Dunleavy signs bill aligning Alaska classic car import rules with federal standard

Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed a bill Wednesday that lets Alaskans title and register imported classic cars under the same 25-year standard the federal government uses, ending a mismatch that had blocked some owners from registering legally imported collector vehicles.

Senator Cathy Tilton of Wasilla sponsored the bill. She said it "streamlines outdated import rules, reduces bureaucracy, and puts Alaskans back behind the wheels of their classic cars."

The core fix is straightforward. Federal law allows vehicles at least 25 years old to be imported without meeting all Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Alaska's law had not matched that rolling threshold, effectively locking in a pre-1981 cutoff. Representative Steve St. Clair, who carried the bill in the House, called it "a technical fix that was brought to a member by a constituent who has an import car that was unable to title it and blocked from titling it because the regulation was drafted 20 years ago."

Anything built before 2001 can now be titled in Alaska without meeting federal safety standards, a change that affects owners of imported Japanese trucks, military vehicles, and other collector cars that had been caught in the gap.

Two amendments broadened the bill before passage. One replaces Alaska's uniform proof-of-insurance requirement for suspended-license holders with **a graduated system tied to the number of suspensions**. Representative Alyse Galvin noted during floor debate that "Alaska is currently the only state with a lifetime SR-22 requirement," and said more than 3,500 Alaskans with valid driver's licenses are affected. The other amendment lets CDL written-exam applicants retake only the sections they failed rather than the entire test. Both amendments passed both chambers with unanimous consent.

The Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles is separately drafting regulations to extend similar titling treatment to domestically purchased vehicles, with no set timeline for completion.