(a) Except for a vehicle registered under Alaska Stat. § 28.10.152, the department, upon registering a vehicle, shall issue the owner one fully reflectorized registration plate for the vehicle. Except as specifically provided in Alaska Stat. § 28.10.181, the plate must remain with the vehicle as long as the vehicle is subject to registration under this chapter.

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Terms Used In Alaska Statutes 28.10.161

  • commissioner: means the commissioner of administration. See Alaska Statutes 28.90.990
  • department: means the Department of Administration. See Alaska Statutes 28.90.990
  • license: when used in relation to driver licensing, means a license, provisional license, or permit to drive a motor vehicle, or the privilege to drive or to obtain a license to drive a motor vehicle, under the laws of this state whether or not a person holds a valid license issued in this or another jurisdiction. See Alaska Statutes 28.90.990
  • owner: means a person, other than a lienholder, having the property in or title to a vehicle, including but not limited to a person entitled to the use and possession of a vehicle subject to a security interest in another person, but exclusive of a lessee under a lease not intended as security. See Alaska Statutes 28.90.990
  • person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, organization, business trust, or society, as well as a natural person. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • state: means the State of Alaska unless applied to the different parts of the United States and in the latter case it includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • vehicle: means a device in, upon, or by which a person or property may be transported or drawn upon or immediately over a highway or vehicular way or area. See Alaska Statutes 28.90.990
(b) Every passenger vehicle registration plate, except as specifically provided in Alaska Stat. § 28.10.181, shall have displayed on it

(1) one of the following designs:

(A) the Alaska flag design, consisting of the Alaska flag, the traditional colors of yellow-gold and blue, and the slogan “The Last Frontier”;
(B) the bear design, consisting of a standing grizzly bear in the center of the plate; the bear design shall be modeled after the 1976 bicentennial plate without the bicentennial symbol; or
(C) the design celebrating the arts chosen by the commissioner through consultation with the Alaska State Council on the Arts; the commissioner shall choose a new design for the plates celebrating the arts every four years and discontinue issuance of the previous design;
(2) the registration number assigned to the vehicle for which it is issued;
(3) the name of this state, which may be abbreviated; and
(4) the registration year number or expiration date for which time it is validated; the registration year number or expiration date may be part of the license plate or contained on a suitable sticker or tab device issued by the department; however, only one sticker or tab device may be issued for each plate or pair of plates, and the sticker or tab device must be affixed to the

(A) rear plate for noncommercial vehicles; or
(B) front plate for commercial vehicles.
(c) The department may not adopt a new or altered passenger vehicle registration plate, except as specifically provided in Alaska Stat. § 28.10.181, unless it substantially embodies the specifications of this section.
(d) The department shall produce registration plates in both of the designs described in (b)(1) of this section. Upon registering a passenger vehicle, the owner shall select the plate design described in (b)(1) of this section that is to be issued by the department for the vehicle.
(e) A person or organization owning a vehicle that is issued two registration plates by the department may elect to return one registration plate to the department. The registration plate that is not returned to the department shall be attached to the

(1) rear of the vehicle for which it is issued for a noncommercial vehicle; or
(2) front of the vehicle for which it is issued if the vehicle is a commercial vehicle.