It also regulates licensing for certain professions, including architects, cosmetologists, geologists, private investigators, real estate brokers, and security guards.

[18][19] The new DMV began operations on July 1, 1965, with 750 employees after absorbing 105 license examiners who previously worked for the State Patrol.

[17] It was organized into five bureaus (motor vehicles, driver services, administration, information systems, and professional licensing) and eleven divisions with approximately 100 locations across the state.

[20][21] The DMV was renamed to the Department of Licensing (DOL) on July 1, 1977, to reflect the agency's roles beyond regulation of vehicles and motorists;[22] the change was suggested by Rossalind Y. Woodhouse, who had been appointed in January to lead the department by Governor Dixy Lee Ray and was the first African American woman to hold a high state office in Washington.

Some of the agency's 62 offices were also renovated to replace aging rotary dial telephones, add upholstered seating, and install televisions that played music and videos of scenery.

[29] In June 2023, the DOL began issuing temporary license plates for new vehicles to replace the former paper permit system that had been in use.