Plates and License (Denver: vehicle registration, fingerprinting, day care)

[vegaspilgrim]

(B) A nonresident student who is enrolled in a full-time course of study at an institution of higher education located within this state, if the motor vehicle owned by such person displays a valid nonresident student identification tag issued by the institution where the student is enrolled.

How do you get a "nonresident student identification tag"? Does such a thing exist?

[Sockeye]

The ones who don't register here, but know they should, simply just live here, and have allegiances to their former home. I've got a "neighbor" 3 doors down from Orange County two years ago. Still has the Cali plates, and still flies his red Angels flag all summer long. I'm not one to tattel, but this is getting aggrevating. For God's sake, when you move to CO at least display some civic courtesy and pay your fair share of maintaining the roads you will use here.

[spiritbear928]

How about if you register your plates but keep your out of state license? The whole idea of being fingerprinted rubs me the wrong way in an orwellian sort of way

[jazzlover]

By the way, here are the penalties, from C.R.S. 42-6-139:

(3) A person who knowingly violates any of the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, section 42-3-103 (4) (a), section 42-6-140, or any rule of the director promulgated pursuant to this part 1 is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of five hundred dollars.

and

(5) A person subject to the penalties imposed by this section continues to be liable for unpaid registration fees, specific ownership taxes, or other taxes and fees concerning the registration of a vehicle owed by such person.

I knew of one Colorado county years back (during the last big influx of transplants) where the abuse of failing to register vehicles got so bad that the County Sheriff's deputies began canvassing every neighborhood. Anytime they found a vehicle with out-of-state plates in a driveway, they would knock on the door of the house, apartment, etc. and ask who the vehicle belonged to. If they determined that the individual who owned the vehicle was, in fact, a resident of Colorado under the law, the individual was cited on the spot. In this relatively small semi-rural county, hundreds of citations were issued and many thousands of dollars in unpaid registration fees were collected.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by spiritbear928

How about if you register your plates but keep your out of state license? The whole idea of being fingerprinted rubs me the wrong way in an orwellian sort of way

Once again from the Colorado Revised Statutes, Section 42-2-102:

(1) The following persons need not obtain a Colorado driver's license:

(a) Any person who operates a federally-owned military motor vehicle while serving in the armed forces of the United States;

(b) Any person who temporarily drives or operates any road machine, farm tractor, or other implement of husbandry on a highway;

(c) Any nonresident who is at least sixteen years of age and who has in his or her immediate possession a valid driver's license issued to such nonresident by his or her state or country of residence. A nonresident who is at least sixteen years of age and whose state or country of residence does not require the licensing of drivers may operate a motor vehicle as a driver for not more than ninety days in any calendar year, if said nonresident is the owner of the vehicle driven and if the motor vehicle so operated is duly registered in such nonresident's state or country of residence and such nonresident has in his or her immediate possession a registration card evidencing such ownership and registration in his or her own state or country.


(d) A nonresident on active duty in the armed forces of the United States if that person has in his or her possession a valid driver's license issued by such nonresident's state of domicile or, if returning from duty outside the United States, has a valid driver's license in his or her possession issued by the armed forces of the United States in foreign countries, but such armed forces license shall be valid only for a period of forty-five days after the licensee has returned to the United States;

(e) The spouse of a member of the armed forces of the United States who is accompanying such member on military or naval assignment to this state, who has a valid driver's license issued by another state, and whose right to drive has not been suspended or revoked in this state;

(f) Any nonresident who is temporarily residing in Colorado for the principal purpose of furthering such nonresident's education, is at least sixteen years of age, has a valid driver's license from his or her state of residence, and is considered a nonresident for tuition purposes by the educational institution at which such nonresident is furthering his or her education.

(2) Any person who has in his or her possession a valid driver's license issued by such person's previous state of residence shall be exempt, for thirty days after becoming a resident of the state of Colorado, from obtaining a license, as provided in section 42-2-101.

In other words, if you are a Colorado resident, you must obtain a Colorado driver's license within 30 days of establishing Colorado residence. If you are considered a NON-RESIDENT student (paying non-resident tuition), then you don't have to.

As to being fingerprinted, get over it. I've been fingerprinted so many times for various jobs and professional licenses that I can't keep track. As I recall, I was fingerprinted when I got my first driver's license at 16 (in Colorado)--that was longer ago than probably the majority of posters on this forum have been alive.

[Dorthy]

Or you could just sell your car and use public transport for your two years in Colorado. Then you wouldn't have to worry about it at all.

[Katarina Witt]

I have heard of cops patrolling apt complexes and ticketing people with out of state plates after 30 days. I have no particular verification for this. I am not an attorney, but it sounds like if you work here, you will need to get a CO license and plates. There are some jobs that require that, esp. if you have to use the car for work.

[SomeRandomGuyM]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

How do you get a "nonresident student identification tag"? Does such a thing exist?

It sounds like something you would get from whatever school you went to, like a parking sticker or something. I guess you could just say that your school doesn't use parking stickers or you leave your car off campus or something though.

I will also be moving back to Colorado soon so I looked this up. Basically like someone else already said, you pay to register your car and pay for your license. There was also something about paying a percentage of your car's value but my car is old enough that it is just a flat charge of $3 for me so I didnt pay much attention to that part. Worst case you're probably looking at a few hundred dollars, so you'd probably be better off just registering your car in Colorado when you move.

[RangerDuke08]

I would not register it, firstly Colorado plates are expensive just under $200 for a year. Secondly, if your wife is a student, she will be fine not registering it. Third, we have a high number of out-of-staters. And last but not least, we have some of the most professional peace officers in this state, they will not ticket you for no reason, though it may vary from city to city, possibly only watch out for Denver City, however State Officers are great.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by FoRuMRideR420

i still have out of state license and plates .....just say your not staying here if you get pulled over otherwise you will have like a 500$ fine if you were here over certain amount of time

I've turned in neighbors who lived here for 3 years with Oregon plates - they don't know it was me, but such blatant tax cheating rubs me the wrong way. And we don't live in a poor neighborhood, so I didn't feel guilty. They live here and use our roads, so they should pay what everyone else does. I also recently read that CO is starting to crack down on people who do this. Common states people keep registration for their cars are Montana, Oregon, and Virginia, all being states with dirt cheap license plates.