Brief Description: Regarding physical examination requirements for certificate of ownership applications.

Sponsors: By Representatives Takko and Armstrong; by request of Washington State Patrol.

House Committee on Transportation
Senate Committee on Transportation

Background:

The Washington State Patrol (WSP) performs Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) inspections in Washington. The WSP is required to perform inspections on the following types of vehicles prior to the Department of Licensing (DOL) issuing a title: rebuilt vehicles after being destroyed or declared a total loss by an insurance company. The WSP also performs physical inspections on vehicles reported stolen, homemade vehicles, or other vehicles without a proper VIN, when there is a VIN discrepancy, when there is a recorded dispute, when ownership is in doubt, or in other special cases. The fee for a rebuilt vehicle or an assembled vehicle is $50.

Upon the destruction of any vehicle that was issued a title or a license registration, the registered owner and the legal owner will surrender the certificate to the DOL, together with a statement for the reason for the surrender and the date and place of the loss. The registered/legal owner of the vehicle at the time of the loss may keep the vehicle and have the vehicle rebuilt. The WSP will perform an inspection of the salvage rebuilt vehicle prior to the re-issuance of a Washington title in order to verify that the VIN is genuine and that the parts used to repair the vehicle are not stolen.

In 2006 the WSP performed 11,731 owner-retained inspections, which account for approximately 25 percent of the VIN inspections.

Summary:

The owner of a vehicle that has been rebuilt after being declared a total loss is not required to present the vehicle for physical inspection prior to title re-issuance if the person retained ownership after the vehicle was declared a total loss. The Washington State Patrol's physical vehicle inspection fee is raised from $50 to $65. The additional $15 will be deposited into the State Patrol Highway Account. It is clarified that as long as the Washington State Patrol has a backlog of vehicles to inspect, nothing in the act will be construed to reduce the agency's VIN inspection workload.

Votes on Final Passage:

House   97   0
Senate   45   2   (Senate amended)
House   62   36   (House concurred)

Effective: July 22, 2007