# Washington — Vehicle title transfer deadlines and late penalties by state

For Washington, deadline to apply for title is within 15 days of delivery of the vehicle; statute is RCW 46.12.650, verified against its source on 2026-08-18.

- **State:** Washington _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Deadline to apply for title:** within 15 days of delivery of the vehicle _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Statute:** RCW 46.12.650 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Penalty for missing it:** fifty dollars assessed on the sixteenth day after the date of delivery and two dollars for each additional day thereafter, but the total penalty must not exceed one hundred twenty-five dollars _(per app.leg.wa.gov, not stated by the source above)_

## What the source says

> A person who has recently acquired a vehicle by purchase, exchange, gift, lease, inheritance, or legal action shall apply to the department, county auditor or other agent, or subagent appointed by the director for a new certificate of title within 15 days of delivery of the vehicle.

## Sources disagree

More than one authority states this, and they do not state the same
thing. Both are reproduced with the source each came from.

### Statute

app.leg.wa.gov says statute is **RCW 46.12.650**, as of 2026-08-18.

> A person who has recently acquired a vehicle by purchase, exchange, gift, lease, inheritance, or legal action shall apply to the department, county auditor or other agent, or subagent appointed by the director for a new certificate of title within 15 days of delivery of the vehicle.

Source: https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.12.650

app.leg.wa.gov says statute is **RCW 46.17.140**, as of 2026-08-18.

> is fifty dollars assessed on the sixteenth day after the date of delivery and two dollars for each additional day thereafter, but the total penalty must not exceed one hundred twenty-five dollars. The penalty must be distributed under RCW

Source: https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.17.140


## Source

- https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.12.650
- https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.17.140

Last verified: 2026-08-18. Review by: 2027-08-18.
Part of [Vehicle title transfer deadlines and late penalties by state](https://referencesource.org/vehicle-title-transfer-deadlines-by-state/).