Fees

For a breakdown of fees charged and collected by the Department of Licensing, please click here.
To find out the total of fees for any type of transaction, please contact a licensing office.

Taxes

Tax is due on all new or used purchases in Washington. Sales tax is due on all retail purchases, and use tax is due on all private party sales. Both taxes are calculated at the same rate. For private party sales, the purchase price of the vehicle must be within Department of Revenue determination of Fair Market Value. Fair Market Value is the clean, dealer retail value of a vehicle. You may determine what FMV is for your vehicle by visiting Edmunds, NADA, or KBB. For more information, please contact a licensing office.

Gifts and inheritance

Owners who were gifted a vehicle may not be subject to paying use tax when they register the vehicle. As long as the current registered owner paid tax, tax may not be due. If the vehicle is gifted from a jurisdiction where there is no sales/use tax, then tax is due based on Fair Market Value. To find out if tax will or will not be due on a vehicle you received as a gift, please contact a licensing office.

Vehicles received as an inheritance may also be exempt from use tax at the time of transfer. As long as the registered owner on the title paid tax, tax may not be due. For more information, please contact a licensing office.

Transportation Benefit District (TBD) Fee

The TBD fee is imposed by city or county governments to fund local road projects. In Clark County, the cities of Battle Ground and Vancouver are Transportation Benefit Districts. Residents within the cities of Battle Ground and Vancouver must pay an additional fee every year at the time of renewal. For a list of TBD areas and fees, click here.

Donations

Included in your yearly registration renewal cost is a $5.00 donation to Washington State Parks. The fee helps keep our parks open and maintained. You may choose to remove the donation or donate more. The donation is optional.

You may also choose to donate to Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness. Donations go to support outreach and education of organ, eye, and tissue donation. For more information, visit the Organ Donor section of the Department of Licensing website.

Discover Pass

The Discover Pass can be purchased from the Department of Licensing only when registering or renewing your vehicle. We cannot sell a Discover Pass without processing a vehicle transaction. To purchase a Discover Pass, visit discoverpass.wa.gov.