King County licensing, recording, and animal services to remain online for now

Most of the restrictions implemented as the COVID-19 pandemic swept into King County and Washington State in early 2020 were lifted as of June 30. Gov. Jay Inslee recently unveiled the "Washington Ready" plan that will help the state reopen and get back on track after 15 months of shutdowns.

While the Washington Ready framework does allow government services to reopen to in-person customers, King County is in the midst of a project that will close the King County Administration Building in downtown Seattle and relocate the services that had been provided there prior to the pandemic. 

Until the project is finished later this year, services provided by the King County Records and Licensing Services (RALS) Division will continue online, by phone, and by mail or dropbox, depending on the service.

The RALS services that will remain virtual are:

• Marriage licensing
• Document recording
• Certified copies of recorded documents
• Real estate transaction recording
• Restrictive covenant modifications
• Vehicle/vessel and pet licensing services that were once provided at the Administration Building
• Licensing subagents, which are independent small businesses that contract with King County to provide vehicle and vessel licensing, will continue to set their own policies for in-person service
• For-hire driver licensing, including Transportation Network Company (TNC) permitting
• Process server registration

In addition, pet adoptions and other services at the King County Pet Adoption Center in Kent will remain on an appointment-only or will-call basis

For more information on how to obtain Recorder's Office services, please visit kingcounty.gov/recorder. 

For information about vehicle and vessel licensing, including the locations of licensing subagents, log on to kingcounty.gov/vehicle. 

To learn more about for-hire licensing and permitting, go to kingcounty.gov/ForHire. For animal services, see kingcounty.gov/pets.