Vessel length/nonresident

AN ACT Relating to the vessel length requirement in obtaining 1
nonresident vessel permits; amending RCW 88.02.620 and 88.02.640; and 2
providing an expiration date. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 88.02.620 and 2023 c 374 s 23 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
(1) A vessel owner who is a nonresident person must obtain a 7
nonresident vessel permit on or before the 61st day of use in 8
Washington state if the vessel: 9
(a) Is currently registered or numbered under the laws of the 10
state or country of principal operation, has been issued a valid 11
number under federal law, or has a valid United States customs 12
service cruising license issued under 19 C.F.R. Sec. 4.94; and13
(b) Has been brought into Washington state for not more than six 14
months in any continuous 12-month period, and is used:15
(i) For personal use; or 16
(ii) For the purposes of chartering a vessel with a captain or 17
crew, as long as individual charters are for at least three or more 18
consecutive days in duration. The permit also applies for the 19
purposes of necessary transit to or from the start or end point of 20
S-0364.2
SENATE BILL 5281
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Chapman, King, Liias, Harris, Nobles, and Shewmake
Read first time 01/15/25. Referred to Committee on Transportation.
p. 1 SB 5281
such a charter, but that transit time is not counted toward the 1
duration of the charter. 2
(2) In addition to the requirements in subsection (1) of this 3
section, a nonresident vessel owner that is not a natural person, or 4
a nonresident vessel owner who is a natural person who intends to 5
charter the vessel with a captain or crew as provided in subsection 6
(1)(b)(ii) of this section, may only obtain a nonresident vessel 7
permit if: 8
(a) The vessel is at least 30 feet in length, but no more than 9
((200)) 300 feet in length; 10
(b) No Washington state resident owns the vessel or is a 11
principal, as defined in RCW 82.32.865, of the nonresident person 12
which owns the vessel; and 13
(c) The department of revenue has provided the nonresident vessel 14
owner written approval authorizing the permit as provided in RCW 15
82.32.865. 16
(3) A nonresident vessel permit: 17
(a) May be obtained from the department, county auditor or other 18
agent, or subagent appointed by the director; 19
(b) Must show the date the vessel first came into Washington 20
state; and 21
(c) Is valid for two months. 22
(4) The department, county auditor or other agent, or subagent 23
appointed by the director must collect the fee required in RCW 24
88.02.640(1)(i) when issuing nonresident vessel permits.25
(5) A nonresident vessel permit is not required under this 26
section if the vessel is used in conducting temporary business 27
activity within Washington state. 28
(6) For any permits issued under this section to a nonresident 29
vessel owner that is not a natural person, or for any permits issued 30
to a natural person who intends to charter the vessel with a captain 31
or crew as provided in subsection (1)(b)(ii) of this section, the 32
department must maintain a record of the following information and 33
provide it to the department of revenue quarterly or as otherwise 34
mutually agreed to by the department and department of revenue:35
(a) The name of the record owner of the vessel;36
(b) The vessel's hull identification number; 37
(c) The amount of the fee paid under RCW 88.02.640(5);38
(d) The date the vessel first entered the waters of this state;39
(e) The expiration date for the permit; and 40
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(f) Any other information mutually agreed to by the department 1
and department of revenue. 2
(7) The department must adopt rules to implement this section, 3
including rules on issuing and displaying the nonresident vessel 4
permit. Until May 1, 2026, the department must process the 5
application for a nonresident vessel permit, with respect to a vessel 6
that exceeds 200 feet in length, as if the vessel were 200 feet in 7
length.8
Sec. 2. RCW 88.02.640 and 2021 c 150 s 2 are each amended to 9
read as follows: 10
(1) In addition to any other fees and taxes required by law, the 11
department, county auditor or other agent, or subagent appointed by 12
the director must charge the following vessel fees and surcharge:13
14 FEE AMOUNT AUTHORITY DISTRIBUTION
15 (a) Dealer temporary permit $5.00 RCW 88.02.800(2) General fund
16
17
18
(b) Derelict vessel and
invasive species
removal
Subsection (3) of this
section
Subsection (3) of this
section
Subsection (3) of this
section
19
20
(c) Derelict vessel removal
surcharge
$1.00 Subsection (4) of this
section
Subsection (4) of this
section
21
22
(d) Duplicate certificate of
title
$1.25 RCW 88.02.530(1)(c) General fund
23 (e) Duplicate registration $1.25 RCW 88.02.590(1)(c) General fund
24 (f) Filing RCW 46.17.005 RCW 88.02.560(2) RCW 46.68.400
25 (g) License plate technology RCW 46.17.015 RCW 88.02.560(2) RCW 46.68.370
26 (h) License service RCW 46.17.025 RCW 88.02.560(2) RCW 46.68.220
27
28
(i) Nonresident vessel
permit
Subsection (5) of this
section
RCW 88.02.620(4) Subsection (5) of this
section
29
30
(j) Quick title service $50.00 RCW 88.02.540(3) Subsection (7) of this
section
31 (k) Registration $10.50 RCW 88.02.560(2) RCW 88.02.650
32 (l) Replacement decal $1.25 RCW 88.02.595(1)(c) General fund
33
34
(m) Service fee RCW 46.17.040 RCW 88.02.515 and
88.02.560(2)
