Wash. Rev. Code » Title 46 · Chapter 46.20
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 46.20.015 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
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(1) Except as expressly exempted by this chapter, it is a traffic infraction and not a misdemeanor under RCW 46.20.005 if a person:
(a) Drives any motor vehicle upon a highway in this state without a valid driver's license issued to Washington residents under this chapter in his or her possession;
(b) Provides the citing officer with an expired driver's license or other valid identifying documentation under RCW 46.20.035 at the time of the stop; and
(c) Is not driving while suspended or revoked in violation of RCW 46.20.342(1) or * 46.20.420.
(2) A person who violates this section is subject to a penalty of two hundred fifty dollars. If the person appears in person before the court or submits by mail written proof that he or she obtained a valid license after being cited, the court shall reduce the penalty to fifty dollars.
[ 1999 c 6 s 4; 1997 c 66 s 2.]

Notes:

*Reviser's note: RCW 46.20.420 was recodified as RCW 46.20.345, June 1999.
Intent—1999 c 6: See note following RCW 46.04.168.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases, 2009–2017 · leading case: In Re Martin, 223 P.3d 1221 (Wash. Ct. App. 2009).
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In Re Martin, 223 P.3d 1221 (Wash. Ct. App. 2009). “005, to drive without a valid driver's license if the driver presents the officer with an expired license, or other valid identification, and the driver is not driving with a suspended or revoked license.”
Martin v. Crim. Just. Training Comm'n, 154 Wash. App. 252 (Wash. Ct. App. 2009). “005, to drive without a valid driver’s license if the driver presents the officer with an expired license, or other valid identification, and the driver is not driving with a suspended or revoked license.”
State Of Washington, V April Jeanell Hancock, 360 P.3d 992 (Wash. Ct. App. 2015). “005), and a separate traffic infraction section (former RCW 46.20.015 (1997)). The new criminal DWOL section retained the language requiring the defendant to drive “upon a highway in this state,” and it retained the language “A violation of this section is a lesser included…”
William H. Morgan v. Dep't Of Labor & Indus. (Wash. Ct. App. 2017). “Sulgrove eventually pleaded guilty to driving without a valid operator’s license, RCW 46.20.015(1)(b). The remaining infractions were suspended, mitigated, or dismissed.”
Lorena Rodriguez Villareal, s/k/a Lorena Rodriguez-Villareal v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2013). “§ 39:3-40 (2013); Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 46.20.015 (2013), or include the terms “parking lot” or “parking area” as prohibited places to drive while license suspended, Me.”
— Wash. Rev. Code § 46.20.015(1)(b) — 1 case
William H. Morgan v. Dep't Of Labor & Indus. (Wash. Ct. App. 2017). “Sulgrove eventually pleaded guilty to driving without a valid operator’s license, RCW 46.20.015(1)(b). The remaining infractions were suspended, mitigated, or dismissed.”
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