How to Get a Car Title in Washington State: Deadline, Forms, and Fees

To get a car title in Washington State, you file a Vehicle Title Application (Form TD-420-001) with the Department of Licensing (DOL), along with proof of ownership, identification, and the required fees and taxes. The title application fee is $18, and a standard title arrives by mail in six to eight weeks. If you just took delivery of a vehicle, the clock is already running: you have 15 days to complete the transfer before penalties start.

The 15-Day Deadline

Washington gives you 15 days after taking delivery of a vehicle to transfer the title into your name. On the 16th day, a $50 penalty is added, plus $2 for each additional day. The penalty caps at $125, but you pay it on top of every other fee and tax.¹

The penalty is assessed automatically at the licensing office. There is no waiver for forgetting or being busy. Plan the licensing office visit into the first two weeks after you buy.

Dealer Purchase or Private Sale

Who does the paperwork depends on where you bought the vehicle.

A dealer handles almost all of it for you. You show your unexpired Washington driver license, the dealer fills out the title application, collects your taxes and fees, and submits everything to the DOL. Your title arrives in the mail. Your only real job is to check the paperwork before you sign.²

A private sale puts the work on you. You need the title signed over by the seller, a completed Vehicle Title Application, an odometer disclosure if the vehicle qualifies, and a bill of sale. Keep a copy of the bill of sale, and check that the VIN on the title matches the VIN on the vehicle before any money changes hands.²

Filling Out the Vehicle Title Application

Form TD-420-001 covers nearly every title transaction in Washington: transferring ownership, first-time registration, adding or removing an owner.³ Download it from the DOL website or pick one up at any vehicle licensing office.

The application asks for:

Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), found on the dash, driver door post, or existing title
Model year, make, and body type, such as “2019 Toyota 4-door”
Primary fuel type: gas, diesel, electric, hybrid, or propane
Scale weight, taken from the existing title or registration. If it isn’t listed, you’ll need to weigh the vehicle at a vehicle scale and submit documentation.
Current odometer reading
Purchase price
Primary color, and secondary color if applicable
Registered owner information: legal name and a physical Washington street address
Lienholder information, if a bank or lender holds a lien on the vehicle

Include the existing Washington plate number or Title Purpose Only (TPO) number if the vehicle has one. If it has neither, leave the field blank.³

Getting the Signature Right

This is where applications most often fail. Every registered owner on the application must sign either in front of a licensed notary public or in person at a vehicle licensing office, where an agent can certify the signature. Sign the form at home without a notary and it will be rejected.³

The easiest route for most people: fill out everything except the signature line, then sign at the licensing office when you turn the application in. That skips the notary trip and the notary fee.

What You’ll Pay at the Counter

Washington charges several flat fees on every title transaction:

Title application fee: $18
Filing fee: $6.50 for a title-only transaction, or $12.50 if you’re getting a title and registration together
License service fee: $0.75

These apply to every title transaction.⁴ If you’re also registering the vehicle, add a weight-based registration fee. A passenger car up to 4,000 pounds runs $53 per year; a 6,000-pound vehicle runs $80.⁵

Then there is tax. Washington applies a 6.5% state sales tax plus an additional 0.5% motor vehicle sales tax on every retail vehicle purchase, and local jurisdictions add their own rates on top, bringing combined rates to roughly 7.6% to 10.6% depending on where you live.⁶ At a dealer, tax is collected in the purchase paperwork. In a private sale, you pay it as use tax at the licensing office when you transfer the title, calculated on the purchase price or fair market value, whichever is higher. Look up your local rate on the Department of Revenue’s site before you go so the total isn’t a surprise.

