New Resident Drivers License/Plates (Philadelphia, Harrisburg: rental car, transplants, rental) - Pennsylvania (PA) - City-Data Forum

CD1 · 06-20-2007, 11:58 PM

I moved to Philadelphia a while back (staying with a friend) and have been in and out of town. I was unsure if I was going to stay in PA or move back to MN, therefore I didn't change over my DL and plates. Now I'm probably going to stay, so I need to get a DL and plates. The PA DMV website has instructions for new residents, but I'm not certain how to interpret it. It says that new residents getting a PA DL have to do it within 60 days or take the tests as if they are a new driver altogether. What constitutes being a resident for 60 days since I wasn't on a lease and staying with a friend? I changed my auto insurance over to the Philly address in April because the policy was due to turnover, but that's really my only tie. How does the DMV determine how long you've been here versus the 60 days and how strict is this policy? Should we have a lease drawn up to determine a date? It seems like this should be simpler! Any advice on how to just get the DL and avoid re-testing?

rileybear · 06-21-2007, 10:52 AM

i think that, and I may be very wrong, if you just do it, you will be fine. I'm not sure how to do it online, I had to go to the DMV, show proof of address, I think two forms, gas/phone bill and a lease, and my out of state license, they didn't check to make sure it was less than 60 days. I think that is just a warning for those moving here, you have 60 days to get a new license, and may be penalized if they catch you, but I think you should be fine if you just go in with the proper paperwork.

Ohiogirl81 · 06-25-2007, 09:44 AM

Just get your new license before your current license expires and you'll be OK. You'll need your current license and a proof of residency (I used a pay stub, which was all I had at the time). They were pretty cool about it; maybe because I got my Pa. license on my birthday.

Use AAA to switch over your title and plates. The other places are ripoffs.

I know what you mean about the DMV website. They could have written it in Polish and it wouldn't have been any less understandable!

Erin Sommerville · 08-25-2008, 11:34 AM

Ohio Girl I just wanted to thank you for saving me time and energy and gas!!! The PA site told me the closest place to transfer a title was Harrisburg which is 90 miles away. Thank you for clueing me in that AAA will do it!! I love ya!

orrmobl · 08-25-2008, 01:22 PM

I've never compared prices but just look for the nearest auto tags place and they will explain it all and hook you up. I got pulled over in September and hadn't changed my address on my PA license since my move the previous July and the cop definitely gave me a hard time so I would highly recommend you change yours if you don't want to receive a lecture or additional infractions if you get a ticket...

JohnZ963 · 08-26-2008, 05:25 AM

A lot of people apparently don't even bother to get a new license/plates for quite a while. My brother lives in a neighborhood in the Lehigh Valley with a lot of NY/NJ transplants. They buy a house here, but keep driving around with NY/NJ plates for like a year afterwards. Don't they understand that their insurance will go down like 50% if they register their cars in PA?

akorosdc · 08-26-2008, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnZ963

They buy a house here, but keep driving around with NY/NJ plates for like a year afterwards. Don't they understand that their insurance will go down like 50% if they register their cars in PA?

Is it really higher, I thought PA was one of the highest? I remember I had a neighbor growing up who kept their NY plates to save on insurance. But, then again, her NY address was somewhere upstate, not NYC.

I kept my PA plates for 2 years in Virginia, but that was only because Geico let me have PA registration and pay Virginia insurance rates (much much cheaper). Virginia's pretty anal with their license plates since many areas charge you tax on your car, but I found that as long as you don't change your drivers license there's no problem keeping out-of-state plates.

JohnZ963 · 08-29-2008, 05:27 AM

When I moved from northern NJ to eastern PA after graduating college about 5 years ago, my car insurance, for a normal Chevy sedan, went from $2,200 to $1,000 a year. About a year ago, my 35 year old brother moved from the same area of NJ to the Lehigh Valley of PA, and his went from $1,500 to $850.

NJ is supposed to be the highest in the nation. NY is high, but not as high as NJ supposedly. I hear that's why you see so many rental cars in northern NJ with NY plates, it is slightly cheaper. NY might be relatively cheap when you get more than 2 hours away from NYC.

Quote:

Originally Posted by juniperbleu

Is it really higher, I thought PA was one of the highest? I remember I had a neighbor growing up who kept their NY plates to save on insurance. But, then again, her NY address was somewhere upstate, not NYC.

I kept my PA plates for 2 years in Virginia, but that was only because Geico let me have PA registration and pay Virginia insurance rates (much much cheaper). Virginia's pretty anal with their license plates since many areas charge you tax on your car, but I found that as long as you don't change your drivers license there's no problem keeping out-of-state plates.