List of rulemaking activity

Destroyed or wrecked vehicles, temporary license plates for off-road vehicle dealers

  • Vehicle and boat registration
Completed

Current rule(s)

Destroyed or wrecked vehicle—Reporting—Rebuilt (WAC 308-56A-460); Delivery of off-road vehicle on dealer temporary permit (WAC 308-94A-035)

We updated the current market value threshold amount of destroyed or wrecked vehicles according to the law. For off-road vehicle dealers, we replaced references to temporary permits to temporary license plates.

Current step

July 26, 2023

Rule change adopted

Public hearing or comments

We proposed this rule change under an expedited process (RCW 34.05.353). This process eliminated 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

Driver hearings correspondence

  • Driver licensing
Completed

Current rule(s)

We updated this rule to reflect the recent name change of the Hearings and Interviews Unit to the Administrative Law Office.

Current step

January 6, 2025

Rule change adopted

Public hearing or comments

We proposed this rule change under an expedited process (RCW 34.05.353). This process eliminated 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

Recreational vehicle dealers and manufacturers

  • All business and professional licensing
    • Vehicle and boat dealers
    • Vehicle manufacturers
Withdrawn

Current rule(s)

We considered creating new rules to fulfill the requirements of SHB 1996. This bill passed during the 2024 legislative session. The new rules would've covered the licensing, auditing, and regulatory oversight of recreational vehicle manufacturers and dealers.

Current step

May 22, 2024

Intent to create a new rule

Public hearing or comments

You can participate in this rulemaking activity by emailing us at rulescoordinator@dol.wa.gov.

Semiautomatic assault rifle fee

  • All business and professional licensing
    • Firearms dealers
Completed

Current rule(s)

Semiautomatic assault rifle fee (WAC 308-500-010)

We removed the requirement for firearm dealers to charge a fee for semiautomatic assault rifle purchases. This change allows firearms dealers to charge a background check fee for the Secure Automated Firearm E-check system run by the Washington State Patrol.

Current step

March 26, 2024

Rule repealed

Public hearing or comments

You can participate in this rulemaking activity by emailing us at rulescoordinator@dol.wa.gov.

Fuel tax and proration investigations and appeals

  • Prorate and fuel tax
In progress

These rules create a Fuel Tax Discovery Team. They'll define the scope of records requests and other investigation requirements for fuel tax licensees. The rules reflect changes to dyed diesel penalties. They allow assessment based on storage capacity and add repeater penalties for violations within a 5-year period. The rules make several technical changes. They'll remove “informal hearing” for “Review by Department”. They'll also add an Appeals chapter under aircraft fuel WACs.

Current step

November 5, 2024

Rule change proposed

Public hearing or comments

We held a public hearing for this rulemaking activity on December 11, 2024.

Internal agency practice

  • Other
In progress

Current rule(s)

Practice and Procedure (Chapter 308-08 WAC)

We're proposing a new rule to clarify current agency practices. The new rule will allow us to finalize initial orders that didn't get a petition for review by their deadline.

Current step

May 21, 2025

New rule proposed

Public hearing or comments

We're holding a public hearing on this rulemaking activity on June 24 at 11 a.m.
Join the hearing via Zoom.
Meeting ID: 851 7868 6149
Passcode: 587146
One tap mobile: +12532158782,,85178686149#,,, ,*587146# (USA, Tacoma) or +12532050468,,85178686149#,,, ,*587146# (USA)

If you have trouble accessing the virtual meeting, call us at 360-902-3486 to request help. If you'd like to request an interpreter or other accommodations, you can email us at rulescoordinator@dol.wa.gov. Please be sure to do this at least one week before the public hearing.

Note: We encourage hearing participants to attend in-person. If you attend virtually and have technical difficulties, you'll need to use the call-in option. The in-person attendance will take place at the Highways and Licensing Building, located at:

1125 Washington Street SE
Olympia, WA 98501
Map and directions

Submit your comments online

Commercial driver license eligibility

  • Driver licensing
    • Commercial Driver License (CDL)
Completed

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

May 6, 2025

Rule change adopted

Public hearing or comments

We proposed this rule change under an expedited process (RCW 34.05.353). This process eliminated 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

Driver training schools

  • All business and professional licensing
    • Driver training schools
In progress

Current rule(s)

We're changing the rules for driver training schools to align with the latest national standards. This means we’re updating what courses need to include and what instructors should know. We’re also getting rid of any old or unnecessary wording.

Current step

April 2, 2025

Rule change proposed

Public hearing or comments

We're holding a public hearing for this rulemaking activity on May 6, 2025 at 10 a.m.
Join the public hearing via Zoom
Meeting ID: 834 6566 8632
Passcode: 152465
Call in (audio only): +1 253 205 0468 (United States) or +1 253 215 8782 (United States - Tacoma)
One tap mobile +12532050468,,83465668632#,,, ,*152465# (United States) or +12532158782,,83465668632#,,, ,*152465# (United States - Tacoma)

If you have trouble accessing the virtual meeting, call us at 360-902-3486 to request help. If you'd like to request an interpreter or other accommodations, you can email us at rulescoordinator@dol.wa.gov. Please be sure to do this at least one week before the public hearing.

Note: We encourage hearing participants to attend in-person. If you attend virtually and have technical difficulties, you'll need to use the call-in option. The in-person attendance will take place at the Highways and Licensing Building, located at:

1125 Washington Street SE
Olympia, WA 98501
Map and directions

Submit comments online

Improving young driver safety

  • All business and professional licensing
    • Driver training schools
    • CDL training schools
    • Motorcycle training schools
Completed

Current rule(s)

We defined the process for training schools to submit required business information to the us. This rule applies to motorcycle safety, commercial driver license, and driver training schools. This is a requirement of SB 5583, which passed during the 2023 legislative session. We'll use this information to populate an interactive map on our website.

Professional and business licensing program fees

  • All business and professional licensing
Completed

Current rule(s)

Licensing, Department of (Title 308 WAC: Department of Licensing)

We plan to increase fees for some professional and business licenses to help pay for the programs that issue them.

Learn more about rulemaking

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.

See our semiannual rulemaking agenda

Our semiannual rulemaking agenda is the current list of rule changes that we're considering. We update it twice a year.

Comment on a rule

Email RulesCoordinator@dol.wa.gov to comment on a rule.

Request information in an alternative format

If you need audio files of public hearings in a different format, please email RulesCoordinator@dol.wa.gov.

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