RCW 46.16.010

(1) It is unlawful for a person to operate any vehicle over and along a public highway of this state without first having obtained and having in full force and effect a current and proper vehicle license and display vehicle license number plates as provided by this chapter.

     (2) Failure to make initial registration before operation on the highways of this state is a traffic infraction, and any person committing this infraction must pay a fine of five hundred twenty-nine dollars, subject to applicable assessments, no part of which may be suspended or deferred. This fine is in addition to any delinquent taxes and fees that must be deposited and distributed in the same manner as if the taxes and fees were properly paid in a timely fashion. The five hundred twenty-nine dollar fine must be deposited into the vehicle licensing fraud account created in the state treasury in RCW 46.68.250.

     (3) Failure to renew an expired registration before operation on the highways of this state is a traffic infraction.

     (4) The licensing of a vehicle in another state by a resident of this state, as defined in RCW 46.16.028, evading the payment of any tax or license fee imposed in connection with registration, is a gross misdemeanor punishable, in lieu of the fine in subsection (2) of this section, as follows:

     (a) For a first offense:

     (i) Up to one year in the county jail;

     (ii) Payment of a fine of five hundred twenty-nine dollars plus any applicable assessments, no part of which may be suspended or deferred. The fine of five hundred twenty-nine dollars must be deposited into the vehicle licensing fraud account created in the state treasury in RCW 46.68.250;

     (iii) A fine of one thousand dollars to be deposited into the vehicle licensing fraud account created in the state treasury in RCW 46.68.250, no part of which may be suspended or deferred; and

     (iv) The delinquent taxes and fees, which must be deposited and distributed in the same manner as if the taxes and fees were properly paid in a timely fashion, no part of which may be suspended or deferred;

     (b) For a second or subsequent offense:

     (i) Up to one year in the county jail;

     (ii) Payment of a fine of five hundred twenty-nine dollars plus any applicable assessments, no part of which may be suspended or deferred. The fine of five hundred twenty-nine dollars must be deposited into the vehicle licensing fraud account created in the state treasury in RCW 46.68.250;

     (iii) A fine of five thousand dollars to be deposited into the vehicle licensing fraud account created in the state treasury in RCW 46.68.250, no part of which may be suspended or deferred; and

     (iv) The amount of delinquent taxes and fees, which must be deposited and distributed in the same manner as if the taxes and fees were properly paid in a timely fashion, no part of which may be suspended or deferred.

     (5) These provisions do not apply to the following vehicles:

     (a) Motorized foot scooters;

     (b) Electric-assisted bicycles;

     (c) Off-road vehicles operating on nonhighway roads under *RCW 46.09.115;

     (d) Farm vehicles if operated within a radius of fifteen miles of the farm where principally used or garaged, farm tractors and farm implements including trailers designed as cook or bunk houses used exclusively for animal herding temporarily operating or drawn upon the public highways, and trailers used exclusively to transport farm implements from one farm to another during the daylight hours or at night when such equipment has lights that comply with the law;

     (e) Spray or fertilizer applicator rigs designed and used exclusively for spraying or fertilization in the conduct of agricultural operations and not primarily for the purpose of transportation, and nurse rigs or equipment auxiliary to the use of and designed or modified for the fueling, repairing, or loading of spray and fertilizer applicator rigs and not used, designed, or modified primarily for the purpose of transportation;

     (f) Fork lifts operated during daylight hours on public highways adjacent to and within five hundred feet of the warehouses which they serve. However, these provisions do not apply to vehicles used by the state parks and recreation commission exclusively for park maintenance and operations upon public highways within state parks;

     (g) "Trams" used for transporting persons to and from facilities related to the horse racing industry as regulated in chapter 67.16 RCW, as long as the public right-of-way routes over which the trams operate are not more than one mile from end to end, the public rights-of-way over which the tram operates have an average daily traffic of not more than 15,000 vehicles per day, and the activity is in conformity with federal law. The operator must be a licensed driver and at least eighteen years old. For the purposes of this section, "tram" also means a vehicle, or combination of vehicles linked together with a single mode of propulsion, used to transport persons from one location to another;

     (h)(i) "Special highway construction equipment" defined as follows: Any vehicle which is designed and used primarily for grading of highways, paving of highways, earth moving, and other construction work on highways and which is not designed or used primarily for the transportation of persons or property on a public highway and which is only incidentally operated or moved over the highway. It includes, but is not limited to, road construction and maintenance machinery so designed and used such as portable air compressors, air drills, asphalt spreaders, bituminous mixers, bucket loaders, track laying tractors, ditchers, leveling graders, finishing machines, motor graders, paving mixers, road rollers, scarifiers, earth moving scrapers and carryalls, lighting plants, welders, pumps, power shovels and draglines, self-propelled and tractor-drawn earth moving equipment and machinery, including dump trucks and tractor-dump trailer combinations which:

     (A) Are in excess of the legal width; or

     (B) Because of their length, height, or unladen weight, may not be moved on a public highway without the permit specified in RCW 46.44.090 and which are not operated laden except within the boundaries of the project limits as defined by the contract, and other similar types of construction equipment; or

     (C) Are driven or moved upon a public highway only for the purpose of crossing such highway from one property to another, provided such movement does not exceed five hundred feet and the vehicle is equipped with wheels or pads which will not damage the roadway surface.

     (ii) "Special highway construction equipment" does not include dump trucks originally designed to comply with the legal size and weight provisions of this code notwithstanding any subsequent modification which would require a permit, as specified in RCW 46.44.090, to operate such vehicles on a public highway, including trailers, truck-mounted transit mixers, cranes and shovels, or other vehicles designed for the transportation of persons or property to which machinery has been attached; and

     (i) Golf carts, as defined in RCW 46.04.1945, operating within a designated golf cart zone as described in RCW 46.08.175.

