Saturday hours! Friendly service! No lines! Our experience at this place was nearly perfect, especially given that we were doing something as unfun as car registration. The whole thing took maybe 20 minutes. The downside? Not their fault, but we'd really thought we could also get our drivers' licenses here as well -- not so much. (The girl helping me suggested the DMV on 185th & Aurora). The only other problem is the lack of signage -- no signs outside that we could see. Oh well...at least my car is now legal, even if I'm not. ;) read more

I have been doing business with these people for years and highly recommend them. They are honest and actually help you! I love them so much I use them when I order my tabs online too. Even if I moved out of the area I would use Ballard Licensing. Thank you! read more

From our experiences at other licensing offices over the years we expected to spend a long time at the Ballard Licensing office and that we would have to explain ourselves several times. But we were extremely pleasantly surprised when we got there and the clerk was really nice, understood exactly what we needed, and did it in about 5 minutes. We're definitely going back there next time! But make sure to pay by check or cash and remember that they don't take your Visa card. The credit card system that the State of Washington has implemented there does not take Visa and they charge from $2 to 3% (depending on how much you are paying) to use the cards they do accept. read more

I love this office. Everyone is helpful and friendly and happy to work with you.

Out of all the auto licensing offices in the area. Ballard Licensing is number one in my book. We live in this got to have it right way type of society for instant results. Topped off by people being impatient especially when it comes to Seattle traffic. Well Ballard Licensing FAST TABS saves you time and money. Order your tabs and in most cases get them the very next day, This is why my brother's and our mother who is 78 order her tabs online using Ballard Licensing FAST TABS. I highly recommend you using it as well. And what makes Ballard Licensing even more special it's Owned and Operated Business by a fellow Veteran. read more

I went back today to get my permanent registration (they called and let me know it was ready) and had the pleasure of speaking with the owner, Fred Maxie. He is a kind and compassionate individual who clearly follows the business model of building success on sincere customer service. Every person I've interacted with has been great- Fred has clearly instilled these values in his entire staff. I have worked for Nordstrom for over a decade and this is one of the few businesses who exemplify the same passion for service. Thank you Fred, Sabrina and the team at Ballard Licensing for making a potentially miserable experience pleasant! read more

Excellent! I moved from MA to WA, it takes me only 30 minutes to get a new plate there. Open long time range on Saturday. Perfect place for people have jobs on weekdays. read more

First time in my life I am prompted to leave a negative review of any business. I am a 60 year old male and have used this agency all my adult life, to date without anything but praise until today. The agent (never used her in the past) I got discriminated against me in the way only a true bureaucrat can, causing me three unnecessary trips to this agency and finally to another in the area to resolve the issue. At issue initially was my use of primary residence other than that on my drivers license. I understand fully the issue and didn't have my tax statement at hand, so was turned away without any explanation of the rules surrounding primary residency, which was conspicuously posted at the other agency. In the past I have transferred title and registered using this other address after explanation with other agents at Ballard Licensing on multiple vehicles and trailers. The agent could have transferred the title for me this time using my drivers license address but made no offer to do so, and pointed out correctly I needed an emission test for registering in Seattle. Keep in mind there is a penalty assessed if one goes over the 10 day period allowed to transfer title in WA. I got the emission test and returned to Ballard willing to succumb and use the Seattle address just to get the 10 day period met. Got the same agent, who spent 10 seconds finding another technicality on sellers penmanship, sending me away again to get a form filled out by the seller clarifying their penmanship. The sellers reside in Brewster, a 3 hour drive from Seattle. They didn't respond to a phone call so I just went to the other closest agency who had no problem at all transferring the title and registering the car in Seattle . I don't know if this represents change in policy of Ballard Licensing or just one rotten apple. I was courteous at all times and was not willing to judge the agent until being turned away the second time. Now I will not use this agency in the future - bad experience for me and a substantial loss for them as I have many vehicles/ trailers requiring annual tabs and kids that need Dad to help with getting them started. I hope the owner reads these reviews and takes the appropriate action. read more

love love love Ballard Licensing! Fast, Friendly and Curteous! Will definitely use them again

most helpful speedy DOL i think I have ever been too. It's nice that it's right by my work as well, plenty of time to go down and take a quick lunch break and renew tabs. Still slightly annoyed they don;t take credit cards. read more

Great Service and Courteous, Knowledgeable Staff! No waiting time, Fast Service, and Lots of Convenient Parking.5 Star Quality All The Way!

