Wash. Rev. Code » Title 46 · Chapter 46.12
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 46.12.520 (2026)

Certificate required to operate and sell vehicle—Manufacturer or dealer testing—Security interest, how perfected

✓ current as of May 2026
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(1) A person shall not:
(a) Operate a vehicle in this state with a registration certificate issued by the department without having a certificate of title for the vehicle that contains the name of the registered owner exactly as it appears on the registration certificate; or
(b) Sell or transfer a vehicle without complying with the provisions of this chapter relating to certificates of title and vehicle registration.
(2) A certificate of title does not need to be obtained for a vehicle owned by a manufacturer or dealer and held for sale, even though incidentally moved on the highway or used for purposes of testing and demonstration, or for a vehicle used by a manufacturer or dealer solely for testing. A security interest in a vehicle held as inventory by a manufacturer or dealer must be perfected as described in chapter 62A.9A RCW. An endorsement is not required on certificates of title held by a manufacturer or dealer to perfect the security interest. A certificate of title may be issued for any vehicle without the vehicle needing to be registered.
[ 2010 c 161 s 301; 1997 c 241 s 3; 1979 c 158 s 132; 1975 c 25 s 6; 1967 c 140 s 1; 1967 c 32 s 6; 1961 c 12 s 46.12.010. Prior: 1937 c 188 s 2; RRS s 6312-2. Formerly RCW 46.12.010.]

Notes:

Effective date—Intent—Legislation to reconcile chapter 161, Laws of 2010 and other amendments made during the 2010 legislative session—2010 c 161: See notes following RCW 46.04.013.
Effective date—1967 c 140: "This act shall become effective at midnight on June 30, 1967. It applies to transactions entered into and events occurring after that date." [ 1967 c 140 s 11.]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1 case (1 in the last 5 years), 2025–2025 · leading case: Kenneth Wren, et ux. v. Stanford & Sons, LLC (Wash. Ct. App. 2025).
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Kenneth Wren, et ux. v. Stanford & Sons, LLC (Wash. Ct. App. 2025). “Under RCW 46.12.520(2), “[a] security interest in a vehicle held as inventory by a .”
Wash. Rev. Code § 46.12.520(2): 1 case
Kenneth Wren, et ux. v. Stanford & Sons, LLC (Wash. Ct. App. 2025). “Under RCW 46.12.520(2), “[a] security interest in a vehicle held as inventory by a .”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.