NORPASS: How and where to get one and what to do once you have it

For many of you drivers that go through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, South Dakota, NORPASS is a must have since prepass doesn't work in those states. Oh your prepass will show a red light when you go through any weigh station that has transponder system there, but that is all you'll get.

I know you can go to the NORPASS website, www.norpass.com , print the application, mail it in and wait a few weeks to get. I wasn't in the mood to wait that long and found that you can actually go pick up the NORPASS from the WSDOT's main office in Tummwater, WA. The catch is, you can't park at the office because it's housed in the Washington State's Corrections Building.

What I want to post here is where you can park, the address of the location and what you need to do once you get it the NORPASS.

So the address is 7345 Linderson Way SW, Tumwater, WA 98501. You will take exit 101 of I-5 and head east. The first stop light you come to you'll have Linderson Way SW on your left and Center ST SW on your right. Keep driving forward through that intersection until you get to the first roundabout. Enter the roundabout and take the first right onto New Market St SW. You'll drive about a block down New Market St SW and then make a right onto 76th Ave SW. You'll see a stop sign about a block down the road. You can park on the shoulder just before the stop sign. This was the only place I found to park a tractor and trailer.

Once you are parked you'll need to walk to the WSDOT office. Before you get out of your truck, make sure you take your permit book, cab card and cash ($35 as of this post) with you. Get out of your truck and head north (make a right) onto Center ST SW and WALK up to the stop light. Cross the street so that you are on the left side of the road. You should see a large parking lot on your left and building up ahead.

The entrance you want to use is on Linderson Way SW. Walk along the front of the building that is on Linderson Way, the building steps back and there will be entrance there. When you walk through the glass doors into the building, look to your left, you will see a glass door. That is the door to the WSDOT office. They are open monday to friday and are closed for 1 hour during lunch so just plan accordingly.

Once you get your transponder from them, it will take 24 hours before it's active in the WA, ID, SD, and MT system. You'll need to send an email with a copy of your cab card and the transponder number to OR's ODOT. The email address is GR-MCTDTRANSPONDER@odot.state.or.us . ODOT will send you an email letting you know once your transponder will be active in the system, for me it was less than 12 hours from when I sent the email. ODOT responds back very quickly and they had my transponder working faster than WA did.

There is no monthly fee at all with NORPASS, just the one time $35 (as of this post) fee for the transponder. You can use your NORPASS transponder on the PrePass system, EZ Pass system, NC Pass, and BestPass. Just set up your transponder number with those pre-clearance providers.

Hope this is helpful to drivers that are wanting to bypass as many of the scales as possible in WA, OR, ID, SD, and other states that Pre-Pass doesn't work in.

 

I've had the NORPASS now for a year and I get the bypass signal 80-90% of the time. Very rarely do I ever get pulled into the scales in OR. I run most of the time along I-84. The thing with NORPASS is they look at your ISS score not the CSA score

 

No clue. All I know is I usually get a green light when I go through Oregon. But I am not doing it everyday like you are between boise and portland.