Where to File and How Long It Takes

Submit the completed application at any vehicle licensing office in the state. Bring your documents, your ID, and the money for fees and taxes. A standard title arrives by mail in six to eight weeks.²

If that wait is too long, Washington offers Quick Title service at designated offices for $89.50. Quick Title produces a title immediately in person or within a few business days by mail. It is not available for every vehicle: out-of-state vehicles, vehicles reported stolen, insurance-destroyed vehicles, vehicles branded “WA rebuilt,” and snowmobiles are excluded.⁷

Odometer Disclosure

Federal law requires an odometer disclosure on most vehicle transfers, and Washington enforces it through the title application. Vehicles with a model year of 2010 or earlier are exempt because they’re already more than 10 years old. Vehicles with a model year of 2011 or later don’t become exempt until they’re 20 years old.⁸

So in 2026, if the vehicle is a 2011 model year or newer, the seller has to complete an odometer disclosure as part of the transfer. If the odometer has been replaced, is broken, or reads beyond its mechanical limits, that has to be disclosed too. Skipping this step delays the title and creates legal exposure for the seller.

Bringing a Vehicle From Another State

If you move to Washington with a vehicle titled elsewhere, you have 30 days to title and register it here.⁹ Bring the out-of-state title, proof of identity, and a completed Vehicle Title Application to a licensing office. You’ll pay the title fee, filing fee, registration fees, and use tax based on the vehicle’s value.

Some out-of-state vehicles need a VIN inspection by the Washington State Patrol before they can be titled, typically when there’s a VIN discrepancy, missing documentation, or unclear ownership. The licensing office will tell you if one is required; the State Patrol handles inspections by appointment at designated locations.¹⁰

Gifted Vehicles

A gift still requires a title transfer using the same Vehicle Title Application. Whether you owe use tax depends on the circumstances. You will owe tax if the vehicle comes from a state without sales tax, such as Oregon, or if you exchanged anything of value in the transfer. You won’t owe use tax if you can prove the giver already paid sales or use tax on the vehicle, or if the giver owned it for seven or more years and lives in a state with sales tax.¹¹

Inherited Vehicles

The documents you bring to the licensing office depend on how the estate is being handled:

Joint tenancy with right of survivorship: if the title already listed you as a joint owner with survivorship rights, a copy of the death certificate is enough to transfer the title into your name alone.
Community property: the surviving spouse brings a copy of the death certificate and a copy of the community property agreement.
Administered estate: bring letters testamentary, letters of administration, or a certificate from the county clerk showing the personal representative’s appointment.
Estate not administered through probate: a copy of the death certificate plus either an affidavit of inheritance or an affidavit of succession.

The vehicle can also be titled in the name of the estate, shown as “Estate of [deceased’s name],” while the estate is being settled.¹²

When You Can’t Get the Title From the Seller

Buying without a title is risky, but Washington has a legal process for it. If the DOL isn’t satisfied that you can prove ownership, you have two options under the “ownership in doubt” process.

The first is to register the vehicle without a title for three years. During that period, you can apply for a full title at any point if you find satisfactory proof of ownership; at the end of three years, you apply for a standard title.

The second is a bonded title. You buy a surety bond equal to one and a half times the vehicle’s value as set by the DOL. The bond stays in place for three years and protects any previous owner or lienholder who might come forward. If no one challenges your ownership during the bond period, the bond is released and you hold a clean title.¹³

Replacing a Lost or Damaged Title

If your title is lost, stolen, or damaged, apply for a replacement at any vehicle licensing office. Replacements go through the same six-to-eight-week mail timeline. A Quick Title office can produce a replacement immediately or mail it within a few business days for the $89.50 expedited fee.¹⁴

1
Washington State Legislature. RCW 46.17.140 Late Transfer of Title Penalty
2
Washington State Department of Licensing. Buy and Register a Vehicle
3
Washington State Department of Licensing. Vehicle Title Application Instructions
4
Washington State Department of Licensing. Calculate Vehicle Tab Fees
5
Washington State Legislature. RCW 46.17.355 License Fees by Weight
6
Washington State Department of Revenue. Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax Rates
7
Washington State Department of Licensing. Quick Title Offices
8
eCFR. Part 580 Odometer Disclosure Requirements
9
Washington State Department of Licensing. Moving to Washington: Vehicle Registration and Plates
10
Washington State Patrol. Vehicle Identification Inspections
11
Washington State Department of Licensing. Use Tax
12
Washington State Legislature. WAC 308-56A-335
13
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code Title 46 Chapter 46.12 Section 46.12.680 – Ownership in Doubt Procedure
14
Washington State Department of Licensing. Replace a Lost Title or Registration