Ferry replacement fees in the works in Olympia

Published 12:01 am Friday, December 19, 2014

OLYMPIA — The state Department of Licensing will soon stop requiring vehicle owners to replace their license plates every seven years and will begin collecting new ferry vessel replacement fees.

Beginning Jan. 1, vehicle transactions processed at a state or county vehicle licensing office will be subject to a $5 licensing service fee on vehicle registration renewals and a $12 service fee on title transfers.

The money will fund construction of new ferries.

The new fees will result in all vehicle owners paying the same amount regardless of whether they have their title or registration transaction processed at a government-run office or a privately owned vehicle licensing office.

Auto licensing fees collected online by the state and at county licensing offices will help the ferry system replace the state’s 1950s-era Evergreen State Class ferries.

The $5 service fee includes, but is not limited to, annual registrations, temporary off-road-vehicle permits, trip permits and snowmobile registrations.

The $12 service fee includes but is not limited to vehicle title transfers, lien-holder changes and name changes.

Another new law will eliminate the mandatory seven-year replacement period and allow owners to keep their license plates for as long as they own a vehicle.

People must continue to renew their vehicle’s registration every 12 months, but they have to replace license plates only if they are lost, defaced, illegible or when the vehicle changes ownership.

Information about both of these changes is available at www.dol.wa.gov.