Question About Dual Residency & Drivers License - MN / OK (Chaska: renting, car registration)
Minneapolis - St. PaulTwin Cities
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hello, hello!
My husband and I are moving to Chaska from Oklahoma on May 2nd. We are moving for my husbands work. It will be for a minimum of 1 year, potentially longer. We wil be renting in Chaska. We own our home in Oklahoma and will retain ownership of it while we are in Minnesota (family will be watching over it).
My question is about driver's license & vehicle registration requirements. I heard that once someone moves to Minnesota they have 6 months to switch over their license & vehicle tags. Does anyone know if we would be required to do this if we still own a "main" residence in Oklahoma? I just don't want to deal with all of the hassel & potential fees until if / when we decide to stay in Minnesota permanantly.
Also, in Oklahoma we are not required to have a front license plate. I know that Minnesota does require it, so does anybody think this would cause problems for us? Would we be pulled over constantly? If we were to be pulled over, would our Oklahoma driver's licenses be questioned if we cited a Minnesota address?
Any thing else we would need to be concerned about with dual residency? Tax issues, etc?
Technically you have 60 days, however, if your move is temporary, I am fairly certain, especially since you have a residence in OK that you own, you don't have to switch your license to MN. If your move becomes permanent, obviously that changes. I know many people that spend 6 months here, 6 months in Florida, Arizona, etc. and they keep their permanent residency there and spend summers here without having to change DL, etc.
You will have to pay state taxes in both states unless OK has some arrangement with MN I'm not familiar with.
I don't think the license plate will be an issue (back only). As for citing a MN address, they ask if this is your permanent address or correct address if you get pulled over, the answer is "yes". Issue being, if they mail you a ticket, it will go to OK, but a lot of that is online now so probably not an issue.
Ok, I looked on the DMV site and can't find anything about this either. I would suggest calling tomorrow and asking. I still can't see that a temporary move would require you to change your license, etc.
Your residency is determined by where you live, not where you own property. Living here for one year or possibly longer is not temporary, even if feels temporary to you. And unless I misunderstand your post, you do not plan to live in OK at all during this period. You will be MN residents and will need MN drivers licenses and MN plates. And, yes,front plates are required. What happens if you don't do this? Maybe nothing. But since you will be paying MN income taxes, be aware that the state is getting pretty good at cross referencing information across departments to catch these sorts of things. Their incentive is to capture the revenue you're trying to cheat us out of. And if you're pulled over you are looking at a pile of tickets and fines. I'd suggest you do the right thing here.
Technically you have 60 days, however, if your move is temporary, I am fairly certain, especially since you have a residence in OK that you own, you don't have to switch your license to MN. If your move becomes permanent, obviously that changes. I know many people that spend 6 months here, 6 months in Florida, Arizona, etc. and they keep their permanent residency there and spend summers here without having to change DL, etc.
You will have to pay state taxes in both states unless OK has some arrangement with MN I'm not familiar with.
I don't think the license plate will be an issue (back only). As for citing a MN address, they ask if this is your permanent address or correct address if you get pulled over, the answer is "yes". Issue being, if they mail you a ticket, it will go to OK, but a lot of that is online now so probably not an issue.
Ok, I looked on the DMV site and can't find anything about this either. I would suggest calling tomorrow and asking. I still can't see that a temporary move would require you to change your license, etc.
Thanks GolfGal. I had "snowbirds" in mind, too. I also know quite a few people that bounce from north to south depending on the season. I'll have to call tomorrow and see if I can get any info.
Your residency is determined by where you live, not where you own property. Living here for one year or possibly longer is not temporary, even if feels temporary to you. And unless I misunderstand your post, you do not plan to live in OK at all during this period. You will be MN residents and will need MN drivers licenses and MN plates. And, yes,front plates are required. What happens if you don't do this? Maybe nothing. But since you will be paying MN income taxes, be aware that the state is getting pretty good at cross referencing information across departments to catch these sorts of things. Their incentive is to capture the revenue you're trying to cheat us out of. And if you're pulled over you are looking at a pile of tickets and fines. I'd suggest you do the right thing here.
I'm certainly not attempting to "cheat" Minnesota out of any revenue. Especially since I will be paying MN income taxes, as you mentioned. Out of 1 year period we're in MN, we expect to be back in Oklahoma for probably 2 months of it, as we plan on returning for a few days each month.
What would I be expecting a "pile of tickets and fines" for? If I were to simply vacation to MN I wouldn't expect a "pile of tickets and fines" for simply having an Oklahoma driver's license.
I'm certainly not attempting to "cheat" Minnesota out of any revenue. Especially since I will be paying MN income taxes, as you mentioned. Out of 1 year period we're in MN, we expect to be back in Oklahoma for probably 2 months of it, as we plan on returning for a few days each month.
What would I be expecting a "pile of tickets and fines" for? If I were to simply vacation to MN I wouldn't expect a "pile of tickets and fines" for simply having an Oklahoma driver's license.
