The Washington Department of Licensing says you have 30 days after moving to get a Washington driver license and to register the vehicle. The license comes first. Driver licensing and vehicle licensing are in different offices. Bring the current title, and write down the odometer reading before you go in. Plates are issued at the counter. A mailed application can take up to three weeks from the day the office receives it.
The driver guide, on the same department's site, says vehicles purchased in another state should be registered immediately. That is a shorter instruction than the 30-day new-resident period. Use the purchase rule when you just bought the car, and the 30-day rule when you are moving with a car you already own.
What do I do, in order?
- Get the Washington driver license within 30 days. You cannot register the vehicle until you have it, unless an exemption applies. The title-application instructions say owners present an unexpired Washington license unless they are exempt, and they point to RCW 46.20.025. This guide does not restate that statute.
- Carry liability insurance at the limits below, or one of the other proof-of-responsibility options the Insurance Commissioner lists.
- Take the current title to a vehicle licensing office. If a bank holds the title, have the bank fax a copy to the number the office gives you. If the prior state did not issue a title, bring a copy of the registration. Not every office takes debit or credit. Ask first.
- Pay the fees the office quotes. The moving page does not print a registration fee. It tells you to contact a vehicle licensing office for the amount. At the counter you also get any open safety-recall notices. DOL says you can still register. Recall data comes from NHTSA.
- If use tax is due, it is paid when the vehicle is licensed. The rate depends on where you live. The Department of Revenue page does not print one statewide percentage.
After the vehicle is registered you can add it to a License Express account to see tab due dates and renewal notices.
What tax is due on a car from another state?
The Department of Revenue says Washington residents who buy a vehicle outside the state and bring it here owe use tax on the value. Use tax is paid when the vehicle is licensed. If you paid sales or use tax to another state before the car entered Washington, you may apply that amount against the Washington use tax. You may not credit license fees, lessor taxes, or a value-added tax such as Canada's GST.
New residents can be exempt. The private motor vehicle must have been acquired and used in another state more than 90 days before the move, and it must be licensed in Washington within 30 days of the move. Registration in the other state is commonly used as proof. A personal vehicle purchased in another state within 90 days of the move is not exempt. The page defines a resident, for this tax, as someone who takes actions showing an intent to live in the state on more than a temporary basis.
A separate DOL page on buying a vehicle says you have 15 days to transfer ownership into your name. The penalty is $50 on the 16th day and $2 a day after that, up to $125. That is a purchase deadline, not the new-resident deadline.
Inspections and a trip permit
The moving page does not state a safety inspection or a VIN inspection. A Department of Ecology order repealing the emission-inspection rules says the authority for that program expired January 1, 2020, and that testing in Clark, King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Spokane counties ended then. Owners are no longer required to have emissions tested before renewing.
If you buy a car and must drive it with no plate, and you are not completing the sale at a licensing office, DOL says you buy a trip permit in person. The permit costs $36 and is valid for 3 days. The moving page does not say that permit is required for a car that already carries another state's plates.
What insurance is required?
The Office of the Insurance Commissioner says anyone who drives in Washington must carry liability insurance of at least $25,000 for injury or death of another person, $50,000 for injury or death of all other people, and $10,000 for damage to another person's property, or file a certificate of deposit with the Department of Licensing, or have a liability bond of at least $60,000 from an authorized surety, or self-insure with 26 or more vehicles. The law does not apply to motor scooters and mopeds, specially licensed horseless carriages over 40 years old, publicly owned vehicles, or certain carriers regulated by the Utilities and Transportation Commission. You can still be responsible for damage those vehicles cause.
What if the car is shipped to Washington?
The car arrives without you driving it in. You still need the Washington driver license before registration, and the 30-day period still applies to a car you already owned. The 90-day ownership test still decides the use-tax exemption. See car shipping to Washington, the cost page, and sales tax and use tax when a car moves. RideShipper compares quotes. It is not a carrier or a broker, and it does not license the car.