Since 1921, the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

has issued license plates

Vehicle registration plate

A vehicle registration plate is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies the vehicle within the issuing region's database...

for vehicles registered there.

State law requires two license plates, one on the front and on on the rear, to be displayed on a motor vehicle, with the exception of motorcycles and trailers. Only the rear plate is required to be stickered.

Passenger baseplates 1955 to present

In 1956, the U.S. states and Canadian provinces came to an agreement with the Automobile Manufacturers Association

Automobile Manufacturers Association

The Automobile Manufacturers Association was a trade group of automobile manufacturers which operated under various names in the United States from 1911 to 1999....

 that fixed the size for all their passenger vehicle plates at six inches in height by twelve inches in width, with standardized mounting holes. The 1955 (dated 1956) issue was the first Alaska license plate that complied with these standards.

Image	Dates issued	Design	Slogan	Serial format	Serials issued	Notes
	1955	Blue embossed digits on white with border line; embossed state flag to left; ALASKA embossed in plain text centered at top; registration year embossed at upper right	none	12345		renewed with metal tab
	1957	Blue embossed digits on golden yellow with border line; embossed state flag to left; ALASKA embossed in plain text centered at top; registration year embossed at upper right	none	12345		renewed with metal tab
	1959	Blue embossed digits on white with border line; embossed state flag to left; ALASKA embossed in plain text centered at top; registration year embossed at upper right	none	12345		renewed with metal tab
	1961	Blue embossed digits on white with border line; embossed state flag to left; ALASKA embossed in plain text centered at bottom; registration year embossed at lower right	none	12345		renewed with metal tab for 1963 later with stickers
	1965	Yellow embossed digits on blue with border line; Eagle totem pole Totem pole Totem poles are monumental sculptures carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar, by cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America...  on left; stylized embossed ALASKA at top	1867 NORTH TO THE FUTURE 1967 embossed in plain letters and centered at bottom	12345
	1967	Blue embossed digits on white with border line; embossed state flag to left; ALASKA embossed in plain text centered at top; registration year reverse embossed in blue square at upper right	THE GREAT LAND embossed in plain text centered at bottom	12345
	1969	Blue embossed digits on golden yellow with blue border line; embossed state flag to left; ALASKA-U.S.A. embossed in plain text centered at top; registration year reverse embossed in blue square at upper left	NORTH TO THE FUTURE embossed in small plain text centered at bottom	12345
	1971	Blue embossed digits on golden yellow with blue border line; embossed state flag to left; ALASKA-U.S.A. embossed in plain text centered at top; registration year reverse embossed in blue square at upper left	NORTH TO THE FUTURE embossed in small plain text centered at bottom	AB 1234
	1972	Blue embossed digits on golden yellow with blue border line and rectangle for registration sticker at upper left corner; embossed state flag centered between letters and numbers; ALASKA-U.S.A. embossed in plain text centered at top; registration year embossed in upper right corner	none	ABC 123	Produced: AAA-100 to ?	Not issued.
	1973	Blue embossed digits on golden yellow with blue border line and rectangle for registration sticker at upper left corner; embossed state flag to left; ALASKA embossed in plain text centered at top; registration year embossed in upper right corner	NORTH TO THE FUTURE in small embossed text centered at bottom	AB123
	1975	Red embossed letters on reflective white background, with brown mountain and field screened behind numbers; standing brown grizzly bear Grizzly Bear The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...  at center of plate; red embossed ALASKA in wide serifed text centered at top	none	ABC 123	AAA-100 to ASZ-999
	1981	Blue embossed digits on reflective golden yellow plate with indented upper corners for registration stickers; screened state flag at center, with ALASKA in wide serifed letters screened at top	"The Last Frontier" in wide serifed letters screened at bottom	ABC-123	BAA-100 to DJX-999	Briefly reused old sheeting for ERU-100 to ERV-4?? in 2005
	1997	Black embossed digits on reflective plate with gold fading to white mountain tops, with blue sky above and sun rising near left corner; ALASKA with mining equipment substituting for the middle A in golden yellow screened at top; black prospectors following the Yukon Trail Yukon Trail The Yukon Trail is a 1994 computer game from MECC, the creators of The Oregon Trail. The game is based around the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 19th century. Players start out in Seattle, where they must partner up, secure travel, and purchase needed provisions.-Gameplay:-Start:The game starts in...  starting at the bottom left and scrolling to top center	"Gold Rush" in golden yellow offset to right below ALASKA, and "Centennial" in black below at bottom	ABC 123	DJY-100 to ERT-999	Awarded "Plate of the Year" for best new standard-issue license plate of 1998 by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association Automobile License Plate Collectors Association The Automobile License Plate Collectors Association is the largest such organization in the world. Founded in Rumney Depot, New Hampshire, United States, in 1953 and holding its first meeting in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, in 1954, its members have come from all 50 U.S... , the first and, to date, only time Alaska has been so honored. Co-recipient with Idaho.
	2000	Blue embossed digits on reflective yellow plate; ALASKA screened in serif font centered along top.	"THE LAST FRONTIER" screened in serif font centered along bottom; Alaskan flag screened in center.	ABC 123
	2005	Blue embossed digits on reflective golden yellow plate; ALASKA in plain serifed letters embossed at top; state flag embossed at center	"THE LAST FRONTIER" embossed in plain text centered at bottom	ABC-123	ERV-4?? to FGE-999	Leftover 1981 stock was used for ERU-100 to ERV-4??
	January 2, 2008 to December 31, 2009	Blue embossed digits on reflective yellow plate with embossed blue border; blue bottom quickly fading to white mountains, with red sunburst over tallest mountain screened behind numbers; Alaska 50 state flag logo screened to left; ALASKA screened in plain blue letters at top	"CELEBRATING STATEHOOD 1959-2009" in thin plain red letters at bottom, above blue	ABC123	FGF100 to present	Also used for vanity plates Vanity plate A vanity plate or personalized plate , prestige plate, private number plate, or personalised registration or custom plate or personalised plate is a special type of vehicle registration plate on an automobile or other vehicle... .