Your tickets would be for not having a valid MN license, not having a car which is stored in MN registered in MN, and no front plate. You can pretend that because you go back and visit OK, you have some sort of dual residency, but you won't. You'll live here and VISIT there, so you'll be a MN resident. Look it up. And you'll have all the responsibilities of one. You'll be cheating us out of the fees for those vehicle and drivers licenses. Now if you want to be dishonest about it, and justify it to yourself on the basis of some phony baloney idea of "dual residency," so be it. I hope you get caught, and chances are better than you apparently think that you will. Enjoy your time living here. Oh, that's right. You're really not living here while you live here, or something.. Why did you even ask this question, since you have already decided what you're going to do?. We're you just hoping that someone would justify what you know is wrong?
Your tickets would be for not having a valid MN license, not having a car which is stored in MN registered in MN, and no front plate. You can pretend that because you go back and visit OK, you have some sort of dual residency, but you won't. You'll live here and VISIT there, so you'll be a MN resident. Look it up. And you'll have all the responsibilities of one. You'll be cheating us out of the fees for those vehicle and drivers licenses. Now if you want to be dishonest about it, and justify it to yourself on the basis of some phony baloney idea of "dual residency," so be it. I hope you get caught, and chances are better than you apparently think that you will. Enjoy your time living here. Oh, that's right. You're really not living here while you live here, or something.. Why did you even ask this question, since you have already decided what you're going to do?. We're you just hoping that someone would justify what you know is wrong?
How completely rude. I'm an honest citizen and sure as heck not trying to scam the state.
How about you "look it up." Dual state residency is not a "phony baloney (actually spelled bologna)" idea - Google it. Most websites, including EXPERTLAW.COM, which I read thouroughly, advise that if you own a home in one state and are TEMPORARILY (ie: 1 year) working in another state, you may retain residency in the state you own a home. I simply posted this question to CLARIFY that and see if anyone who's held dual residensy had any advice to offer. Isn't that what this forum is for?
How do you propose "snowbirds" do it? In case you don't know, "snowbirds" are folks who live in Minnesota or another northern state in the summer and head south for the winter. Do you think that every 6 months when they go to their other home they re-register their car & switch their driver's license? So they get new driver's licenses & license plates every 6 months for their entire lives? that's ridiculous.
Furthermore, I hope everyone in Minnesota doesn't have the same attitude as you, or I'm headed back to OKlahoma as FAST as I can!
I hope you get caught, and chances are better than you apparently think that you will. Enjoy your time living here. Oh, that's right. You're really not living here while you live here, or something
FUTHERMORE . . .
You "hope I get caught" doing what?! Being a law abiding citizen, going to work everyday, contributing to society? Yes, I must be such a horrible person.
I'm no expert, but I think you'll run into problems if you try to use the snowbird way out of it. Snowbirds, by definition, have to live in another state for half of the year plus one day (if I'm remembering correctly) in order to not be considered a resident of Minnesota. Since you'll be living here full time and only out of state for small portions of the time, you'll likely be expected to pay taxes not only on your income here, but also on your car registration and all.
And even if you find a way for it to be legal, I'd beware. My dad owns two businesses, one of which is located in Fargo, ND, which is right across the Red River from Minnesota. Because of that, a few of our cars that were purchased under the business's name over there and received ND plates. It worked out fine at the start (it's significantly cheaper, or at least was), but while I was driving it in MN (I was using it for a while) I got pulled over for accidently going over the speed limit in a speed trap zone. The cop gave me the third degree when he saw I was driving a ND-plated car with a MN driver's license. He forced me to call my dad and verify that it was legal and that we weren't trying to cheat the state out of money (the vehicle was primarily a business vehicle and shortly after that time, I was going to be spending my first year of college in ND). Despite all of the information being in check, I was slapped with a huge speeding fine. It was my first offense and I didn't even get a warning. I drove by the area about a week later...and the same sheriff had pulled someone over the in the same spot.
I'd proceed carefully if you aren't planning on switching over your plates.
Your residency is determined by where you live, not where you own property. Living here for one year or possibly longer is not temporary, even if feels temporary to you. And unless I misunderstand your post, you do not plan to live in OK at all during this period. You will be MN residents and will need MN drivers licenses and MN plates. And, yes,front plates are required. What happens if you don't do this? Maybe nothing. But since you will be paying MN income taxes, be aware that the state is getting pretty good at cross referencing information across departments to catch these sorts of things. Their incentive is to capture the revenue you're trying to cheat us out of. And if you're pulled over you are looking at a pile of tickets and fines. I'd suggest you do the right thing here.
Not to be smug, but surprise, surprise - I called the Minnesota DMV Chaska office this morning and they confirmed that if I will be renting in Chaska for 1 year for work purposes, but OWN my home in Oklahoma I may retain my Oklahoma residence and DO NOT have to switch my license or plates. I was told if I were to be pulled over this would be no problem if I simply explained it to the officer. The girl at the DMV said people call about this all of the time and it is NOT an issue. She did not accuse me of attempting to "cheat" her department out of revenue. If/when I decide to sell my home in Oklahoma and move to MN permanently, only then would I have to switch everything over.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