     (6) The following vehicles, whether operated solo or in combination, are exempt from license registration and displaying license plates as required by this chapter:

     (a) A converter gear used to convert a semitrailer into a trailer or a two-axle truck or tractor into a three or more axle truck or tractor or used in any other manner to increase the number of axles of a vehicle. Converter gear includes an auxiliary axle, booster axle, dolly, and jeep axle.

     (b) A tow dolly that is used for towing a motor vehicle behind another motor vehicle. The front or rear wheels of the towed vehicle are secured to and rest on the tow dolly that is attached to the towing vehicle by a tow bar.

     (c) An off-road vehicle operated on a street, road, or highway as authorized under **RCW 46.09.180.

     (7)(a) A motor vehicle subject to initial or renewal registration under this section shall not be registered to a natural person unless the person at time of application:

     (i) Presents an unexpired Washington state driver's license; or

     (ii) Certifies that he or she is:

     (A) A Washington resident who does not operate a motor vehicle on public roads; or

     (B) Exempt from the requirement to obtain a Washington state driver's license under RCW 46.20.025.

     (b) For shared or joint ownership, the department will set up procedures to verify that all owners meet the requirements of this subsection.

     (c) A person falsifying residency is guilty of a gross misdemeanor punishable only by a fine of five hundred twenty-nine dollars.

     (d) The department may adopt rules necessary to implement this subsection, including rules under which a natural person applying for registration may be exempt from the requirements of this subsection where the person provides evidence satisfactory to the department that he or she has a valid and compelling reason for not being able to meet the requirements of this subsection.

     (8) A vehicle with an expired registration of more than forty-five days parked on a public street may be impounded by a police officer under RCW 46.55.113(2).

[2010 c 270 § 1; 2010 c 217 § 5; 2007 c 242 § 2; 2006 c 212 § 1. Prior: 2005 c 350 § 1; 2005 c 323 § 2; 2005 c 213 § 6; prior: 2003 c 353 § 8; 2003 c 53 § 238; 2000 c 229 § 1; 1999 c 277 § 4; prior: 1997 c 328 § 2; 1997 c 241 § 13; 1996 c 184 § 1; 1993 c 238 § 1; 1991 c 163 § 1; 1989 c 192 § 2; 1986 c 186 § 1; 1977 ex.s. c 148 § 1; 1973 1st ex.s. c 17 § 2; 1972 ex.s. c 5 § 2; 1969 c 27 § 3; 1967 c 202 § 2; 1963 ex.s. c 3 § 51; 1961 ex.s. c 21 § 32; 1961 c 12 §46.16.010 ; prior: 1955 c 265 § 1; 1947 c 33 § 1; 1937 c 188 § 15; Rem. Supp. 1947 § 6312-15; 1929 c 99 § 5; RRS § 6324.]

NOTES:

Rules of court:  Monetary penalty schedule -- IRLJ 6.2.

     Reviser's note: *(1) RCW 46.09.115 was recodified as RCW 46.09.450 pursuant to 2010 c 161 § 1204, effective July 1, 2011.

     **(2) RCW 46.09.180 was recodified as RCW 46.09.360 pursuant to 2010 c 161 § 1202, effective July 1, 2011.

     (3) This section was amended by 2010 c 217 § 5 and by 2010 c 270 § 1, each without reference to the other. Both amendments are incorporated in the publication of this section under RCW 1.12.025(2). For rule of construction, see RCW 1.12.025(1).

     Effective date -- 2010 c 270: "This act takes effect July 1, 2010." [2010 c 270 § 3.]

     Effective date -- 2005 c 350: "This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately [May 9, 2005]." [2005 c 350 § 2.]

     Declaration and intent--2005 c 323: "When a person establishes residency in this state, unless otherwise exempt by statute, the person must register any vehicles to be operated on public highways, and pay all required licensing fees and taxes. Washington residents must renew vehicle registrations annually as well. The intent of this act is to increase the monetary penalties associated with failure to properly register vehicles in the state of Washington." [2005 c 323 § 1.]

     Effective date -- 2005 c 323: "This act takes effect August 1, 2005." [2005 c 323 § 4.]

     Application -- 2005 c 323: "This act applies to registrations due or to become due on or after January 1, 2006." [2005 c 323 § 5.]

     Findings--Construction--Effective date -- 2005 c 213: See notes following RCW 46.09.010.

     Effective date -- 2003 c 353: See note following RCW 46.04.320.

     Intent -- Effective date -- 2003 c 53: See notes following RCW 2.48.180.

     Effective date -- 2000 c 229: "This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately [March 30, 2000]." [2000 c 229 § 9.]

     Effective date -- 1996 c 184 §§ 1-6: "Sections 1 through 6 of this act take effect January 1, 1997." [1996 c 184 § 8.]

     Legislative intent -- 1989 c 192: "The legislature recognizes that there are residents of this state who intentionally register motor vehicles in other states to evade payment of taxes and fees required by the laws of this state. This results in a substantial loss of revenue to the state. It is the intent of the legislature to impose a stronger criminal penalty upon those residents who defraud the state, thereby enhancing compliance with the registration laws of this state and further enhancing enforcement and collection efforts.

     In order to encourage voluntary compliance with the registration laws of this state, administrative penalties associated with failing to register a motor vehicle are waived until September 1, 1989. It is not the intent of the legislature to waive traffic infraction or criminal traffic violations imposed prior to July 23, 1989." [1989 c 192 § 1.]

     Effective date -- 1989 c 192 § 2: "Section 2 of this act shall take effect September 1, 1989." [1989 c 192 § 3.]