How to Get a 3-Day Trip Permit Online in Washington State

You generally cannot buy a 3-day trip permit online in Washington State if you’re moving a personal vehicle. The Department of Licensing sells trip permits for unlicensed passenger cars, trucks, and RVs only at vehicle licensing offices, and payment is limited to cash or check.¹ Online purchase is available only to commercial carriers, through a separate system run by the Washington State Department of Transportation.²

Where to Buy One

Personal Vehicles

For a passenger car, truck, motor home, travel trailer, or camper, go to any Washington vehicle licensing office. You can locate the nearest one through the DOL website. Bring cash or a check made out to the Department of Licensing. Credit and debit cards are not accepted for trip permits at licensing offices.¹

Commercial Vehicles

Commercial operators can buy trip permits online through WSDOT’s self-issue permit system. You create an account on the permit portal, accept the terms of service, and follow the prompts.² Commercial trip permits are also sold at WSDOT field offices and through authorized agents.³

Cost

A trip permit for a personal vehicle costs $36. That total is a $25 permit fee plus an $11 service fee.¹ The fee through the WSDOT self-issue system for commercial permits is $25.² Permits are not refundable, exchangeable, or creditable once purchased, so buy only when you’re sure of your travel dates.

What the Permit Covers

The permit gives you three consecutive days of legal authority to drive an unregistered vehicle on Washington’s public roads. The clock starts on the first day you use the permit, not the day you buy it.⁴ It authorizes the vehicle at its maximum legal weight, so weight restrictions aren’t a concern during those three days. Typical uses are driving a newly purchased vehicle home, taking an unregistered one to a repair shop, or moving a vehicle to sell it.

A trip permit does not replace insurance. Washington’s mandatory insurance law still applies, and law enforcement can ask for proof at any stop. The minimum liability coverage is $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person per accident, $50,000 for two or more people, and $10,000 for property damage.⁵ If you just bought a car from a private seller, line up a policy before you drive off with the permit.

Usage Limits and Ineligible Vehicles

Two caps prevent people from using trip permits in place of registration:

Standard vehicles: up to three trip permits per vehicle in any 30-day period.
Recreational vehicles: up to two trip permits per RV in any one-year period.⁴

Off-road and non-highway vehicles, such as snowmobiles and ORVs, cannot get trip permits because the permits authorize use only on public highways. Commercial motor vehicles whose Department of Transportation number has been placed out of service by the Washington State Patrol are also ineligible.¹

Filling Out and Displaying the Permit

Before you drive, complete every field on the permit and sign it. Display it on the vehicle so it’s visible. Do not cross out or correct anything, including dates, license plate numbers, or the VIN. Any alteration voids the permit, and you’ll have to buy a new one.⁴

Penalties

Operating a vehicle in violation of the trip permit rules is a gross misdemeanor in Washington, carrying possible jail time of up to 364 days and fines up to $5,000.⁴ Commercial carriers who use a trip permit on an out-of-service vehicle face a statutory minimum fine of $2,500 for a first offense and $5,000 for each additional offense, and a court cannot go below those floors.

1
Washington State Department of Licensing. Trip Permits for Unlicensed Vehicles
2
Washington State Department of Transportation. Self-Issue Permit
3
Washington State Department of Licensing. Commercial Vehicle Temporary Permits
4
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 46.16A.320 – Vehicle Trip Permits Restrictions and Requirements Fee Penalty Rules
5
Washington State Department of Licensing. Mandatory Insurance