Driver & Vehicle License in WA (Vancouver, Port Ludlow: sales, car registration, motorhomes)

[joebarb]

My family and I just moved to the Port Ludlow area from the SF Bay area. I was hoping someone could clue me in about the process of registering our vehicles and transfering our drivers license. In California, you go to a DMV (Department of Motor Vehicle) office, and do all your stuff in one place at the same time. Here, I'm not sure what the process is or where to go. I've seen vehicle registration listings, but am not sure if you can do the drivers license in the same place. Also, we would like to get the "enhanced" license but aren't sure if we have to go to a special place for that. My husband needs a WA license for his line of work so we would like get this taken care of soon. Thanks for your input.

[VeronikaW]

We moved from CA, too. You have to go to two separate places for licenses and car registration. I'm not sure about enhanced licenses, but we went to the DOL and just had to show our CA licenses and we had to take a vision test and pay a fee, and were given WA licenses. Go to this website: WA State Licensing: Home It should have all the info you need, including how to find offices for both vehicle registration and drivers licenses.

V. =)

[MaikeerinWA]

WA State Licensing: Moving to Washington

This seems to be a slightly more direct link within the site linked above. I can't remember the exact facts and circumstances (this was in 2003), but for car registration, I seem to recall having to prove that I had paid California sales taxes on the purchase of my car, which was a late model. I guess that some Washington residents try to buy cars in Oregon, where there is no sales tax.

[cdelena]

It depends on the city... here in Vancouver we were able to get everything done in one location.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by cdelena

It depends on the city... here in Vancouver we were able to get everything done in one location.

most towns have 'sub-agents' for the Vehicle side of equation. There is a small fee, and some of them are in the Drivers License office, saving you a trip, but be sure to take a number (register) for each activity when you show up. (end of month and first of month and Mondays and Fridays are busy). If you have a bunch of title transactions I'd try to get to a DOL counter, usually at county courthouse or in an annex building nearby (not a sub-agent). There are multiple sub-agent fees per transaction and they could add up if you have a few vehicles (title change, address change, registration)

BTW; If DH is a professional driver & if needs a CDL, get it quick, as rules are changing and gonna require 160 hrs of training And also be sure to sign up for a drug consortium, even if he is an independent, AND you need to be in a separate consortium for each employer I had thought my semi-annual DOT drug test was adequate... wrong - WA DOT guys are pretty tough, and can really ruin your day with a multi thousand dollar ticket. ("the butchers", in the white vans)

Study up, as several of my CA co-workers had to take the driving test multiple times to pass. (this was several years ago, may have changed) And take the written test on the computer at the test place, as it has a bank of questions which you can skip the ones that you don't know, and as soon as you get a certain number correct "YOU PASS", eventually it will roll around to re-ask the questions you skipped. This is most relevant to CDL and the picky stuff about air brakes and vehicle sizes, weights, flare placements, and towing multiple trailers... If he has to take the CDL skills test, study the pre-trip inspection, as they can flunk you for missing ONE item.

You can only bring a limited number of vehicles to WA, I had to re-pay sales tax on a few motorcycles, and friends have got nailed for multiple boats, some for Motorhomes.

[jabm67]

The time to do it is right about now, though. All the licensing places get packed and slow within 3-4 days of the 1st of each month. If you're in an area that requires your vehicle to be emissions tested (and I don't think Port Ludlow is), that by itself can add an hour or two to the process if you try getting it done when everyone else is doing the same.