Vehicle dealer sale reports

AN ACT Relating to vehicle dealer reports of sale; and amending 1
RCW 46.12.650 and 46.55.105. 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:3
Sec. 1. RCW 46.12.650 and 2023 c 273 s 1 are each amended to 4
read as follows: 5
(1) Releasing interest. An owner releasing interest in a vehicle 6
shall: 7
(a) Sign the release of interest section provided on the 8
certificate of title or on a release of interest document or form 9
approved by the department; 10
(b) Give the certificate of title or most recent evidence of 11
ownership to the person gaining the interest in the vehicle;12
(c) Give the person gaining interest in the vehicle an odometer 13
disclosure statement if one is required; and 14
(d) Report the vehicle sold as provided in subsection (2) of this 15
section. 16
(2) Report of sale. An owner shall notify the department, county 17
auditor or other agent, or subagent appointed by the director in 18
writing within five business days after a vehicle is or has been:19
(a) Sold; 20
(b) Given as a gift to another person; 21
H-3597.1
HOUSE BILL 2744
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representative Bergquist
Read first time 02/28/26. Referred to Committee on Transportation.
p. 1 HB 2744
(c) Traded, either privately or to a dealership;1
(d) Donated to charity; 2
(e) Turned over to an insurance company or wrecking yard; or3
(f) Disposed of. 4
(3) Report of sale properly filed. A report of sale is properly 5
filed if it is received by the department, county auditor or other 6
agent, or subagent appointed by the director within five business 7
days after the date of sale or transfer and it includes:8
(a) The date of sale or transfer; 9
(b) The owner's full name and complete, current address;10
(c) The full name and complete, current address of the person 11
acquiring the vehicle, including street name and number, and 12
apartment number if applicable, or post office box number, city or 13
town, and postal code; 14
(d) The vehicle identification number and license plate number;15
(e) A date or stamp by the department showing it was received on 16
or before the fifth business day after the date of sale or transfer; 17
and 18
(f) Payment of the fees required under RCW 46.17.050.19
(4) Report of sale - administration. (a) The department shall:20
(i) Provide or approve reports of sale forms; 21
(ii) Provide a system enabling an owner to submit reports of sale 22
electronically; 23
(iii) Immediately update the department's vehicle record when a 24
report of sale has been filed; 25
(iv) Provide instructions on release of interest forms that allow 26
the seller of a vehicle to release their interest in a vehicle at the 27
same time a financial institution, as defined in RCW 30A.22.040, 28
releases its lien on the vehicle; and 29
(v) Send a report to the department of revenue that lists 30
vehicles for which a report of sale has been received but no transfer 31
of ownership has taken place. The department shall send the report 32
once each quarter. 33
(b) A report of sale is not proof of a completed vehicle transfer 34
for purposes of the collection of expenses related to towing, 35
storage, and auction of an abandoned vehicle in situations where 36
there is no evidence indicating the buyer knew of or was a party to 37
acceptance of the vehicle transfer. A contract signed by the prior 38
owner and the new owner, a certificate of title, a receipt, a 39
purchase order or wholesale order, or other legal proof or record of 40
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acceptance of the vehicle by the new owner may be provided to 1
establish legal responsibility for the abandoned vehicle.2
(5) Report of sale – licensed dealers. A vehicle dealer as 3
defined in RCW 46.70.011 ((may, but is not required to, )) must file a 4
report of sale on behalf of an owner who trades in, sells, or 5
otherwise transfers ownership of a vehicle to the dealer. A vehicle 6
dealer who files on behalf of an owner shall collect and remit the 7
fees required under RCW 46.17.050 from the owner in addition to any 8
other fees charged to or owed by the customer. 9
(6)(a) Transferring ownership. A person who has recently acquired 10
a vehicle by purchase, exchange, gift, lease, inheritance, or legal 11
action shall apply to the department, county auditor or other agent, 12
or subagent appointed by the director for a new certificate of title 13
within 15 days of delivery of the vehicle. A secured party who has 14
possession of the certificate of title shall either:15
(i) Apply for a new certificate of title on behalf of the owner 16
and pay the fee required under RCW 46.17.100; or 17
(ii) Provide all required documents to the owner, as long as the 18
transfer was not a breach of its security agreement, to allow the 19
owner to apply for a new certificate of title. 20
(b) Compliance with this subsection does not affect the rights of 21
the secured party. 22
(7) Certificate of title delivered to secured party. The 23
certificate of title must be kept by or delivered to the person who 24
becomes the secured party when a security interest is reserved or 25
created at the time of the transfer of ownership. The parties must 26
comply with RCW 46.12.675. 27
(8) Penalty for late transfer. A person who has recently acquired 28
a motor vehicle by purchase, exchange, gift, lease, inheritance, or 29
legal action who does not apply for a new certificate of title within 30
15 calendar days of delivery of the vehicle is charged a penalty, as 31
described in RCW 46.17.140, when applying for a new certificate of 32
title. It is a misdemeanor to fail or neglect to apply for a transfer 33
of ownership within 45 days after delivery of the vehicle. The 34
misdemeanor is a single continuing offense for each day that passes 35
regardless of the number of days that have elapsed following the 45-36
day time period. 37
(9) Penalty for late transfer - exceptions. The penalty is not 38
charged if the delay in application is due to at least one of the 39
following: 40
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(a) The department requests additional supporting documents;1
