(1) The department, county auditor or other agent, or subagent appointed by the director shall require a written odometer disclosure statement with every application for a certificate of title for a motor vehicle. The odometer disclosure statement must be on either the certificate of title or on a separate form approved by the department. A secure odometer disclosure statement is required if the certificate of title was issued after April 30, 1990. Odometer disclosure statements must include, at a minimum, the following:

(a) The miles shown on the odometer at the time of transfer of ownership, but not to include tenths of miles;

(b) The date of transfer of ownership;

(c) The transferor’s printed name, current address, and signature;

(d) The transferee’s printed name, current address, and signature;

(e) The identity of the motor vehicle, including its make, model, year, body type, and vehicle identification number;

(f) Information that the odometer statement is required by the federal truth in mileage act of 1986 and that failure to complete the odometer statement or providing false information may result in fines or imprisonment, or both; and

(g) One of the following statements:

(i) The mileage shown is actual to the best of transferor’s knowledge;

(ii) The odometer reading exceeds the mechanical limits of the odometer to the best of the transferor’s knowledge; or

(iii) The odometer reading is not the actual mileage.

If the odometer reading is under one hundred thousand miles, the only options that can be certified are “actual to the best of the transferor’s knowledge” or “not the actual mileage.” If the odometer reading is one hundred thousand miles or more, the options “actual to the best of the transferor’s knowledge” or “not the actual mileage” cannot be used unless the odometer has six digit capability.

(2) The transferee and the transferor shall each sign the odometer disclosure statement. Only one registered owner is required to complete the odometer disclosure statement for the transferee, and only one owner is required to complete the odometer disclosure statement for the transferor. When applicable, both the business name and a company representative’s name must be shown on the odometer disclosure statement when the registered owner is a business or the transferee represents a company, or both.

(3) The transferee shall return a signed copy of the odometer disclosure statement to the transferor at the time of transfer of ownership.

(4) The following vehicles are not subject to odometer disclosure requirements at the time of ownership transfer:

(a) A motor vehicle having a declared gross vehicle weight of more than sixteen thousand pounds;

(b) A vehicle that is not self-propelled;

(c) A motor vehicle that is ten years old or older;

(d) A motor vehicle sold directly by a manufacturer to a federal agency in conformity with contract specifications; or

(e) A new motor vehicle before its first retail sale.

(5) The requirements of this section also apply to the transfer of a motor vehicle held:

(a) For lease when transferred to a lessee and then to the lessor at the end of the leasehold; and

(b) In a fleet when transferred to a purchaser.

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, implementation—1990 c 238: See note following RCW 46.12.530.