Dealer & fleet information

All new internal combustion engine vehicles available for sale in Washington must meet LEV standards. So as long as you're purchasing from a dealer or manufacturer in Washington, 100% of your options will meet LEV standards.

This may not be the case for new combustion engine vehicles purchased out of state, unless that state has adopted the same LEV standards as Washington. However, new combustion engine vehicles that don't meet LEV standards can't be registered in Washington, even if they're purchased out of state.

Under medium- and heavy-duty LEV standards, manufacturers are allowed to sell some new engines and vehicles that have been certified to older standards, as long as they offset emissions in other ways. So smaller quantities of these “legacy” engines and vehicles will still be available for purchase and able to be registered.

We’ll provide further guidance on legacy sales and registration before these standards take effect in 2026.

Fleet owners and dealers will see more and more light-, medium-, and heavy-duty ZEVs available for purchase each year because manufacturers are required to increase ZEV sales as a percentage of new vehicle sales through 2035. 

100% of the new light-duty vehicles sold by manufacturers to dealers and fleets in Washington must meet ZEV standards in model year 2035 and beyond. 40-75% of the new medium- and heavy-duty vehicles sold by manufacturers to dealers and fleets in Washington must qualify as ZEVs or plug-in hybrids by model year 2035.

Visit our manufacturer page to learn more about the ZEV requirements.

While zero-emission standards require manufacturers to sell more new electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in Washington, low-emission standards require that all new internal combustion engine vehicles sold in our state produce less pollution.

For more information about how manufacturers must comply with the standards, visit our manufacturer webpage.

No. Current regulations don’t place purchasing requirements on dealers.

We've heard that some manufacturers are passing on their compliance obligation by imposing sales requirements on dealers. We don’t require or recommend this practice, and we’re working to educate the industry about the many compliance options available to them.

Instead of meeting ZEV sales requirements, manufacturers have the option to purchase credits from those who have exceeded the sales requirements. We've allowed manufacturers to generate credits for their ZEV sales since 2021 — about four years before ZEV standards started taking effect.

Credits can't be saved indefinitely. ZEV credits have limited lifetimes as follows: 

• Credits generated in the 2021, 2022, and 2023 model years expire at the end of the 2030 model year and are no longer available to be used to meet compliance for 2031 and later model years.
  • For example: ZEV credits generated during the 2022 model year can be used to meet compliance requirements until the end of the 2030 model year. They can't be used to meet 2031 model year compliance requirements.
• Credits generated in 2024 and subsequent model years can be used only for five model years after the model year in which they're generated.
  • For example: ZEV credits generated for the 2024 model year can be used to meet compliance requirements until the end of the 2029 model year. They can't be used to meet 2030 model year compliance requirements. 

Manufacturers that miss the sales requirement for a particular model year have a full year to make it up.

No. Current regulations don't place any purchasing requirements on fleets. Some fleets will adopt ZEVs before others in Washington state, depending on their business needs.

We encourage fleets to begin planning for ZEV adoption. Manufacturers are offering more models each year, and switching can yield significant cost savings. Planning early also gives you time to build out necessary charging infrastructure.

No. Current regulations require manufacturers to sell ZEVs in Washington, but they don't place any purchasing requirements on fleets. 

Advanced Clean Fleets is another regulation California has adopted to address medium- and heavy-duty vehicle emissions. The policy requires that certain fleets purchase only zero-emission vehicles and requires manufacturers to sell only zero-emission vehicles starting in model year 2036. 

California submitted a request for waiver authorization for Advanced Clean Fleets to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in November 2023. The EPA hasn’t issued a determination on this waiver yet. 

We’re monitoring the EPA’s waiver authorization progress. 

No. Advanced Clean Trucks isn't ramping up more quickly in Washington than it did in California. The ZEV requirements for each model year are the same in both states, as required by the federal Clean Air Act. 

In California, Advanced Clean Trucks took effect with model year 2024, which had a 5-9% ZEV sales/credit requirement. In Washington, Advanced Clean Trucks took effect with model year 2025, which has a 7-11% ZEV sales/credit requirement, matching the 2025 requirement in California.

Manufacturers selling in Washington have been able to generate and bank credits since 2021 without having to use them for compliance until model year 2025 — one more year of early-action credits than California.

Washington’s Transportation Electrification Strategy closely examined Washington’s trucking fleet to determine a feasible path toward electrification. They found that in many cases, total cost of ownership for a zero-emission truck is or will be lower than for a comparable internal combustion engine truck because of lower fuel costs and maintenance costs. This financial benefit is expected to grow over time as truck and refueling infrastructure costs decline. And for zero-emission vehicles that still have a higher total cost of ownership than their gas or diesel counterparts, zero-emission options are projected to reach cost parity in the early 2030s, depending on vehicle type.

To help with the upfront costs, the state has provided over $130 million in funding from the Climate Commitment Act to establish a program to help truck owners cover the costs of electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and charging infrastructure. The Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) expects to make these funds available in early 2025.

