Plate Registration in Two Different States (Scenario)

[VertMustang98GT]

I'm currently living in Ohio and I'm possibly moving out of state. I know many states have different laws, but I thought I'd pose the questions.

Scenario:

Current address in Ohio (I could still keep this as my permanent address):

I work in Massachusetts but I don't want to transfer my license over because I want to stay an Ohio resident. Am I able to legally?

Secondly:

My 15 would be in Ohio for over half the year (storage) so would I be able to keep in registered at my current address in Ohio? The car is in my name and has a lien so I can't transfer to someone's name in Ohio.

Lastly:

I transfer my license to Massachusetts, but want to keep the car registered in Ohio still. Am I able too?

Little More Detail:

I'd like to keep all my vehicles registered in Ohio, but I don't think legally I can if the car is in the state for more than 6 months (All cars would be in Ohio for 6+ months except my DD)...

I know this is a fairly complicated question but I want to know what everyone else has done.

My other two states that I'd be doing the same scenario is Texas/Florida.

Thanks for the help!

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[bahasad]

I'm currently living in Ohio and I'm possibly moving out of state. I know many states have different laws, but I thought I'd pose the questions.

Scenario:

Current address in Ohio (I could still keep this as my permanent address):

I work in Massachusetts but I don't want to transfer my license over because I want to stay an Ohio resident. Am I able to legally?

Secondly:

My 15 would be in Ohio for over half the year (storage) so would I be able to keep in registered at my current address in Ohio? The car is in my name and has a lien so I can't transfer to someone's name in Ohio.

Lastly:

I transfer my license to Massachusetts, but want to keep the car registered in Ohio still. Am I able too?

Little More Detail:

I'd like to keep all my vehicles registered in Ohio, but I don't think legally I can if the car is in the state for more than 6 months (All cars would be in Ohio for 6+ months except my DD)...

I know this is a fairly complicated question but I want to know what everyone else has done.

My other two states that I'd be doing the same scenario is Texas/Florida.

Thanks for the help!

My 0.02 cents: If you work, claim taxes or live in another state for more than 30 days, you are a resident of that state. Technically if you are living and working in MA, you should have an MA license and your cars should be registered to that address/state.

However if you have an OH address, and are willing to risk it insurance wise/getting pulled over and if things go wrong, you can keep your OH license and don't transfer it over. Lots of people do it here in Michigan (and I'm speaking from first hand experience ).

I don't think you can register a car to a different state than you have a license in.

Also if you are an out of state student, you don't need to transfer your license.

 

[Spartan]

If you live in VA, after 30 days you are considered a resident there.

There are exceptions. If you own homes in both states, you can pick one as your primary residence, etc.

In my current apartment building there are tons of people who have lived there for months and have out of town tags to avoid paying the VA personal property tax. If they get caught though, it's a good fine I believe.

 

[VertMustang98GT]

I don't own a home, but I would to use the Ohio address as my permanent address to avoid transferring over everything especially since most of the cars are staying in Ohio for when I'm home during the Holiday's I'll have something to drive.

I appreciate the feedback thus far.

 

[Khyber]

here if you move here and aren't traveling back to another state every day and you own or rent here. You have 60 days to switch license, pay property tax to get the registration, registration sticker, and tag after you move. If you get caught post 60 days from date of purchase on your hud and you haven't switched your cars and license it is a fine.

 

[Trent W]

So I had the exactly same thing happen to me when i moved to Washington. I checked the local DOL laws and it basically states you have to meet at least two criteria to be a resident and there was a list of several but basically what would apply to you would be

1.Live or have residence in the state AND what state you are paying taxes to as stated on your W2.

So if you used your Ohio address for your W2 technically you are not a resident (key word here) therefore you do not need to transfer your licenses and plates.... according to WASHINGTON state law. As for me I did use a Washington address on my W2 so I had to get a drivers license ($30) and new insurance (no change just a call to State farm and they transferred my policy over).

Now that being said I still ran into the issue where Washington uses the California emission standards and I bought my car in Utah so it wasn't compliant. So I had to wait 90 days and then re-register it in Washington which i didn't do because when i asked the price was $1300 so i didn't ever register it and i'm going to run out my utah registration out then see if the price drops after a year. I registered my truck ($130) and got plates and tags but My motorcycles and car still have Utah registration and plates.... been here a year now and no issues. just changed my mailing address to get my Utah DMV stuff sent to WA. Utah plates and reg but WA drivers licences and Insurance.... haven't been pulled over yet so oh well. If asked i'd just say this is my Utah car.... which i do go there EVERY month so I don't think it would be an issues. Even if i did get pulled over and wasn't a dick to the cop, nothing would happen.

This is my thread about my registration battles with Washington though...

http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16875

 

[wag4513]

When I moved to Texas from Oklahoma I wanted to keep my Oklahoma CDL. Texas required yoou to take a driving test with a semi, there were, are, places you can rent a truck and trailer to take the test.

I kept my cars registered in Oklahoma. I got stopped once by a Texas State Trooper, I explained that I worked in both states, My main job was in Texas but I also was a member of the Oklahoma National Guard. He sent me on my way.

The place you permanently live is your domicile, it can also be your residence, but doesn't have to be. A residence can be a temporary place you live without giving up your domicile. If you are stopped tell the officer your are domiciled in Ohio and just in Mass on a temporary assignment. You will probably have to pay state income taxes in Mass. This is a very complex area. NFL players have to pay city income taxes in Philadelphia when they play there.