RCW 46.17.040
35 (n) Title application $5.00 RCW 88.02.515 General fund
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1 (o) Transfer $1.00 RCW 88.02.560(7) General fund
2
3
(p) Vessel visitor permit $30.00 RCW 88.02.610(3) Subsection (6) of this
section
(2) The five dollar dealer temporary permit fee required in 4
subsection (1) of this section must be credited to the payment of 5
registration fees at the time application for registration is made.6
(3) The derelict vessel and invasive species removal fee required 7
in subsection (1) of this section is five dollars and must be 8
distributed as follows: 9
(a) Two dollars must be deposited in the aquatic invasive species 10
management account created in RCW 77.135.200; 11
(b) One dollar must be deposited into the aquatic algae control 12
account created in RCW 43.21A.667; and 13
(c) Two dollars must be deposited in the derelict vessel removal 14
account created in RCW 79.100.100. 15
(4) In addition to other fees required in this section, an annual 16
derelict vessel removal surcharge of one dollar must be charged with 17
each vessel registration. The surcharge is to address the significant 18
backlog of derelict vessels accumulated in Washington waters that 19
pose a threat to the health and safety of the people and to the 20
environment and must be deposited into the derelict vessel removal 21
account created in RCW 79.100.100. 22
(5)(a) The amount of the nonresident vessel permit fee is:23
(i) For a vessel owned by a nonresident natural person, ((twenty-24
five dollars)) $25; and 25
(ii) For a nonresident vessel owner that is not a natural person, 26
the fee is equal to: 27
(A) ((Twenty-five dollars )) $25 per foot for vessels between 28
((thirty)) 30 and ((ninety-nine)) 99 feet in length;29
(B) ((Thirty dollars )) $30 per foot for vessels between ((one 30
hundred)) 100 and ((one hundred twenty)) 120 feet in length; ((and))31
(C) ((Thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents )) $37.50 per foot for 32
vessels between ((one hundred twenty-one )) 121 and ((two hundred )) 33
200 feet in length. The fee must be multiplied by the extreme length 34
of the vessel in feet, rounded up to the nearest whole foot; and35
(D)(I) $100 per foot for vessels between 201 and 300 feet in 36
length, except as provided in (a)(ii)(D)(II) of this subsection. The 37
fee must be multiplied by the extreme length of the vessel in feet, 38
rounded up to the nearest whole foot.39
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(II) Until May 1, 2026, the fee for vessels between 201 and 300 1
feet in length is the same as that for a vessel 200 feet in length.2
(b) The fee must be paid by the vessel owner to the department. 3
Any moneys remaining from the fee after the payment of costs to 4
administer the permit must be allocated to counties by the state 5
treasurer for approved boating safety programs under RCW 88.02.650, 6
except that all revenues generated from the fees established in 7
(a)(ii)(D) of this subsection must be allocated to the Washington 8
state recreation and conservation office for a grant program to 9
support youth swim lessons in overburdened communities.10
(c) In addition to the applicable fees under this section, vessel 11
owners who obtain a nonresident vessel permit for the purposes of 12
chartering their vessel with a captain or crew are subject to use tax 13
as provided in RCW 82.12.799. 14
(6) The ((thirty dollar )) $30 vessel visitor permit fee must be 15
distributed as follows: 16
(a) Five dollars must be deposited in the derelict vessel removal 17
account created in RCW 79.100.100; 18
(b) The department may keep an amount to cover costs for 19
providing the vessel visitor permit; 20
(c) Any moneys remaining must be allocated to counties by the 21
state treasurer for approved boating safety programs under RCW 22
88.02.650; and 23
(d) Any fees required for licensing agents under RCW 46.17.005 24
are in addition to any other fee or tax due for the titling and 25
registration of vessels. 26
(7)(a) The ((fifty dollar )) $50 quick title service fee must be 27
distributed as follows: 28
(i) If the fee is paid to the director, the fee must be deposited 29
to the general fund. 30
(ii) If the fee is paid to the participating county auditor or 31
other agent appointed by the director, ((twenty-five dollars )) $25 32
must be deposited to the general fund. The remainder must be retained 33
by the county treasurer in the same manner as other fees collected by 34
the county auditor. 35
(iii) If the fee is paid to a subagent appointed by the director, 36
((twenty-five dollars )) $25 must be deposited to the general fund. 37
The remaining ((twenty-five dollars )) $25 must be distributed as 38
follows: ((Twelve dollars and fifty cents )) $12.50 must be retained 39
by the county treasurer in the same manner as other fees collected by 40
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the county auditor and ((twelve dollars and fifty cents )) $12.50 must 1
be retained by the subagent. 2
(b) For the purposes of this subsection, "quick title" has the 3
same meaning as in RCW 88.02.540. 4
(8) The department, county auditor or other agent, or subagent 5
appointed by the director shall charge the service fee under 6
subsection (1)(m) of this section beginning January 1, 2016.7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. Sections 1 and 2 of this act expire 8
January 1, 2029.9
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