Additonally, to reduce diesel emissions, we provide grant funding to help fleet managers replace old engines, install exhaust retrofit equipment, reduce idling, and use cleaner fuels. And the federal government provides tax credits of up to $40,000 for commercial ZEVs, tax credits for charging infrastructure, and has provided other funding programs, such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus program.

Medium- and heavy-duty ZEV standards were designed around routes that return to base and can use depot charging. These standards are feasible even in the absence of public charging infrastructure. Washington remains committed to robust support of the trucking industry through the transition to clean vehicles.

Fleets still have the ability to choose which routes and payloads work best with ZEVs, but the state is continuing to invest in charging infrastructure to support the adoption of medium- and heavy-duty electric and hybrid vehicles.

The federal government recently announced awards under the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program for Washington, Oregon, and California to build an electric truck charging corridor along the entirety of I-5, and we’ve secured over $55 million in state and federal funding to electrify drayage trucks operating in and around ports.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will begin offering technical assistance to help fleets plan for medium- and heavy-duty ZEV adoption in early 2025.

We’ll share more information once WSDOT’s resources are available.

Manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that any new combustion engine vehicles being sold in Washington can be registered in our state. Manufacturers submit their vehicles to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for certification, and then CARB issues executive orders that allow the vehicle to be registered in all states that have adopted California’s low-emission vehicle standards, including Washington. 

The Department of Licensing (DOL) is responsible for administering laws relating to the licensing and regulation of vehicles and vehicle operators, dealers, and manufacturers. Any new vehicles sold by Washington dealers will have already been evaluated by manufacturers, dealers, and DOL and approved for sale and registration within the state. But it's the buyer's responsibility to make sure any vehicles bought from out-of-state dealers or by individuals is certified to California emission standards by reviewing the vehicle’s Vehicle Emissions Control Information (VECI) label in the engine compartment.

More information can be found on the emission requirement webpage. We'll continue to partner closely with DOL to support their work.   

Most light-duty zero-emission vehicles have a range between 150 and 400 miles. Many light-duty vehicles can reach 80% charge in 30 minutes or less, depending on the type of charger. 

When it comes to medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, driving range averages 150-300 miles, but some models meant for commercial purposes can go even further.  

There are more and more zero-emission models coming to market each year, ranging from small hatchbacks to luxury SUVs, and our standards are expected to drive even more innovation in this technology.  

There are currently about 85 electric vehicle models on the market — a massive increase from 2020, when there were only six! 

The upfront cost of a ZEV is currently higher than comparable gas- or diesel-powered vehicles. However, in many cases, ZEVs have a lower total cost of ownership. Those that don’t are expected to reach parity in the early 2030s, with exact timing varying by vehicle type.

The main driver of these total cost of ownership savings is the fact that electricity is cheaper than gasoline or diesel, and Washington has one of the largest gaps between electricity rates and fuel prices. Additionally, ZEVs tend to have lower maintenance costs. They don’t require oil changes, transmission fluid, spark plugs, air filters, or many other consumables found in combustion vehicles. Their brake pads usually last much longer because the vehicles capture and reuse as much as one-fifth of the energy normally lost during braking through “regenerative braking.”

The financial benefits of owning ZEVs are expected to continue to grow as purchase prices come down and charging infrastructure costs decline.

The California Air Resources Board has an extensive table that lists manufacturers (40 of them) with medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs (256 models) for sale in California, and this list applies to Washington state. 

• List of Certified ZEVs

Advanced Clean Trucks requirements were designed to be feasible even in the absence of public charging infrastructure; they were written with only depot charging in mind. However, Washington is committed to robust support of the trucking industry through the transition to clean vehicles.

Over $130 million in funding from the Climate Commitment Act is being provided to help truck owners cover the costs of electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, as well as charging infrastructure. Additional state support has been made available through the Clean Fuel Standard, state tax credits on commercial ZEVs and associated infrastructure, as well as Volkswagen Settlement grants, Clean Diesel grants, and the Zero-Emission School Bus grant program. 

We’re leveraging federal funding, too. Recently, the federal government announced awards under the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grant program for Washington, Oregon, and California to build an electric truck charging corridor along the entirety of I-5, and the state has secured over $55 million in state and federal funding to electrify drayage trucks operating in and around ports.

The federal government also provides tax credits on charging infrastructure and tax credits on commercial ZEVs valued at up to $40,000 per vehicle, in addition to funding available through other programs, like the EPA’s Clean School Bus program.

To find a charging station on the west coast, visit the West Coast Green Highway map. For charging stations around the nation, visit the Plug Share website.

Washington has several resources for customers who want to buy a ZEV and charging equipment:

• Investing in cleaner transportation webpage
• Reducing diesel emissions webpage
• Washington State Electric Vehicle Council webpage

Resources can also be found on FundHubWA.