In 1941 the Alaska Territorial Legislature established the Territory of Alaska Highway Patrol for the purpose of enforcing the traffic code - but did not provide the new organization with police authority. In 1945, the members of the Alaska Highway Patrol were deputized as Special Deputy U.S. Marshals. In 1948 the Highway Patrol was given the full authority of peace officers to enforce the laws of the Territory.

In 1953, the Territorial Legislature established the Alaska Territorial Police to provide law enforcement services for the entire Territory. In 1959, the name of Alaska's law enforcement agency was changed to the Alaska State Police and the organization became a division of the Department of Public Safety. The new State Police added 13 former U.S. Marshals and 10 new recruits to their ranks, increasing their number to 78 commissioned officers.

In 1967, the name was changed to the Alaska State Troopers.
Today, the Alaska State Troopers number approximately 240 commissioned and 190 civilian personnel. The Troopers' major components are five Detachments and a Criminal Investigation Bureau (founded in 1971). The detachments are headquartered in Ketchikan, Palmer, Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Soldotna.

Before even getting into the details surrounding this subject, I owe a great deal of credit for this information to a dear friend and fellow hobbyist, the late Earl Jenson of Polson Montana. Earl retired as an Alaska State Trooper back in the early 1980's after starting his law enforcement career with the Alaska Department of Commerce as a Commercial Vehicle Inspector and Weigh Scale Operator in the 1940's. Earl was a man of details and he documented for the subject of motor vehicle registration like a dedicated archivist. He was a true gentleman of the hobby which owes him a debt of eternal gratitude for "paying attention" to what graced the bumpers of motor vehicles in Alaska and elsewhere during those early times.

Back in the early days, The Alaska Highway Patrol never really required license plates to be run on their patrol vehicles, but as early as 1946, they began using "All Zeros" sample plates on the front and rear of AHP cars. The 1946 and 1947 plates were made of a fibreboard material. These fibreboard plates were made in Illinois as part of the continued efforts to conserve metal during and shortly after World War II. These plates were flat-painted and were not made with durability or longevity in mind. They featured four zeroes in lieu of a regular registration number and the state name followed by a dash and the year in full (Placed above the zeroes in 1946 and below the zeroes in 1947). Many of the plates that were used by the AHP during that time fell victim to the harsh elements of The Last Frontier and deteriorated in rapid order. Most of the best surviving examples of these types are those that were never issued and stored away from moisture and other destructive factors.

In 1953, a similar layout was used, but license plates were made out of aluminum again. In addition, instead of the year in full, only the last two digits of the year was in place in the upper right corner of the plate. On the left side of the 53 was a small round hole and a thin vertical slot positioned towards the bottom part of the 5. On the upper right side of the 3 was a thin vertical slot and a small round hole. These elements were installed to accommodate future annual validation tabs, making this Alaska's first "multi year" license plate. These plates were used on Alaska Territorial Police vehicles until the end of 1955.

In 1956, the Alaska Territorial Police began using regular passenger car license plates on their marked patrol vehicles. The plates were made of embossed aluminum and were in the new standard size format of 6" x 12". The state name was embossed at the top center between the upper mounting holes. In the top right corner was embossed 56 for the year and it was flanked by the same vertical slot and hole pattern as the previous issue on each side to accommodate future validation tabs. The left center of the plate featured once again the flag of the territory followed by a four to five digit registration number. The plate has a flat white background with embossed characters painted in dark blue. The plates were issued in random number blocs. Some ATP plates have been seen in the 1000 number bloc, some in the 30000 number bloc and others in the 59000 number bloc. The plates were validated in 1957 with a white on red embossed aluminum validation tab.

In 1962 a new OFFICIAL USE ONLY license plate was introduced and used until 1975. The plate was dark blue over reflective yellow and made of embossed aluminum (Painted raised border) OFFICIAL USE ONLY embossed along the top and under the upper bolt-holes. The embossed state flag on the left of the plate followed by a 4-digit number in the 1-600 number bloc for the earliest years and up to 2-#### for the latest in the series into 1975. ALASKA embossed between the lower bolt-holes.

In 1976, Alaska began issuing attractive graphic license plates for the U.S. Bicentennial. The plates had ALASKA embossed in red along the top between the upper bolt-holes over embossed registration number that commenced with an AST prefix and up to 3 numbers. The word TROOPERS was embossed in small dies on the bottom of the plate. The graphics on the plate feature a standing brown bear in the center and mountain scene in the background. A blue square with 76 surrounded by a circle of 5-point stars is in the upper right corner of the plate. Step border used on this base. These plates were sometimes validated with annual stickers in upper corners. These plates were used until 1982.

In 1982, new blue over reflective yellow plates were issued to Alaska State Troopers. The state name was silk-screened between the upper bolt-holes above an embossed registration number that commenced with an AST prefix and up to 3 numbers. The letters and numbers were separated by a silk-screened graphic of the state flag. The word TROOPERS was embossed in small dies on the bottom of the plate. Most AST plates had one white over blue sticker with the words STATE over VEHICLE and a similar sticker with the letter P indicating that the plate was a Permanent issue. These stickers were placed in each top corner and varied from left or right.

Around 1991, the same plate was still used, but the AST went to the suffix position.

Around 2001, a graphic design front plate began gracing the "business end" of AST patrol cars. The plates had similar colors to the rear plates but were all silk-screened with the exception of TROOPERS embossed in small dies along the bottom of the plate. The center of the plate reads: ".08 It's the Law" indicating Alaska's maximum allowable blood alcohol content for driving a motor vehicle.

Specialty Types

The following are unofficial specialty and novelty types not for use on duty. 

I am going to be brutally honest here. I have absolutely no confirmed information with respect to early Alaska State Troopers motorcycle usage with the excpetion of the photos below. If you have any info on its formation, deployment and how long it was in place before being canceled, I would love to know!

The Alaska State Troopers recently re-commissioned its Motor Unit. A pilot program in 2007 brought 4 Harley-Davidson Road Kings to the Juneau HQ. They are used during the summer months for security escort and traffic enforcement in high density areas.

The Alaska Fish And Wildlife Protection Trooper's primary mission is the protection of Alaska's fish and wildlife resources through enforcement of laws and regulations governing use of natural resources within Alaska and its adjacent waters, as well as through increasing the knowledge of, and respect for, fish and wildlife laws and regulations.

The Alaska Bureau of Wildlife Enforcement also participates in the overall mission of the Department of Public Safety through enforcement of criminal laws and participation in Search and Rescue operations. The State of Alaska has 586,412 square miles or approximately 365,000,000 acres and 47,300 miles of coastline. All this area is covered by approximately 89 Bureau of Wildlife Enforcement State Troopers. This means there is only one trooper for every 6,588 square miles. Some folks argue that these FWP Troopers are even tougher and more stringent than "regular" AST Troopers, but I guess it decides which side of the argument you're on when you make that decision!

Alaska Bureau of Wildlife Enforcement Trooper plates have mirrored the regular AST plate issuances with the exception of FWP prefixes and the word PROTECTION embossed in small dies at the bottom of the plate.