car registration/driver license (Austin, Georgetown: insurance, DMV, inspection) - City-Data Forum

rdking647 · 08-18-2009, 06:49 AM

do i have this procedure right for registering a car getting a drivers license in texas?

1 get all my cars/motorcycles inspected
2. go to the county tax office to register the vehicles
3. go to the dmv to get a license.

where do i go to register the vehicles/get the license (im moving from out of state) I think they are in seperate places but im not sure. can the cars be registered the same place you get the license?

I one dmv office better to go to (less lines) than another?

iceshots · 08-18-2009, 07:33 AM

Go to your county tax office to register your vehicles.

Make sure you get your vehicles inspected in the same county where you live and will be registering them. Requirements vary from county to county.

Go to the Dept of Public Safety for your license. No DMV in Texas. You can go to any DPS, not county specific. Sorry, I cannot recommend one over the other.

oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots · 08-18-2009, 07:37 AM

You beat me to it iceshots! Below is what you told me in another thread about the same issue, (as well as others that were helpful). Shamefully I have to report I have not done this chore yet. There is also a clause where if you are going back and forth from this state to the state you're from then you don't need to change them. (I might be going back during the summer). That is my excuse so far...Wayne Dyer would not like that at all.

I was asking about the Hutto area in Williamson county, by the way.

These are the words of iceshots from another thead about the same question:

quote: If you say you own a car, they want to see the emissions and safety before they will give you a licence. There are a lot of previous posts which will support this. Of course, you can always go in and say you do not own a car at this time. I don't think they check. Emissions are not required in all counties. Get your safety done in the county where your car will be registered.

The proper order is 1) Safety/Emissions 2) Register car and get plates. 3) Get driver's licence. Note: They will ask for your out of state licence and give you a paper temporary one. Your real licence will come in about two weeks. But if this is your only form of photo ID, you may find things a little awkward if you need to cash a check etc. endquote

cosmosmom · 08-18-2009, 07:37 AM

Make sure you have the vehicles insured first - you can't get them inspected unless you have proof of insurance.

austin-steve · 08-18-2009, 07:39 AM

Quote:

I one dmv office better to go to (less lines) than another?

No, you can burn a half day at any of them. Whichever one you go to, arrive 15 minutes prior to opening time so you can get in and out. I showed up at 9AM at the one on S. Congress a couple of weeks ago with my 16 year old to convert her from learner's permit to licensed driver. At 9AM number 11 was being served. We were number 45 and got called at 1PM.

Words can't express my utter dismay at how completely useless and devoid of urgency these government workers are. I actually wondered if we were on hidden camera, in some type of parody show, just to see if people would revolt. Instead, we all sat silently and compliant waiting, waiting, waiting for our turn.

Get there early.

Here is a photo I took of the counters, all 7 of them, with my iPhone during the wait, as people were seated on the floors along the walls as all the chairs were filled. Could a for profit business survive if they handled customers like this? Seven counters, one customer being served, one worker laughing on the phone, helping nobody, and the remainder of employees drifting in and out doing who knows what.

Can't get photo to work. Here's the link:
http://img14.yfrog.com/i/r4xt.jpg/ (broken link)

10scoachrick · 08-18-2009, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdking647

do i have this procedure right for registering a car getting a drivers license in texas?

1 get all my cars/motorcycles inspected
2. go to the county tax office to register the vehicles
3. go to the dmv to get a license.

where do i go to register the vehicles/get the license (im moving from out of state) I think they are in seperate places but im not sure. can the cars be registered the same place you get the license?

I one dmv office better to go to (less lines) than another?

Looks like you have the order right...be sure you have every piece of paper you can find that pertains to the purchase/registration of your vehicles. Also, for your license, it's called DPS here, not DMV. I believe you can get your license at any state location but the vehicles are registered in your county of residence. I've heard of but never experienced any DPS office that is much less busy(not in the Austin metro anyway). Also, makes life easier if you have your actual Social Security card and actual birth certificate(I know, I know).

Good luck and welcome to the convection oven!

TexasHorseLady · 08-18-2009, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdking647

do i have this procedure right for registering a car getting a drivers license in texas?

1 get all my cars/motorcycles inspected
2. go to the county tax office to register the vehicles
3. go to the dmv to get a license.

where do i go to register the vehicles/get the license (im moving from out of state) I think they are in seperate places but im not sure. can the cars be registered the same place you get the license?

I one dmv office better to go to (less lines) than another?

Are you in Travis or Williamson County?

If in Williamson, it's relatively painless. Go to the County Clerk's office just off the square in Georgetown for your registration. There's an inspection station right around the corner on Highway 29 (about 3 blocks away). Then, go to the DPS office in Georgetown for your license.

While not entirely empty, these are much less crowded than most Austin alternatives.

Once you've got all this set up, in future, you can do most of it, if not all of it, online or by mail.

readymade · 08-18-2009, 08:00 AM

Whatever you do... bring your SS card!! Don't forget ANY piece of paper. And be sure to take a xanax before you go. It's like they train the people there to be rude to test your road rage issues or something.

(I lost my temper in the parking lot of the DPS harder than I ever have before. I was kind of shocked by the depth of my rage, as I'm normally pretty even-keeled. This was the 2nd of 3 times I had to go back. I wish I had thought of xanax, then. You probably think I was kidding... but I'm seriously not)

chickenfry · 08-18-2009, 08:56 AM

i live in travis, always go to georgetown to get my license renewed etc. the wait in georgetown is nothing compared to any in travis. my kids have gone to one of the travis co ones, pulled a number, left and seen a movie and come back to wait another hour! serious!
even if you have to drive 30 minutes to get to georgetown, your total time is less. it's on pine street.
just google dps williamson county

rdking647 · 08-18-2009, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chickenfry

i live in travis, always go to georgetown to get my license renewed etc. the wait in georgetown is nothing compared to any in travis. my kids have gone to one of the travis co ones, pulled a number, left and seen a movie and come back to wait another hour! serious!
even if you have to drive 30 minutes to get to georgetown, your total time is less. it's on pine street.
just google dps williamson county

i think thats what i i will probably. ill take care of registering the car and all that stuff in austin and then go to georgetown for getting the license