The entire staff at Ballard Licensing is incredible. Out of all the licensing establishments I've been to in my 48 years I've never found an office to be as pleasant an experience as the Ballard location. They've been consistently professional, quick, courteous, and great at what they do. These guys all deserve raises! read more

To know Fred the owner of this licensing agency is to know why it gets raved reviews. A great guy with great white hair and beard always with a smile and something great to say. read more

Consider the lack of concern in Seattle in MOST businesses this one offers quick service and none of the bs you get from other companies. I have lived in Seattle for 5 long long years and find most people at local business very disconnected with regards to customer service not at this place. Every time I buy a car this is where I go and I dont live in Ballard nor am I affiliated with this business. These guy just take care of you period! read more

Friendly, fast, approachable. I live near Magnuson Park and I prefer to drive to Ballard to deal with this office.

Thanks DMV---for being open into the late hours on a sunny, Saturday afternoon. What would seemingly be a droll experience was created into light and pleasurable one by courteous employees who seem to actually like their jobs. Thanks to people like Fred---you rock! read more

Awesome fast friendly service! I love to use this place. Highly recommended!

They are always so fast with getting my tabs there. And also so very friendly. The owner let us in after they were closing because our tabs were expired, and he was very nice read more

I've never posted on yelp before. I literally created an account for the sole purpose of writing this review, which in summary, is for an experience that couldn't have been worse. If you need to register your car, do it somewhere else. read more

I ordered new tabs from this place a month ago and they never came. Called over the weekend to find out what to do, then called again today. It does not appear that they answer the phone or return calls. Drove down there and paid for parking only to find out they closed 4 hours early due to snow which has all melted by now. Super frustrated. If you close early, you should leave a recording on the voicemail! Still don't have my tabs! In person, I have had one really pleasant experience and one mediocre experience. read more

I moved here from California and had to change my registration. I showed up at 9:55 on a Saturday (the place opens at 10). The line looked a little long, but it took me about 15 minutes to get through the entire process. I had my new Washington state license (can't get your car registered without it) the title to my car, and a photo of the milage on my car ready for review. The lady helping me was very nice and had me out w/in 5 minutes of reaching her cube. Overall, it was a great experience and allowed me to get on with my day. read more

Ordered tabs 4 months ago - VISA was charged, state shows them paid for.... Ballard was the local PRIVATELY OWNED OFFICE responsible for sending them to me. They never arrived!!! Now they want me to come into their office and pay more money to get "replacements". HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

Easy access. Quick. Efficient. Friendly.

Very pleasant experience. Quick and courteous service. The process of registering my car and getting "tabs" took less than 10 minutes. On street parking. read more

Wow, this place totally wasted my time when they claim they do the opposite. I moved here from out of state and have a lien on my vehicle and called TWICE to make sure I had all of the documents that I needed since I would have to take time off of work to go to their office. I told the man on the phone what I had and he assured me that it was what I needed, saying "we make it really easy on you". So, I get there, and wait in line for an hour, only to find out that he was indeed wrong and that I did not have all of the papers that I needed. The woman who was helping me was new so she had to ask another woman for help. The other woman was completely dismissive of me and I left confused and obviously frustrated. I still don't completely understand what I need to get my vehicle registered and will have to take off more time to get this figured out. Their employees really need to be better informed. read more

Honestly, I was expecting the worst. As I usually do when I have to deal with anything car related AND licensing related. I had my boyfriend drop me off and look for lunch while I walked in searching for the number queue just HOPING it wasn't going to be 30 minutes...but oh my god. I probably looked so confused when I walked in because there was no number queue in sight and no line at ALL. I got to the counter and started pulling out all these papers, thinking that there's going to be some catch, like I don't have the right form, signature WHATEVER. But nope! Had exactly what I needed to switch the title and I was in the door out the door in under 5 minutes. Either the car gods were with me that day or this place just seriously has it figured out. bonus that the lady was nice, polite and friendly, too. Even bigger bonus is that I didn't have to waste my whole lunch break waiting in line and actually got to sit down and feel like a boss after how quickly it all went. read more

This office did not get me my title. I have been into the office a number of times. Now that I am out of state, my only option is a returned phone call (since they never pick up the phone during business hours or otherwise). I have left numerous messages and never had a return phone call. They took my money and my paperwork, and gave me nothing but wasted time, again and again. read more

I tried to renew my tabs here, got told how much it would cost (twice what was written on the notice I got in the mail). He said it was a "computer glitch" and it didn't tell me the right price, that the extra $80 was for a transit tax introduced last year. I went home and did it online, guess what? No added tax. So basically this location just tried to rip me off $80, bad business tactics wow. Glad I saw the review saying they like to add made up fees, otherwise I wouldn't have questioned it. read more

