards. Every listed owner must sign. If you are mailing the packet and a co-owner cannot sign, an original notarized power of attorney on Alaska Form 847 can stand in. Photocopies are not accepted.⁸

Fees

The title fee is $15.⁹ Add another $15 if a lien is being recorded.³ Registration in Alaska runs on a two-year biennial cycle, and the registration fee depends on the vehicle type and weight.¹⁰ If you are registering a vehicle whose prior registration expired less than a full year ago, you still owe the full biennial fee running from the month it lapsed, even if the previous owner is the one who let it expire.

Many municipalities and boroughs collect a Motor Vehicle Registration Tax (MVRT) through the DMV at registration. Not every area charges it, and the amount varies by vehicle type and age. The DMV’s fee estimator at online.dmv.alaska.gov/MVRTCost will give you the specific total for your vehicle and location before you file.¹⁰

A vehicle with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more also needs proof of federal Heavy Vehicle Use Tax payment: a stamped IRS Form 2290, Schedule 1, from the current fiscal year. Without it, the DMV will not process registration.¹

Registration Fee Exemptions

Several groups can claim a biennial registration fee exemption on the V1 itself by checking the box and attaching proof:

Active-duty military, with a leave and earnings statement issued within the past 90 days.
Alaska National Guard members who are Alaska residents, with a National Guard memorandum, SRB/ORB, or VMPF dated within the last 30 days.
Disabled veterans who are Alaska residents, with proof of a service-related disability rated at 50 percent or higher plus discharge documentation showing character of service.
Alaska residents with a permanent mobility disability, using Form 861 signed by a qualified medical provider.
Alaska resident seniors 65 and older.
Alaska charitable or nonprofit organizations with IRS documentation of tax-exempt status.

All exemption categories and their required documentation are printed on the V1.¹

Submitting the Application

You can walk the packet into a DMV field office or mail it in. In person is faster: you can typically leave with registration tabs the same day, and the physical title is mailed later. The DMV has offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Kenai, Wasilla, and several smaller communities.¹¹

If you mail it, send the completed V1, all supporting documents (original signed title, proof of insurance, Form 2290 if it applies), and a check or money order for the full fee. Both your current mailing and residential addresses must appear on the application. Allow roughly two months for processing and return mail. Keep a photocopy of everything as temporary proof of your filing.²

After the DMV Processes Your Application

Once processing is finished, the DMV issues a permanent registration card and, where applicable, metal plates. For a vehicle with a recorded lien, the title goes to the lienholder and stays there until the loan is paid off and the lender releases the lien.⁷ For a lien-free vehicle, the title is mailed to the owner at the residential address on the V1.

Registration then runs two years from the date of issuance. Renewals can be handled online starting three months before expiration, which is the cheapest and fastest route.⁵ If you let registration lapse for more than a year, the DMV assigns a new expiration month and charges a full biennial fee from that point.

1
Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Transaction Application
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Division of Motor Vehicles, State of Alaska. Mailed in Title Procedures
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State of Alaska. Titles
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State of Alaska. Visiting or New to Alaska
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State of Alaska. Renew Vehicle Registration
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eCFR. 49 CFR Part 580 – Odometer Disclosure Requirements
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State of Alaska. Transfer My Vehicle From Another State
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Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles. Power of Attorney – Form 847
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State of Alaska. New Vehicle
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State of Alaska. General Vehicle Registration
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Division of Motor Vehicles, State of Alaska. Locations