The bill amends existing Washington statutes RCW 46.12.650 and RCW 46.55.105 to change procedures and responsibilities for vehicle title transfers, reports of sale, and liability for abandoned vehicles. It requires owners who release an interest in a vehicle to sign the release on the certificate of title or a department-approved form, give the certificate or most recent evidence of ownership to the person gaining interest, provide an odometer disclosure if required, and file a written report of sale with the department, county auditor, or other agent/subagent within five business days. Persons who acquire a vehicle must apply for a new certificate of title within 15 days of delivery. Vehicle dealers must file reports of sale on behalf of owners who trade in or sell to the dealer and collect and remit statutory fees. Secured parties holding certificates have specified duties to apply for title or provide documents to owners unless the transfer breaches the security agreement. The department must provide approved forms, an electronic submission system, immediately update vehicle records when a report is filed, provide instructions for concurrent releases with financial institutions, and send quarterly reports to the department of revenue listing reports of sale that have no transfer of ownership. The amendments clarify penalties and liability allocation for late transfers and abandoned vehicles. A late application for title after 15 calendar days is subject to the penalty in RCW 46.17.140; failing to apply within 45 days is a misdemeanor treated as a continuing offense for each day after the 45-day period, subject to listed exceptions (department document requests or failures, illness, unreleased legal owner, owner affidavit about prior report, or other department findings). RCW 46.55.105 creates a prima facie presumption that the last registered owner is responsible for removal, storage, and disposal costs of abandoned vehicles (less auction proceeds) and makes removal of an unauthorized vehicle a traffic infraction ("littering—abandoned vehicle") unless the vehicle is redeemed or certain reports were properly filed. Properly filed reports of sale can relieve the last registered owner of liability under specified conditions, but liability rules depend on whether a reported buyer knew of or accepted the transfer and on the timing of the report relative to impoundment. Licensed dealers have specified exceptions if they comply with other statutory requirements. The section also authorizes civil suits by persons wrongly named in reports of sale or falsely alleging non-acceptance to recover towing/storage/auction costs, other damages, and attorneys’ fees, and it specifies venues for filing notices of infraction. These are amendments to existing law that implement procedural changes (forms, timelines, electronic filing, record updates), allocate civil and infraction liability for abandoned vehicles, impose or clarify penalties for late title application, and create or clarify civil remedies for persons harmed by improper reports of sale. The extracted text does not include definitions of "vehicle dealer" or "financial institution," the identity of "the department," the specific fee and penalty amounts referenced in other RCWs, the content of several cross-referenced sections, or an effective date or bill status.

If enacted, people who sell, gift, trade, donate, or otherwise transfer a vehicle will need to sign the title or a department form, hand the buyer the title or other proof of ownership, and notify the vehicle agency or county office in writing within five business days. Buyers will need to apply for a new title within 15 days of receiving a vehicle or face late fees and, after 45 days, potential criminal charges; dealers who take trade‑ins must file reports and collect fees from owners. The vehicle agency must immediately update records when a sale report is filed and send quarterly lists to the revenue department of vehicles where a sale was reported but no ownership transfer shows up, which will shift more administrative work to the agency and county offices. The practical effect on liability is that a timely, properly filed report of sale can shift responsibility for towing, storage, and disposal costs away from the last registered owner, but sellers remain at risk if the reported buyer did not know about or accept the transfer. Dealers who follow their selling and reporting rules can avoid being held liable; people wrongly named as buyers or sellers can sue for costs and attorneys’ fees. Important details that affect how this works in practice—exact fee amounts, certain legal definitions (for example who counts as the “department,” “vehicle dealer,” or “financial institution”), related procedures, and the bill’s effective date—are not included in the facts provided.