Registering Vehicle Out of State

[Haystack]

First of all, this is a question that I have been wondering about for awhile now. I didn't come up with anything similar searching the forums so I decided to start a discussion on it. Growing up I went on a lot of road trips with my family and I noticed that people in other states would give us a lot of crap and were generally mean towards us for having California plates. I was hoping to reduce this risk when I get a van in the future. I know this sounds crazy but I honestly believe that people really do hate Californians.

1. Does anyone have any experience registering a vehicle out of state? Is it even possible to register a car in a state if you don't have an address of some sort in that state?

2. Are there better states than others to register a vehicle in for any reason or are they all about the same? (difficulty and price wise).

Like I said I'm just curious to hear personal experiences in regards to this subject and hopefully help others who might have this question as well.

 

[Haystack]

Upon some RV searching I came across this service. It's a bit pricey but it is a option..

http://www.americas-mailbox.com/

 

[klaiash]

If anyone in-state treats you poorly based off of having CA plates, they should be avoided anyway. I'd just keep on keepin' on regardless of how other people feel about my vehicle's registration. There's places that will be happy to hear you're from CA, and others that won't be. Some won't care either way.

1. If the address thing is a problem with the DMV I'd say I just moved there, no solid residency yet, etc etc. The DMV can send any mail to you (which is a big reason they want you to have an address) through the post office's General Delivery.

2. Personally, I judge the state I'm trying to register a car in based on it's laws. For example, I'm pretty sure there's only smog tests in Pheonix and Tucson, but no other parts of Arizona. Whereas California it is a state wide law to have the smog done. I suggest doing a little research on surrounding states/counties and seeing what laws are prominent and how you feel about 'em. Maybe you won't find yourself concerned about 'em at all. As compared to CA, Arizona was a lot cheaper and easier to both register and insure my vehicles. If you want to save some cash, that's something to look into it.

 

[Johny]

Come to Montana use my address lol

 

[seasonchange]

hey there!
about to do this myself. just bought a van in Colorado with an Illinois ID.
here you're eligible to register with an address or proof of employment in-state. I think I'll be using the latter and writing up a real unofficial paystub.

emissions testing is $25 but if you get any form of financial aid you can qualify for a hardship waiver and avoid having to pay for it. definitely a thing to look into! also... insurance. also... plates cost. registration cost is based on the amnt you pay for the car I believe. if the person you buy from is cool, ask if they can list sale price on title as $1 so taxes won't be awful.

 

[BuiltForComfortNotSpeed]

I recently used the americas mailbox service in Rapid City, SD. You can do everything through the mail but I chose to drive to Rapid City from Iowa and registered a minivan I just bought. They were able to process the paperwork there and registered the vehicle for me for an extra 32.00.

I am able to keep my current license from another state. I now have a mailing address used for DMV, a registered vehicle and mail forwarding service. I just got the registration and plates sent to me in the mail. The process is straight forward. There is no smog or emissions and no inspection of any kind. In Rapid City there is no wheel tax (whatever that is) but it does exist in other counties.

I decided to go this route because I'm not going to register in my home state with high taxes and emissions and inspection and have to return every years. In S.D. you only have to go back once every 5 years and S.D. is very nomad friendly. There is no jury duty and transferring your license is very easy as well.

The initial cost was reasonable to me as I intend to travel and work and the service averaged about 14 dollars a month for the mail forwarding. They require that you put a minimum of 100 dollars down to cover the cost of mailings. I did 150 since the 32.00 was taken out of that to take care of the registration. When you spend 30 days anywhere in SD and get a receipt with your name and address, you qualify for a concealed carry permit. When you pay for one night anywhere and get a receipt with your name and SD address, you qualify for residency when you transfer your license. Americas Mailbox will also provide this for you if you stay with them for one night.

If anyone goes this route, feel free to PM me. Tell them that PMB 7750 sent you. This is not an advertisement for Americas Mailbox. This is simply the service I chose after a few years of research and not wanting to have to go back to a state to do smog/emissions, inspections or re registering on a yearly basis.

Here are two videos by Bob from Cheaprvling.com that talks about residency and getting mail. I hope this helps.

 

[FrankieC]

Minnesota is very lax and cheap in regards to registration. My van was impounded as it was not registered and my license was suspended at the time. The cops were actually very friendly and only charged me a towing fee. I was the able to register the van at the Minnesota DMV. I only had my state id with my Chicago address, Illinois Insurance, and the Illinois title from the previous owner. They went into a drawer, pulled out some fresh plates and handed them over sight unseen for like $85. No emissions testing, no safety inspection, and they just sent me renewal papers in the mail. I got a new Minnesota title in the mail a few months later. This also allowed me to avoid buying a Chicago city sticker(which is $220 on top of like $150 for Illinois registration). My van is atleast old enough to be exempt from emissions testing in Illinois and its age made it cheap to insure.