OLYMPIA—Jan. 1, the Department of Licensing (DOL) stopped requiring vehicle owners to replace their license plates every seven years and started collecting new ferry vessel replacement fees when vehicle-related transactions are processed by DOL or county vehicle licensing offices.
ESHB 1129 makes vehicle transactions processed at a DOL or county vehicle licensing office subject to a $5 licensing service fee on vehicle registration renewals and a $12 service fee on title transfers to fund construction of new ferries.
These new fees will result in all vehicle owners paying the same amount of fees regardless of whether they have their title or registration transaction processed at a government-run office or a privately owned vehicle licensing office. Auto licensing fees collected online by DOL and at county licensing offices will help the ferry system replace the state’s 1950s-era Evergreen State Class ferries.
The $5 service fee includes, but is not limited to, annual registrations, temporary off-road vehicle permits, trip permits and snowmobile registrations. The $12 service fee includes, but is not limited to, vehicle title transfers, lien-holder changes and name changes.
Another new law, SB 5785, eliminates the mandatory seven-year replacement period and allows owners to keep their license plates for as long as they own a vehicle.
People must continue to renew their vehicle’s registration every 12 months, but only replace license plates if they are lost, defaced, illegible or when the vehicle changes ownership.
SB 5785 does not apply to vehicle transactions that add or remove a lien holder, transfer ownership to a spouse, or are solely a name change, among other things. The full list of exemptions is available under RCW 46.16A.020 and RCW 46.16A.200.
Information about both of these changes is available at www.dol.wa.gov
