Car with OUT-OF-STATE plates (apartment, lease, buying)

[Hannah7]

Hi,

I am buying a car and registering it in Nebraska from where I am moving out in a matter of 2 weeks. Is it safe to just get the Nebraska plates and drive with them to another states where I am moving to for the whole next year until they expire?

Basically the registration will expire around July next year, which would pontentialy give me a lot of time to find housing a change plates later. I do not know if it is a better idea to drive on temporary tags, which are good only for a month or so.

[steel03]

You need to check the rules in the state you're moving to, but I'm sure you won't be able to keep the Nebraska plates the whole year. The car needs to be registered in the state where you live, unless the title is in someone else's name.

[Hannah7]

I am moving to California.

Nebraska doesn't have emissions and other things. My plates are going to be good until end of July. And I still don't know the place where I am going to live. I am pretty sure that California requires to re-register cars within 30 days.

But how enforced is that? I am just wanting to have some breathing room.

[DubbleT]

Originally Posted by Hannah7

I am moving to California.

Nebraska doesn't have emissions and other things. My plates are going to be good until end of July. And I still don't know the place where I am going to live. I am pretty sure that California requires to re-register cars within 30 days.

But how enforced is that? I am just wanting to have some breathing room.

I think it's going to depend a whole lot on where you wind up up. I don't remember where I was living at the time, but I once had a co-worker get summoned to court to show proof of residence because the cops routinely drove through area businesses looking for cars with out of state tags that were there day after day for long periods of time. She got caught with a local lease and out of state plates and license, and she kvetched about it forever, so I assume it was a costly and/or time consuming PITA to deal with.

[DinsdalePirahna]

Unless you can prove that you are student, You will eventually get a ticket.

You can register the Car in CA, and use an out of state address - I used a Missouri address to keep my CA registration current - always kind of knew that I would eventually move back to CA

[nightlysparrow]

In CA, the main form of ID is the CA Drivers License, so it should match the registration of the car. You will want one. Among other reasons, in an earthquake or wildfire, the police/fire departments will NOT let you return to your dwelling without this proof of residence address (they are keeping out looters or looky-loos).

[601halfdozen0theother]

On the other hand, I had my TX plates in CA for nearly a year, and my CA plates in Utah for ditto. Unless you live or work in a place regularly checked by cops, how on earth could the casual cop know the actual when you moved to the state? Not that I necessarily recommend illegal behavior, but . . . it worked for me! Many years ago, though.

[JMT]

Since the OP is asking specifically about California, I'm moving this thread to the California forum.

[cb73]

Originally Posted by Hannah7

Hi,

I am buying a car and registering it in Nebraska from where I am moving out in a matter of 2 weeks. Is it safe to just get the Nebraska plates and drive with them to another states where I am moving to for the whole next year until they expire?

Basically the registration will expire around July next year, which would pontentialy give me a lot of time to find housing a change plates later. I do not know if it is a better idea to drive on temporary tags, which are good only for a month or so.

You'll need to register the car in California once you become a permanent resident.

Permanent resident means--you're renting an apartment, have a job, etc. If you're moving here and don't even know where you're going to live yet, don't worry about it. As long as the car has valid plates from somewhere, you have some leeway until you get settled.

[Twinkle Toes]

Here's the information from the California DMV website. I've copied some of the text here:

When Do I Have to Pay Fees to Register My Nonresident Vehicle?

Registration fees for your nonresident vehicle must be paid to DMV within 20 days of the date they become due. The date that registration fees become due varies. For date fees due, residency, and exemption information, see the How To: Determine Residency/When Are Fees Dueon an Out-of-State Vehicles (HTVR 33) brochure available at Brochures TOC /howto/htvr33.htm.

Note: To avoid penalties, submit your registration application and fees on time, even if you do not have all the requirements (title, smog, etc.) needed to register the vehicle in California.

Here's the link to the information on the website:

HTVR 33 How To Determine Residency/When Fees Are Due on Out-of-State Vehicles

Here's the link to the PDF version:

http://apps.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/howto/htvr33.pdf