License plates are issued for a vehicle as a means of identifying that registration fees have been paid for that vehicle. License plates are issued for all motor vehicles except snow vehicles. A decal is issued as evidence of snow vehicle registration. License plates and snow vehicle decals are intended and designed for multi-year use. Trailers and motorcycles are issued one license plate. All other vehicles are issued two license plates. Only one month tab and one year tab are issued for plates and are to be placed on the rear license plate.

The colors of the plates are determined by the legislature. The wording "The Last Frontier" and the Alaska flag were mandated by the legislature for use on the standard issue license plates only.

The alpha/numeric system of plate identification is determined by the Division of Motor Vehicles.

Each type of new license plates issued have a distinguishing alpha/numeric identification system. See the specific SOP for further details.

The following types of vehicles are issued standard issue plates. These plates are gold with blue lettering. They are available in regular or small plates as shown below:

*Can also be issued in Mountain or Caribou design upon request and payment of fees.

The following plates are issued in gold and blue. Instead of "The Last Frontier" across the bottom of the plate, the plate type is imprinted. In addition, some of the alpha characters are reserved for the specific plate design:

The following plates are all distinctive designs:

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