Re: Question about "Out of State" registration of a new SMB
I registered my SMB in Utah...My other car is registered in Ohio and my DL is from Ohio but Utah was happy to take my money. I was actually living in California when I bought my SMB but knew I was moving to Utah this summer, which was 6 months from when I bought the van. I looked into just registering it in California but the red tape, DL switch over issues and taxes just seemed ridiculous. So I took a mid-week road trip, drove 10 hours to Southern Utah, visited the DMV and walked out legal in about 15 minutes. I was nervous that I was just wasting my time but they were so helpful, and uncrowded, the transaction was way smooth. Of course they wanted an address but I used my old Utah address from the previous year and they didn't care. My backup plan was to get a PO Box in Arizona or Nevada as proof of residency (not sure you can do this any more but I was going to give it a try) and try to register it in one of these states on my way back to Cali. Luckily Utah was rather hassle free. I have heard of people registering out of state vehicles in South Dakota to avoid the red tape some states have but I have never tried it.
Utah does require you to have a yearly inspection on most vehicles (although if it is newer I think you might be exempt,,,but look into this for yourself). Since I do actually live in Utah now the registration and inspection thing is easy for me. My Ohio DL expires in a year so I'll probably get a Utah license then. As for my Ohio car, I just re-registered it for 2 years on line for $72. No need to switch it over anytime soon but if I still have the car in 2 years I'll probably slap a Utah arch plate on it....Hope this helps.
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2000 E-350, 7.3 Power Stroke Diesel. 4x4. Loaded. "The Big Gray Whale"
1982 Mercedes 300D. WVO, SVO and Biodiesel for the last 30,000 + miles. (my 600 mile a week commuter).
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