How it works. Pick the state and whether you're the buyer or the seller. You get the steps in order, whether your signature needs a notary, the paperwork to bring, and the buyer's deadline, each marked as the state's own rule or as good practice.
Make your checklist
Selling a car: Alaska
Notary: not confirmed
- Your signature
- No official page we opened says whether this signature has to be notarized here. Ask the agency before signing, or sign in front of a notary to be safe.
- Deadline
- The buyer transfers the vehicle into their name within 30 days of the sale.
- Paperwork
- The original title, signed over
- Odometer entry or disclosure
- Seller's report of sale
Your steps
- Find the title and clear any lienGood practice
Have the original title in hand. If a lender is listed, get the lien release or the lender's sign-off before the sale; the buyer can't title the car over an open lien. - Sign the title overNot confirmed
Not confirmed: no official page we opened says whether the seller's signature must be notarized here. Don't sign until the buyer is ready, and write in the buyer's name and the sale date exactly. - Write down the mileageFrom the state's page
The seller certifies the odometer reading on a vehicle less than ten years old."Certify the odometer reading of a vehicle that is less than ten years old."
- Give the buyer a bill of saleFrom the state's page
A bill of sale doesn't move ownership; the signed title does."A Bill of Sale is not valid for ownership transfer."
- Deal with the platesFrom the state's page
Personalized or specialty plates come off at the sale. The page doesn't say what happens to standard plates."If your vehicle has personalized/specialty plates, remove the plates upon sale."
- Report the saleFrom the state's page
The seller sends the DMV a report of the sale as soon as possible; no day count is given."Send or deliver this to DMV as soon as possible."
- Cancel insurance and keep copiesGood practice
Once the car is gone and the plates are off, call your insurer. Keep a photo of the signed title, the bill of sale and any sale report.
Official source: Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles
Before the money changes hands
Meet in daylight somewhere public, or at the bank or tag office where the payment can be checked. Count cash or confirm a cashier's check with the issuing bank before signing anything. The seller signs only when payment is final; the buyer pays only when the title is in hand with no open lien.
Every state on one page: car title notarization by state. For the full private-sale walkthrough, see the title transfer guide.
General information, not legal advice; we are not lawyers. Checked November 2026 against the official pages linked in each checklist. Forms, fees and deadlines change, a county office can add its own steps, and gifts, estates, liens and out-of-state titles follow other rules; the agency or an attorney can tell you how a rule applies to your sale. MCC Solutions is not affiliated with any motor vehicle agency.
Questions about the checklist
Which state's rules apply?
Usually the state that issued the title governs how it's signed over, and the buyer's home state governs titling and registration. When the two differ, read both: a title from a notary state still needs its notary even if the buyer lives somewhere that doesn't ask for one.
What does 'Not confirmed' mean in my checklist?
That step's rule wasn't stated on the official pages we could open for that state. The checklist still gives the safe default, and the agency link at the bottom is where to confirm it.
How is the due date worked out?
From the sale date you enter, using the state's own count. Calendar-day rules count every day; business-day rules skip weekends but not holidays, so a holiday can make the true deadline a day later, never earlier.
Can I sign the title before meeting the buyer?
Don't. In states that require a notary, the signature has to be made in front of the notary. Everywhere, a pre-signed open title invites fraud, and corrections or cross-outs can void it.
Does this page save what I enter?
No. The state, role and date travel in the page address only, so a link such as ?state=oh&role=seller opens the same checklist, and it works without JavaScript.