Frequently Asked Questions

If you have purchased a Washington state-titled vehicle or received one as a gift, you are required to transfer the title within 15 days. After 15 days, a monetary penalty will be assessed. You need to take the following documents to your local license agency: the current title with the signatures of the previous owners releasing interest; a bill of sale stating the full purchase price or statement of a gift signed by the previous owner, and a completed odometer disclosure statement if the vehicle is less than 10 years old. If this is a gift, you will also need to provide proof of sales tax paid by the previous owner.

The cost to transfer a title is $42 plus 9.0% use tax, if applicable. Use tax is not charged on gift transactions if the sale / use tax has already been paid by the donor.

If you are a new resident to Washington state or purchased a vehicle from another state, you must present the following documents to a license agency in order to obtain Washington plates, registration and title: the out-of-state title in your name or properly released by the previous owner (if you are still making payments on the vehicle and a legal owner is holding the title, you will need a photocopy or faxed copy of your title), a bill of sale stating the full purchase price signed by the previous owner if the title is not in your name and a completed odometer statement if the vehicle is less than 10 years old. You will also need to have a Washington state driver's license unless you fit the exempt criteria.