(b) The department, county auditor or other agent, or subagent 2
fails to perform or is neglectful; 3
(c) The owner is prevented from applying due to an illness or 4
extended hospitalization; 5
(d) The legal owner fails or neglects to release interest;6
(e) The owner did not know of the filing of a report of sale by 7
the previous owner and signs an affidavit to the fact; or8
(f) The department finds other conditions exist that adequately 9
explain the delay. 10
(10) Review and issue. The department shall review applications 11
for certificates of title and issue certificates of title when it has 12
determined that all applicable provisions of law have been complied 13
with. 14
(11) Rules. The department may adopt rules as necessary to 15
implement this section. 16
Sec. 2. RCW 46.55.105 and 2016 c 86 s 2 are each amended to read 17
as follows: 18
(1) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, the 19
abandonment of any vehicle creates a prima facie presumption that the 20
last registered owner of record is responsible for the abandonment 21
and is liable for costs incurred in removing, storing, and disposing 22
of the abandoned vehicle, less amounts realized at auction.23
(2) If an unauthorized vehicle is found abandoned under 24
subsection (1) of this section and removed at the direction of law 25
enforcement, the last registered owner of record is guilty of the 26
traffic infraction of "littering — abandoned vehicle," unless the 27
vehicle is redeemed as provided in RCW 46.55.120. In addition to any 28
other monetary penalty payable under chapter 46.63 RCW, the court 29
shall not consider all monetary penalties as having been paid until 30
the court is satisfied that the person found to have committed the 31
infraction has made restitution in the amount of the deficiency 32
remaining after disposal of the vehicle under RCW 46.55.140.33
(3) A vehicle theft report filed with a law enforcement agency 34
relieves the last registered owner of liability under subsection (2) 35
of this section for failure to redeem the vehicle. However, the last 36
registered owner remains liable for the costs incurred in removing, 37
storing, and disposing of the abandoned vehicle under subsection (1) 38
of this section. Nothing in this section limits in any way the 39
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registered owner's rights in a civil action or as restitution in a 1
criminal action against a person responsible for the theft of the 2
vehicle. 3
(4) Properly filing a report of sale or transfer regarding the 4
vehicle involved in accordance with RCW 46.12.650 (1) through (3) or 5
trading in, selling, or otherwise transferring ownership of a vehicle 6
to a vehicle dealer as defined in RCW 46.70.011, who must file a 7
report of sale on behalf of an owner, pursuant to RCW 46.12.650(5), 8
relieves the last registered owner of liability under subsections (1) 9
and (2) of this section. However, if there is a reason to believe 10
that a report of sale has been filed in which the reported buyer did 11
not know of the alleged transfer or did not accept the vehicle 12
transfer, the liability remains with the last registered owner to 13
prove the vehicle transfer was made pursuant to a legal transfer or 14
accepted by the person reported as the new owner on the report of 15
sale. If the date of sale as indicated on the report of sale is 16
before the date of impoundment, the buyer identified on the latest 17
properly filed report of sale with the department is assumed liable 18
for the costs incurred in removing, storing, and disposing of the 19
abandoned vehicle, less amounts realized at auction. If the date of 20
sale is after the date of impoundment, the previous registered owner 21
is assumed to be liable for such costs. A licensed vehicle dealer is 22
not liable under subsections (1) and (2) of this section if the 23
dealer, as transferee or assignee of the last registered owner of the 24
vehicle involved, has complied with the requirements of RCW 46.70.122 25
upon selling or otherwise disposing of the vehicle, or if the dealer 26
has timely filed a transitional ownership record or report of sale 27
under RCW 46.12.660. In that case the person to whom the licensed 28
vehicle dealer has sold or transferred the vehicle is assumed liable 29
for the costs incurred in removing, storing, and disposing of the 30
abandoned vehicle, less amounts realized at auction.31
(5) For the purposes of reporting notices of traffic infraction 32
to the department under RCW 46.20.270 and 46.52.101, and for purposes 33
of reporting notices of failure to appear, respond, or comply 34
regarding a notice of traffic infraction to the department under RCW 35
46.63.070(6), a traffic infraction under subsection (2) of this 36
section is not considered to be a standing, stopping, or parking 37
violation. 38
(6) A notice of infraction for a violation of this section may be 39
filed with a court of limited jurisdiction organized under Title 3, 40
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35, or 35A RCW, or with a violations bureau subject to the court's 1
jurisdiction. 2
(7)(a) A person named as a buyer in a report of sale filed under 3
RCW 46.12.650(3) in which there was no acceptance of the transfer has 4
a cause of action against the person who filed the report to recover 5
costs associated with towing, storage, auction, or any other damages 6
incurred as a result of being named as the buyer in the report of 7
sale, including reasonable attorneys' fees and litigation costs. The 8
cause of action provided in this subsection (7)(a) is in addition to 9
any other remedy available to the person at law or in equity.10
(b) A person named as a seller in a report of sale filed under 11
RCW 46.12.650(3) in which the named buyer falsely alleges that there 12
was no acceptance of the transfer has a cause of action against the 13
named buyer to recover damages incurred as a result of the 14
allegation, including reasonable attorneys' fees and litigation 15
costs. The cause of action in this subsection (7)(b) is in addition 16
to any other remedy available to the person at law or in equity.17
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