Washington Car Dealer Forms

These are the Washington DOL forms a licensed dealer needs to buy, sell, and title vehicles in Washington. From the Washington title and registration application to the bill of sale, odometer disclosure, title reassignment, and temporary tag paperwork, each links to the official source where available. Download the current version straight from the Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL), Vehicle & Vessel Dealers and Manufacturers or the federal agency, never a copy that's gone stale.

Which Washington form goes with which deal

A form list on its own does not tell you what to grab on a Saturday afternoon. Here is the same set arranged by the deal in front of you.

Retail sale to a customer in state

Vehicle Certificate of Ownership (Title) Application (TD-420-001), Odometer Disclosure (federal, on the title/report of sale), the FTC Buyers Guide, and Vehicle/Vessel Bill of Sale (Form 420065). This is the stack behind almost every deal jacket you build.

Retail sale to an out-of-state buyer

Same paperwork, but the buyer titles in their home state, so the Washington title has to be assigned cleanly and the odometer reading has to match on every document. A correction later means a duplicate title and a delayed deal.

Wholesale to another licensed dealer

No Buyers Guide is required on a dealer-to-dealer sale, but the title assignment and odometer disclosure still are. Keep the invoice with the jacket, it is what proves the unit left your inventory.

Taking a trade-in

You need the customer's signed title assignment and odometer disclosure, plus a lien payoff quote in writing if the trade is financed. Take the trade in your books at actual cash value, not at the number you allowed on the deal.

Title is not in hand at signing

Vehicle/Vessel Power of Attorney (TD-420-050) covers the assignment and mileage disclosure until the title arrives. Track the promise: an unresolved title is the single most common reason a deal unwinds.

Customer pays more than $10,000 in cash

IRS Form 8300 is federal and applies in Washington like everywhere else. It covers cash and cash equivalents in one transaction or in related transactions, and it is due within 15 days.

Washington state forms

Federal forms (every state)

Temporary tags and dealer plates in Washington

Dealers issue dealer temporary license plates electronically through DOL's e-permits system at the point of sale (valid 60 days). Paper temporary permits have been invalid since September 1, 2023, so every licensee needs an e-permits account.

Where Washington dealer forms come from

Most dealers search for Washington DMV forms, and in Washington there is no DMV. The forms come from the Washington DOL. Same paperwork, different letterhead, which is worth knowing before you spend an afternoon on the wrong website.

• Washington DOL, Get Your Vehicle Dealer License ↗
• Washington DOL, Vehicle Dealer Fees ↗
• Washington DOL, Vehicle Dealer Forms ↗

Paperwork mistakes that cost dealers money

None of these are exotic. They are the four that turn up again and again in audits and in unwound deals.

1. Assuming an older car is odometer exempt. The federal rule changed for model year 2011 and newer: those vehicles carry a 20 year disclosure window, not 10. Dealers who learned the old rule skip disclosures they still owe.
2. A Buyers Guide that is not on the car. The Used Car Rule wants it displayed on the vehicle while it is offered for sale, not produced at signing. It also has to match what you actually agreed to sell, and the copy the buyer takes home governs over the contract if the two disagree.
3. A title assigned in the wrong hand. Reassignments are limited, the signature has to match the name printed on the title, and a correction fluid fix voids it. That is a duplicate title application and weeks of delay.
4. Paperwork that lives in a drawer. A form you filed but cannot find is a form you did not file, as far as an auditor is concerned. Store documents against the VIN, not in a filing cabinet by month.

Washington dealer forms FAQ