WA / Oregon ATV Reciprocity
Editors note: this post (and blog) is my personal opinion and does not necessarily represent that of WOHVA, WSTC, or any other organization I’m a part of.
The 2021 Legislative session brought HB1322, a bill that would end reciprocity with any state bordering Washington that doesn’t collect a sales tax. Basically, Oregon. The intent of the bill was to make it harder for WA residents to buy their ORVs down in Oregon, and then title and ‘register’ it in Oregon, thus avoiding WA sales tax. However, as this story will show, not only did that not happen, but it now makes it much harder for Oregonians to recreate legally in Washington, and requires all Washington residents to buy Oregon ATV permits.
Wasn’t it already illegal for WA residents to not have WA ORV permits?
Yes. The exemption from registration has always been clear that it only applies to out of state residents when recreating in WA. However, the ORV dealers (WSMDA) believe just being illegal wasn’t good enough. LEOs couldn’t enforce the law because Oregon ATV tabs were assumed to be an Oregon resident.
However, this thinking is flawed. Due to where ORV tabs are placed on vehicles, mud, etc, the only way LEOs can effectively enforce the law is by doing checkpoint registration stops. This usually occurs at trailheads. In those cases, they stop everyone, and verify their registration is correct.
If you were a WA resident on an Oregon ATV, you’d get a ticket because the license wouldn’t match the registration.
Additionally, DOL created a report on those who weren’t properly registering vehicles, and none of the recommendations included eliminating reciprocity. In-fact, despite WSMDA’s claim, to the contrary, out-of-state registrations have been going down since DOL started sending out letters to tax avoiders.
How do Oregonians recreate legally in Washington now?
Under the bill, out-of-state residents can only recreate legally by obtaining a WA ORV registration. While this permit is free, it requires you to physically visit a Washington DOL office (usually open M-F 9–5pm), fill out this form, bring your Oregon ATV permit, and Drivers License.
You cannot use a Discover pass in-lieu of registration. Off-road vehicles are exempt from needing a discover pass, whether they have a valid registration or not. Having a second discover pass but no valid registration would still land you a ticket on DNR land.
Can WA residents not Register or title in Oregon?
Washington Residents still can title their ORVs in Oregon and get an Oregon ATV permit. And if you don’t recreate on Washington Public Lands (DNR, USFS, WDFW), this bill changes absolutely nothing. If you do recreate on public lands, this bill still changes nothing because you weren’t legal in the first place.
Oregon ATV permit is NOT a registration or title.
ORS 803.03 exempts Class I, III, and IV ORVs from getting registration and makes getting a title optional. This means that the Oregon ATV permit operates under the same legal framework as the discover pass. More importantly: Its administered by Oregon State Parks (not DMV) and does not require proof of ownership.
Doesn’t that create a massive loophole for registration?
It certainly does. Washington residents can just get a friend in Oregon to put their name on the Oregon ATV permit and then go up to Vancouver and get a WA tab. Even better, if you own property (or a drivers license) in Oregon, you can now get a free Washington registration and appear 100% legal to an LEO in the field.
Who pushed this?
Contrary to many different comments on social media, this was not Democrats or Inslee’s doing. (He actually vetoed it in 2020) It was a bipartisan effort, pushed forward by… the ORV business community, and had little resistance by any of the ORV groups. WOHVA was the only group that publicly opposed the measure, and the business community used the same Lobbyist that NMA and WOHVA used in the past. Because of this, Northwest Motorcycle Association, Washington State Snowmobile Association, nor the Washington ATV Association did not oppose the measure, nor did Ted Jackson, or Tod Petersen, two major heavyweights when it comes to statewide ORV issues. While I pushed hard to oppose it from WOHVA, I’m not a lobbyist, and do not have the same clout. Basically I was told repeatedly: who cares about Oregon residents?
Lessons learned
This is a major blow to the ORV recreating community. Not only does it cost WA residents more to recreate in Oregon, but defaults Oregonians to illegal use in Washington state unless they jump through a bunch of hoops. Even worse, it barely impacts those who’re avoiding sales tax. Most likely most of these users don’t even use their ATVs on WA public land, which is why they avoided getting a WA ORV permit in the first place.
Tell the recreation caucus chair how this bill affects recreation for you, and to draft a bill removing the language now present in RCW 46.09.420(4)(b)
Andrew Barkis: andrew.barkis@leg.wa.gov
Cindy Ryu: cindy.ryu@leg.wa.gov
