List of rulemaking activity

Commercial driver license eligibility

  • Driver licensing
    • Commercial Driver License (CDL)
In progress

Current rule(s)

Commercial driver's license—Eligibility (WAC 308-100-020)

Current law is silent on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) individuals. It also has conflicting information for individuals from Mexico and Canada that may also be DACA-eligible for a non-domiciled CDL. This updated rule incorporates the reference from the new federal regulation that defines DACA individuals.

Current step

March 5, 2025

Rule change proposed

Public hearing or comments

We're proposing this rule change under an expedited process (RCW 34.05.353). This process eliminates the need for us to hold public hearings. If you object to the use of the expedited process for this rule change, you must object in writing. Email your objection to rulescoordinator@dol.wa.gov or mail it to:

Rules Coordinator
Department of Licensing
1125 Washington Street SE
Olympia, WA 98501

CDL disqualification procedures

  • Driver licensing
Completed

Current rule(s)

Final orders (WAC 308-101-230)

We rescinded subsection 4 of this rule to allow for CDL disqualifications to be addressed within the personal driver’s license hearing. This follows an analysis of our CDL disqualification procedures.

Current step

January 13, 2025

Rule change adopted

Public hearing or comments

We held a public hearing for this rulemaking activity on January 6, 2025.

Document review and interviews

  • Driver licensing
  • Vehicle and boat registration
Completed

Current rule(s)

Title 308 WAC: Department of Licensing

State laws already define administrative reviews and interviews. We're required to define the specifics of conducting the document review or interview. Standard procedures include eligibility, evidence needing review, authority of the review, and other legal remedies available after the review.

This new rule provides greater clarity for conducting administrative reviews and interviews.

Current step

January 6, 2025

New rule adopted

Public hearing or comments

We held a public hearing on December 11, 2024.

Financial responsibility hearings

  • Driver licensing
Completed

Current rule(s)

Administration of the Financial Responsibility Act – Procedures (Chapter 308-102 WAC)

These rule changes update and clarify the process of financial responsibility hearings. We're making the rules comply with the law, simplifying parts of the rule that are hard to read, and using more inclusive language.

Current step

March 13, 2023

Rule change adopted

Public hearing or comments

Public hearing held January 25, 2023

Suspending driver licenses due to fraud

  • Driver licensing
Completed

Current rule(s)

Driver's licenses suspension, cancellation, or denial period for prohibited practices (WAC 308-104-075)

We're updating our policy on how long we can suspend driver licenses due to fraud. We can now issue suspensions that last 0 to 364 days depending on the type of identity fraud, the type of credential involved, the driver's status, and more. This change will support an internal process that driver and vehicle investigators are already using.

Current step

December 28, 2020

Rule change adopted

Public hearing or comments

Public hearing held December 22, 2020

Commercial driver license (CDL) definitions

  • Driver licensing
Completed

Current rule(s)

Definitions (WAC 308-100-005); Minimum training requirements (WAC 308-100-033); Employer certification (WAC 308-100-035); Examination requirement for commercial driver's license (WAC 308-100-040); Examination fees (WAC 308-100-050); Intrastate waiver (WAC 308-100-100); Serious traffic violations (WAC 308-100-130); Third-party testing fee (WAC 308-100-180)

We changed the current definitions related to commercial driver's license (CDL) holders to make it easier to get a CDL. This includes clarifying rules about training, testing, and reporting requirements for CDL holders, training providers, and employers. Our goal is to allow Washington to train more CDL holders, improve agency efficiency and oversight, and ensure that we're following state laws and federal regulations.

Current step

November 22, 2023

Rule change adopted

Public hearing or comments

We held a public hearing on November 21, 2023.

CDL disqualifications

  • Driver licensing
Completed

Current rule(s)

Hearing procedural rules - Final orders (WAC 308-101-230)

We created a new chapter to define how we review CDL disqualifications, including business rules, guidelines, and processes.

Current step

November 13, 2023

New rule adopted

Public hearing or comments

A public hearing was held October 31, 2023 at 10 a.m.

Moving and nonmoving violations

  • Driver licensing
Completed

Current rule(s)

Moving and nonmoving violations defined (WAC 308-104-160)

We're adding more offenses to our list of moving and nonmoving violations.

Current step

November 30, 2022

Rule change adopted

Public hearing or comments

Public hearing held November 22, 2022

Motorcycle permit and endorsement requirements

  • Driver licensing
Completed

Current rule(s)

Motorcycle permit and endorsement requirements (Chapter 308-109 WAC)

We created new WAC chapters to address criteria for the issuance of motorcycle instructional permits and endorsements for 2- and 3-wheel motorcycles.

Current step

January 18, 2024

Rule change adopted

Public hearing or comments

We held a public hearing on November 27, 2023.

Suspended driver licenses and safe driving courses

  • Driver licensing
Completed

Current rule(s)

Drivers' licenses (Chapter 308-104 WAC)

We're adopting requirements about license suspensions due to multiple traffic offenses and safe driving courses. These changes follow a new law that lowers the number of traffic offenses that will lead to a license suspension and requires people who are suspended to complete a safe driving course.

Current step

November 30, 2022

Rule change adopted

Public hearing or comments

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Learn how we make rules

Find out how we create and change rules related to licensing.

Understand the terms we use

Read our rulemaking definitions for the terms we use when working on rules.

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