Valley Vehicle Licensing

If give less stars if I could. This place is such a joke. Two out of the three times I’ve went in there I’ve waited an hour before being seen then was told they couldn’t help me. Don’t waste your time here. It’s worth the drive to go elsewhere.
The last time in I attempted to transfer the tittle of an old boat into my name. It was a 1958 14′ foot boat with no motor. Really, no value. The purchase it for $ 1.00 and the bill of sale reflected that. The lady on the other side of the counter wouldn’t help me because she said it if was a gift I would need a separate letter stating to was a gift and if I paid $ 1.00 I would need to pay fair market value on the boat. What is fair market value? I asked. She didn’t have a clue and said I had to take the boat to a dealer and get an value then get that notarized then bring that back in. Are you joking? I paid $ 1.00. What’s he sales tax on $ 1.00??? If you want me to pay tax on something I didn’t pay hen at least tell me how much! I waited an hour for that BS. I’ll make sure everybody I know stays away from this place. Rude staff.

There is nothing pleasant about King County tag registration and WA state propensity to add on bogus roadway congestion and processing fees to fund the $$$ revenue losing monster of light rail and mass transit.
I realize this is for an independent license shop, but the inconsistency between all of the satellite offices grinds my gears. Every few years they try to enforce a bogus tag reflector fee and force you to get new tags at a cost for a perfectly «functional?» plate. Each store also charges different convenience fees.
As for registration, each car is renewed on different dates depending upon purchase date. This is annoying to me because of three vehicles. I have to make three trips to this office every year instead of registering all three at once based on first letter of last name, which I think would be easier and reduce foot traffic.
Sorry, I don’t call them «tabs». Tabs are something you pull off a soda can. WA tries to run tag services out of store front retail spaces, so you can be assured of congested parking and sitting areas.
The best quality, is that you can submit the tag renewal online, then walk in and ring the doorbell and get almost immediate pickup and service. If you need titling services, expect a wait. They also do not accept cards but they will gladly accept CASH from their fee heavy ATM.

Nice little office that is kind of out of the way. I have never had any issues with service. I go early so I have never seen a line. I also have my online purchases sent here. Overall, I like it! I’ll probably use this location for years to come.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking — anything that has to do with licensing is going to 1) be a pain in the rear and 2) take most of your day.
I’d agree with that in this case, with one notable exception; these guys here in Covington really, REALLY want to do better. You can tell they are frustrated with the slow service unlike other places where I’ve been where you can clearly tell the folks aren’t performance-​paid.
That said — I visited here twice, one time for each car I had to register. And each time, they had three people taking clients. However, two of them were «in training» and could only do vehicle tabs. For the person that could do «title work» which could be renamed to «anything but tabs» it was a significant wait. And these aren’t two minute transactions either. Both times I visited I waited over an hour (the first time was closer to two hours.)
This place gets two stars because 1) they were apologetic about the wait and realize there’s something wrong and 2) they were incredibly friendly, which I consider a rarity given the obvious stress and reactions from most of their clients about the wait time.
More stars to be given once they get their folks out of «training.»