I rently renewed my Car tabs on-line though Ballard Auto Licensing. I used their FastCarTabs.com website and chose Ballard Auto Licensing as the location. I ordered the tabs while at work around 2:00pm on Monday and to my suprise, I received the tabs in my mailbox at home in Federal Way, Washington on Tuesday the very next day! How great is that! No waiting in line. No parking fess and no travel time or extra gas to get there. This is an Awesome service and I would recommend Ballard Auto Licensing to everyone! And they are open on Saturdays!! read more

Very nice, helpful people and speedy service. You can register tabs online and pick them up like 5 minutes later at the counter. I thought it would take much longer but the online pickup had no line at all. read more

The front shows a sign saying "Ballard Licensing" but the only stores with the sign below is a cafe shop and another store besides it. Yet did i realize it was upstairs! I think they need to have better signs. This place was tiny, but what licensing place isnt? I was surprised to see more than 2 people at the counter, there were 4 people! So i can see why all the reviews say they had quick service. You didn't have to grab a number either, but there were about 4 chairs to sit in, and the line would go out the door. This place was clean and I think it's one of the lively licensing places i've been to, but they don't have their own parking lot, and the fact that it was upstairs and there was no sign indicating it was upstairs made me a little upset. Other than that, the lady that helped me transfer a title wrote the address wrong and still wanted me to sign it after she hand wrote the changes, i told her i'd sign it if you printed out a new title with the changes. She didn't give me a hard time, but she should know signing over a license is a big deal and I couldn't just sign off of something she hand wrote on the actual title. I came for what i needed and I got it, nothing more to it. If i lived closer id probably consider going here if i needed to, just sucks they dont have their own lot. read more

Wow, these absolute morons sent my tabs to the wrong address not once but twice, even though my new address has been updated. After they lost my tabs, Of course I got a ticket for $140 for not having my updated tabs on my vehicle. After calling a fourth time to check on my tabs, they told me I have to come back and get a replacement for them, and that'll cost another $10 so my total for tabs this year has been over $300, thanks for being jerks. read more

This business is one of the few genuinely nice places to go when interacting with the vehicle licensing system. The customer service is unlike any other licensing agent I've ever encountered, and is more like going to Nordstrom's than going to the Washington State Department of Licensing. They are incredibly knowledgeable and actually organized well enough to make car licensing visits quick and easy - something I've not experienced anywhere else. read more

I can't believe I'm going to say this but going to get my car tags was the most pleasant experience I've had in a long time. Sabrina was so nice and totally took away all of the anxiety I've learned to have when going to the DMV. Support this local family run business please!! read more

Veda needs to be cloned! She is the most knowledgeable person I have ever encountered at a DMV. She needs a raise!

Best people here, super patient and helpful and the lines move fast! Never spent more than 10 minutes here ever!

The line went by fast and the gentleman was nice. However, he did not give me the renewed tabs. I called and the lady was extremely rude. She said I should've received it when I paid for them at the counter. She said if I didn't get it I needed to go back in and order a replacement and pay the replacement fee. She didn't even verify my information. It frustrates me that I have to pay a fee when the clerk made a mistake and didn't give me the tabs. Beware and make sure you've received everything before you leaving the counter. read more

New Washington plates in under 10 minutes--amazing! I arrived at Ballard Licensing at 1:00 PM on a Saturday. The line was out the door but moved quickly. By 1:12 PM I had registered my out of state vehicle and received new plates. Everyone was Extremely helpful and friendly, very efficient and knowledgeable. read more

I bought a Truck from a Dealer a couple months ago, paid cash and had all paper work but no Title, had not come in the mail yet. I went into Ballard Licensing because my License Plates had not arrived yet. I explained that my plates had not come, Paper was expired and I want to purchase plates. They told me they could not sell me plates because the Car Dealers make the License Plates. I informed the person that the State provides the License Plates and I could purchase new ones, just like if I lost them off my truck, I can buy new ones. She said I had to go to the Dealer because they make the plates. I called the Dealer and he said come by the Dealership and he would check to see if they were returned to him, they were not (the dealer is in Woodinville and this was Friday afternoon). He said go to the nearest License Store and get from them. I drove into Bothell License and 5 minutes later had new License Plates, cost $32, I had no problem with that. I asked them why they could sell me License Plates and Ballard could not (maybe a Seattle thing) he said Ballard could have sold me plates. So, because Ballard License did not want to deal with it, a 5 minute process took a whole Friday afternoon. Being new to Seattle I am quickly learning business is done a little different in Seattle than the part of the State I am from. I will never be back to Ballard License! read more

I've registered two vehicles here in the past twelve months. I honestly don't know why I came back a second time, but I really wish I hadn't. The lady helping me barely knew how to use a computer and retained critically important documents that I needed. When called to ask if they could fax the documents back to me, no body answered. TEN phone calls later on the next day, someone finally picked up and told me their fax machine was broken. I will never go back. read more