Washington State Registration

I will be re-registering and re-titling my VS made in 1999 from Calif. to Wa. State. Ca title is now '73 VW. I am told I have to get inspection from Wa. State Patrol. My concern is will they attempt to show title as 1999 mfg'd vehicle and therefore requiring emmissions testing or will it show a '57 Porsche or a '73 VW. Any info/feedback from those who have gone thru this process in Washington will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance

There is no emissions testing in the state of washington. Does have to be inspected but just to make sure it isn't stolen.

in fact if I am not mistaken, if you are just changing from calif. title to washington, and not changing names, don't think you even have to have it inspected. Only inspection if transfering title to one person to another.

I had heard that replicas or special construction vehicles do need an inspection by State Patrol.

Dale,
I just asked that question on a WA site "ask a librarian. Here is their response.

Here is the question that you asked:

What are the WA state vehicle registration requirements for a "kit Car" or specially constructed vehicle when moving from California?
Here is the answer to your question:

Hello Dale and welcome to the Washington State Library Ask-a-Librarian

I am writting in reference to your question on registration of a kit car in the state of Washington. Your car will need to be inspected by the Washington State Patrol who will give you the papers you need to register and license your car with the Dept. of Licensing. The Washington State Patrol has some information on their website on vehicle inspection including homemade vehicles. http://www.wsp.wa.gov/traveler/vinspect.htm

Trooper McDanial at the Washington State Patrol in Olympia (360-753-6540) said you should contact the Washington State patrol Office nearest you to set an appointment to have your vehicle inspected. WSP directory can be found at http://www.wsp.wa.gov/business/directry.htm

You can search the Revised Code of Washington (law) at http://search.leg.wa.gov/pub/textsearch/default.asp Be sure to click on the small white box in front of RCW & dispostion within the colored area. Enter your search term(s) and scroll down to find your results.

You may want to look at RCW 46.37 vehicle lighting and other equipment. http://www.leg.wa.gov/RCW/index.cfm?fuseaction=chapterdigest&chapter=46.37 Christine Fox, Equipment and Standards, with the Washington State Patrol is a good source to contact with further questions. You can reach Christine at 360-753-3697 or you can e-mail her at christine.Fox@wsp.wa.gov

Information on registering a car in Washington can be found on the Dept. of Licensing website at http://www.dol.wa.gov/vs/tr-new.htm You may want to contact the Dept. of Licensing Vehicle Services at 360-902-3770 menu option 7 to see if there are any special steps you need to take. They are open Monday through Friday 8:00 to 5:00 or you can e-mail through this contact page http://www.dol.wa.gov/vs/vs-mail.htm You can find your local vehicle licensing office at https://wws2.wa.gov/dol/vsagents/

I hope this helps you to answer your question and thank you for contacting the Washington State Library. Please feel welcome to contact us again with further questions.

Carol
Washington State Library



Thank you for using the Ask a Librarian service. Please take the time to fill out the survey here.

If you need additional help, please contact us at: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/library/ask.aspx

Dale,

Sounds like your move to Gig Harbor is coming up soon! Bet you are excited about it. Give me a shout if you are coming up I-5, could meet you and have a cup of coffee and a BS session!

Bruce

Any vehicle brought to Washington from out of state has to be inspected by the State Patrol before a WA title can be issued, period. It's not a big deal-- usually fifteen minutes or so. It is true this is a VIN check: physically verifying that the VIN on the title matches the one(s) on the chassis and running the VIN against a nationwide database to make sure the vehicle was never reported stolen.

And while emission testing is not required state-wide (yet), it has been required for at least twenty years in the areas surrounding the larger metropolitan areas in the state (Portland, Seattle/Tacoma and Spokane). A 'pass' is required every other year as a condition of renewing license tabs. Gig Harbor is right outside Tacoma, so they probably do require emissions testing, but bear in mind cars over 25 years are exempted outright anyway.

As to the designation of year and make: looking at Washington law, per RCW 46.04.251 it's definitely a 'kit vehicle'. According to RCW 46.16.680, when a WA title is issued, the make will be designated as 'KITV' (for kit vehicle), and the model designation must reflect the year and make the replica emulates, plus the word 'replica'-- e.g., '57 Porsche replica'.

As to the assigned year for the vehicle: "For a manufactured new vehicle kit and a manufactured body kit, the model year of the vehicle is the year reflected on the manufacturer's certificate of origin for that vehicle. If this is not available, the Washington state patrol shall assign a model year at the time of inspection." But it's not clear to me that the patrol would necessarily assign it the *current* year, i.e., 2005-- it seems reasonable that if the chassis and chassis VIN is from a 73 vehicle and the suspension and drivetrain are consistent with a vehicle from that year, they could reasonably choose to assign that year to it.

Chris Sutton (whose build diary is featured on this site- see "Building a Speedster Kit" on the home page) built and registered his speedster in the Seattle area and if he's still around may be able to add some valuable perspective to this discussion, as could anyone else on here with a WA speedster.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

I will be tring to register my Beck in about a month, and will let you know how it goes, and what I had to do.

Jerry

Jerry the MCO that BSC sends will have it listed as a 2005 Beck Speedster. That is how they registered it up here in AK. Model is Kit, year is 2005, make is Beck. They found Beck in their data base, I think it is a tractor/trailer company. When they put in Kit the system wouldn't take it, so they had the IT guys input something that allowed the system to take Kit under a Beck make. I'm not required to do a smog test for two years since it is a "new" 2005. In 2008 I'll register it as a vehicle driven Mar-Nov only, and then I won't be required to do the smog if I only drive it between those months.

Pat

Thanks Pat, don't think I will have any problems, the part of the state I am in does not require any kind of smog inspection, so no probelme there. Just hoping I can lisence it without a title inspection so I can take plates with me when I pick it up.

By the way stating to have that "Eric" problem, sent email a week ago, and still haven't heard from him. Will keep you posted.

Jerry

Mr.Fauntleroy - thank you for the great information. I will reference the numbers should I need to.
Bruce - yep - getting close - just booked with John Van Damn for a mid Nov. delivery of wifes 911 & speedster. Actual relocation not till 1 April, but need garage space for packing, etc. There will be a few trips up I-5 between now & then, so I will definately be stopping by. Met some nice people from Washington at the NCKCC show and they say theres alot of car shows up there. We are anxious.
Thanks again

Dale, you have my email so would be disappointed if you didn't stop on the way through. There are indeed plenty of events in the area to keep your interests alive. It'll be great having you up our way.

Registration for my IM was a hassle. I reside outside just outside Spokane. The Customs part was somewhat simple but to get it license and title required numerous trips to the court house. The worst of it was that the auditor could not make the decison to ID the vehicle as a Kitcar or Replica (for tax reasons-go figure). Finally, after bring in the IM information they agreed that it is a Replica. I did not need to have the vehicle inspected by the Washington Highway Patrol, just our local customs. If your doing all of this in Seattle area you shouldn't have any problems. But in Spokane look out. When Lewis and Clark said don't do anything until we get back, Spokane folks took it as gospel.

Troy, have found if you go to an outside licensing agency it makes it much easier, they accually want to help you. Glad to here you didn't have to have it inspected, as I am about to try and license my new Beck, here in Yakima. Will let you know how it goes. Maybe get together this summer , Post Falls is great that time of year?

Jerry

Summer would be good. My IM is now in storage. I travel to the Tri-Cities and Yakima often. See you in the Summer.

Troy