All plates issued since 1981 remain valid with proper validation.

The 1973 plate debacle

In 1972, the 9000 pairs of new plates for 1973 were produced. For the first time they were going to be in an ABC-123 format, with the state flag acting as the separator. The stars on the embossed flag didn't look like stars and Governor William Allen Egan

William Allen Egan

William Allen Egan was an American Democratic politician. He served as the first Governor of the State of Alaska from January 3, 1959 to 1966, and the fourth Governor from 1970 to 1974...

 rejected the plates. 1973 stickers were issued and a new base plate was introduced the following year almost identical to the previous one. The rejected plates are considered prototypes and are common enough to be easily found among license plate collectors.

Non-passenger and optional types

Alaska offers a variety of optional plates that motorists may display upon the payment of an additional fee as well as non-passenger plate types that are displayed on vehicles for specialized uses.

Image	Type	First issued	Serial format	Notes
	Amateur Radio Amateur radio Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...		call sign
	Charitable/Church Exempt		YYx 123
	Children's Trust		KID 012 123 KID	KID-prefixed sequence started with 001.
	Collector's Car Antique car In the United States, an antique car is generally defined as a car over 45 years of age, this being the definition used by the Antique Automobile Club of America. However, the legal definition for the purpose of antique vehicle registration varies widely. The antique car era includes the veteran...		HA 123
	Disabled Person		HAB 123
	Disabled Veteran Veteran A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...		DAV 123
	Ex-Prisoner of War Prisoner of war A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...		POW 012	Started with 001.
	Farm Farm A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...  Vehicle		1234 FA	"Farm" legend.
	Gold Star Gold Star The Gold Star medal is a special insignia that identifies recipients of the title "Hero" in the Soviet Union and its communist allies, and several post-Soviet states.-Soviet origin:...  Family		Personalized
	Historic Vehicle Antique car In the United States, an antique car is generally defined as a car over 45 years of age, this being the definition used by the Antique Automobile Club of America. However, the legal definition for the purpose of antique vehicle registration varies widely. The antique car era includes the veteran...		HA 123
	Iditarod Iditarod Iditarod may refer to:*Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, an annual sled dog race in the Alaskan Interior and western coast*Iditarod Trail, a historical trail across the Alaskan Interior*Iditarod, Alaska, a town for which the trail and races are named...		IDT 123 or personalized
	I Support Our Veterans	2007	Personalized
	Low-Speed Vehicle	2007	LSV 012	Started with 001.
	Motorcycle Motorcycle A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...		1234 Mx, 1234 Rx, 1234 Tx	Same plates also issued to small trailers.
	National Guard		VAB 123
	Pearl Harbor Survivor		P/H 123	"PH" is stacked vertically and in center of plate.
	Personalized Vanity plate A vanity plate or personalized plate , prestige plate, private number plate, or personalised registration or custom plate or personalised plate is a special type of vehicle registration plate on an automobile or other vehicle...  - Passenger		Six alphanumeric characters.	Three different designs.
	Prince William Sound Community College Prince William Sound Community College Founded in 1978, Prince William Sound Community College is a community college located in Valdez, a town in south central Alaska....		PWS 123
	Purple Heart Purple Heart The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...		VPH 123
	Support Our Troops!	2008		Available in personalized format.
	University of Alaska Anchorage University of Alaska Anchorage The University of Alaska Anchorage is the largest school of the University of Alaska System, with about 16,500 students, about 14,000 of whom attend classes at Goose Lake, its main campus in Anchorage....		UAA 123 UAA123	Two styles; newer style available in personalized format.
	University of Alaska Fairbanks University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks, located in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska System, and is abbreviated as Alaska or UAF....		UAF 123	Two styles; newer style available in personalized format.
	University of Alaska Southeast University of Alaska Southeast The University of Alaska Southeast is a regional university in the University of Alaska System. Its main campus is located in Juneau and it has extended campuses in Sitka and Ketchikan....		UAS 123
	Veteran Veteran A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."... - Air Force		VAB 123
	Veteran - Army		VAB 123
	Veteran - Coast Guard		VAB 123
	Veteran - Marine Corps		VAB 123
	Veteran - Navy		VAB 123

External links

• Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles—License Plate Information
• Alaska license plates 1969-present
• Royce's Alaskan License Plates