Washington title transfer cost and calculator

How much does it cost to transfer a title in Washington?

Putting the title in your name runs $15 in Washington. That is the figure most people mean by a title transfer. Doing the title and the registration in the same trip costs about $197.75 in fees on a used $20,000 car, before any tax and before the local transportation benefit district fee and the local sales tax, which depend on where you live.

On a $20,000 car the sales or use tax in Washington comes to about $1,400, so that, not the $15 title fee, is what a transfer really costs unless it is exempt.

Work out your own figure on the Washington registration fee calculator, which itemizes every line and links to the source for each one.

How to transfer a car title in Washington

1. Get the paperwork right. The signed title, a Vehicle Title Application, a Vehicle/Vessel Bill of Sale with the price on it (the use tax on a private sale is worked from it), and an odometer disclosure for a 2011 or newer model year. source 12
2. Signatures. Every owner on the title has to sign it over. Do not sign the Vehicle Title Application at home: it has to be signed in front of a licensing agent, who notarizes it, or in front of a notary. source 12
3. Where you go. A vehicle licensing office. Washington runs these through subagents as well as county auditors, which is where the service fee on your receipt comes from. source 3
4. Pay. The title fee of $15, plus the tax on the purchase unless the transfer is exempt.
5. Do it in time. File within 15 days of the sale; what being late costs is under the deadline section below.

Do both of you need to be there, and can you do it online?

Every owner on the title has to sign it over. Do not sign the Vehicle Title Application at home: it has to be signed in front of a licensing agent, who notarizes it, or in front of a notary. source 12

Can you transfer a title online in Washington?

No. A first registration in your name is done at a licensing office. Renewals are online. source 17

Transferring a title to a family member, or as a gift

Washington does not charge use tax on a gift when the last owner paid Washington sales or use tax and you give nothing back. Put $0 as the price on the Vehicle Title Application, and have any loan paid off first, or it counts as a sale. A car coming from a state with no sales tax, Oregon for example, may still owe use tax unless the giver paid tax on it or kept it 7 years or more in a state that charges one. source 21

Do not write $1 on the form to dodge the tax. Washington taxes what you actually paid, which is exactly why an understated price is treated as fraud rather than a smart move. If it truly is a gift, claim it as one on the proper form at the time of the transfer.

How long you have, and what late costs

Fifteen days from the date you buy the car or receive it as a gift. source 12

What being late costs in Washington: A $50.00 penalty if the title is not in your name by the 16th day after the sale, then $2.00 a day, up to $125.00 in total.

Late fees here come from waiting for a payday or a day off, not from anything complicated, so the fix is simply to go early. A transfer you never finish leaves the car in the seller's name, and tickets, tolls and abandoned-vehicle notices all follow the registered owner, so the 15-day window is worth keeping to.

When something is missing

The common thread in these questions is something missing from the deal. The honest general answer, worth confirming with Washington DOL for your own case:

• No title. The seller applies for a duplicate before selling. A car sold without its title is not a car you can register, and a seller who cannot produce one is a seller to walk away from.
• There is still a loan on it. The lender holds the title or the lien is recorded against it, and it only moves cleanly once the loan is cleared. Never hand over money for a financed car before you have seen the lien released in writing.
• No bill of sale. Some states require one and some do not, but write one anyway. It is the only record of what you paid, and in Washington what you paid is what any tax is worked out on.
• The owner has died. This goes through the estate rather than a normal transfer, and what is needed depends on whether there is a will and whether the estate goes to probate. It is the one case here where it is worth ringing Washington DOL before you turn up.
• The other person cannot come. Where Washington wants both people, a notarized power of attorney is usually the way round it.

Questions about Washington title transfers

Once the title is in your name

The title is half of it. The plate and the registration are the other half, and the tax lands with them. The Washington registration fee calculator works out the whole bill line by line, including what a dealer means when they quote a single tax, title and license number.

Nearby states

Or see car title transfer by state for all 51.

Where these numbers come from