 

[VertMustang98GT]

When I moved to Texas from Oklahoma I wanted to keep my Oklahoma CDL. Texas required yoou to take a driving test with a semi, there were, are, places you can rent a truck and trailer to take the test.

I kept my cars registered in Oklahoma. I got stopped once by a Texas State Trooper, I explained that I worked in both states, My main job was in Texas but I also was a member of the Oklahoma National Guard. He sent me on my way.

The place you permanently live is your domicile, it can also be your residence, but doesn't have to be. A residence can be a temporary place you live without giving up your domicile. If you are stopped tell the officer your are domiciled in Ohio and just in Mass on a temporary assignment. You will probably have to pay state income taxes in Mass. This is a very complex area. NFL players have to pay city income taxes in Philadelphia when they play there.

I planned to pay income taxes in MA. I just didn't want to have transfer all my vehicles especially since 3 out of 5 wouldn't even be leaving Ohio.

I appreciate the help guys.

 

[BlackGT]

My suggestion is to be consistent with your license and registration. If you are going to have a MA license, then your residence / domicile or whatever you want to call it is where you live and should reflect so. Your license and registration should be the same. If you get stopped in OH with a MA license, the officer will want to know why you don't have an OH license when your car is registered there. Same goes if you are stopped in MA, why do you have a MA license and OH tags. If you never get stopped, it isn't an issue but at some point, you will be illegal in both states. In TN, you have 30 days from the time you move into the state to get everything swapped. The only exceptions are military and out of state students.

Good luck

 

[VertMustang98GT]

Well, there's a possibility I'll be in California come the beginning of 2017.

We will see how this works out...I appreciate everyone's experiences and advice.

I don't plan to have all four of my cars in the State so I think I'm only going to transfer the vehicles that are present in the State (two cars at most).

After reading the law, that is what it states I believe.

 

[markbento]

Ok as a retired LEO from Mass here is what they say your perm res is where you spend 6 mo and one day, so mass would be you perm res, in that case your car and lic must be moved over to mass or they can cite you as an unlic oper in the state and also hit you with unreg auto in mass. you insurance comp can also drop you as you are defrauding them by telling them you are in a state you are not living in so its up to you if you want to roll the dice

 

[VertMustang98GT]

Ok as a retired LEO from Mass here is what they say your perm res is where you spend 6 mo and one day, so mass would be you perm res, in that case your car and lic must be moved over to mass or they can cite you as an unlic oper in the state and also hit you with unreg auto in mass. you insurance comp can also drop you as you are defrauding them by telling them you are in a state you are not living in so its up to you if you want to roll the dice

I'd definitely switch my insurance over to whichever state I'm living on as the insurance requirements are different in every state.

I just don't think I need to switch over my license plate for my cars staying in Ohio since they are never crossing the State Line into MA/CA.

 

[awmustang]

From having lived in Florida where part time residents is almost more common than full time residents this comes up often. You have to pick what you will consider your permanent residence and get a driver's license in that state. Any car that spends more than a certain number of days in the state of Florida (I believe it was 180), was supposed to be registered in the state of Florida.

The driver's license and the car license are two totally separate and unrelated items. Also, unless you are going through toll lanes, its incredibly difficult to prove how many days your car is in the state.

My grandfather keeps a car in Florida, but it's licensed in Michigan. He's done this for the better part of a decade and never had a problem.

 

[VertMustang98GT]

From having lived in Florida where part time residents is almost more common than full time residents this comes up often. You have to pick what you will consider your permanent residence and get a driver's license in that state. Any car that spends more than a certain number of days in the state of Florida (I believe it was 180), was supposed to be registered in the state of Florida.

The driver's license and the car license are two totally separate and unrelated items. Also, unless you are going through toll lanes, its incredibly difficult to prove how many days your car is in the state.

My grandfather keeps a car in Florida, but it's licensed in Michigan. He's done this for the better part of a decade and never had a problem.

Thanks for the information.

I wanted to stay legal but at the same time I don't want to just transfer everything over because it's easy or because that's what everyone else does.

Following the law as I read it is normally only necessary to transfer plates if the car crosses the State Line and is there for a certain period of time.

I don't plan to have all my cars out there so the one or two that make it. I think I'll have to transfer to that State due to being legal along with insurance.

Transferring my insurance was never a problem but I wasn't sure if the license followed the car registrations/permanent residence.

That's where it gets confusing...

 

[Shouldhavegotthegt]

I'm a national insurance agent. You need insurance for the state that your car is registered. So if you have OH tags but get MA insurance we report to MA that you have insurance. They will not report to any other state. When you cancel your OH insurance they are going to report to the DMV that you insurance is cancelled. So basically it is going to look to the DMV that you no longer have insurance in that vehicle in the state it is registered. Most states suspend your plate and tags without insurance. That's a bigger mess than dealing with the legal ramifications for not bringing your license over.

So here's what I suggest. Keep OH insurance. It's some of the cheapest in the country. MA is ridiculous. Expect on average to pay $150-300 a month. Don't even think about FL. The highest in the country behind NY and MI.

Snowbirds do it all the time and nobody gives them any crap about it. They keep their Midwest and NE licenses and registration and spend many months in other places. Shouldn't be an different for you.

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