News and updates: Vehicle transport and disposal

Get the latest news about vehicle transport and disposal.

Important Closure Information 

January 16, 2025

We're upgrading our driver and vehicle licensing system in February. This requires us to temporarily close offices and online services for several days (see specific services and closure dates below). We'll complete this project on February 18th, 2025. The modernization enhances customer service, increases security features, and better supports mobile devices. It also improves services for residents, state and federal agency business partners, and the state’s transportation system.

Service Closure
Web requests February 10 through February 17 unavailable
DOL customer contact center February 14 through February 17 closed
Drivers and vehicles e-services
(including e-permitting)
February 13 at 7 p.m. through February 17 closed
Driver and vehicle licensing offices February 14 through February 17 closed
Vehicle licensing offices (county auditors and vehicle licensing subagents), and vehicle and vessel dealers February 14 through February 17 unavailable

How will this affect your business? 

You can't access your e-permitting account and request temporary license plates starting at 7:00pm on February 13th – February 17th. Additionally, vehicle licensing offices will be closed and unable to process transactions from February 14th – February 17th. We developed a mitigation plan to keep business interruptions to a minimum. These plans are included on the next page. 

All services will resume, and offices will reopen at normal operating times on Tuesday, February 18th, 2025. 

We appreciate your patience as we make these system improvements.  

Printing unassigned temporary license plates

The e-permitting system allows you to print up to 200 temporary plates starting Monday February 10th, 2025, until February 13th, 2025, at 4:00 pm. We encourage you to review your past sales history to determine how many plates you may need while our system is down from 7:00 pm. February 13th - February 17th.  

**It’s important to start printing temporary plates as soon as possible on Monday February 10th, 2025 to allow enough time to complete printing by 4:00 pm on Thursday February 13th, 2025. 

**We won't reimburse you for unassigned temporary plates that are not used. However, you can use your stock of unassigned temporary license plates after February 17th if you attach the plate information to a vehicle record upon the sale or lease of a vehicle and the system coming back online. 

Entering transactions

Once services become available on February 18th, 2025, Dealerships are required to enter all sale/lease transactions that took place between February 13th, 2025, and February 17th, 2025 upon the system coming back online.  

Unused temporary plates

We won't reimburse you for unused unassigned temporary license plates. The system won't allow you to print additional temporary license plates until all purchased/leased unassigned plates have been attached to a vehicle record. If there are unassigned temporary plates you will see a negative amount available for printing in the system until those plates are attached to a vehicle record.  

E-Permitting or DRIVES Help

Please contact DRIVESHELP@dol.wa.gov if you experience problems accessing your e-permitting account or printing unassigned temporary permits. See E-Permits for more information.


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