Car Registration (Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Penn: insurance, purchases, DMV)

[Colby524]

I recently moved to Pittsburgh from New Jersey. I read some other posts regarding registering your car and I am bit confused. Does anyone know if it is necessary to register your car and/or get Pennsylvania plates? If so, how would I go about doing this?

Thanks for the help!

[nynjmapa]

If I were you, I would change your insurance since it should be more economical.

To change your insurance, you'll need PA registration. This site has it all:
Pennsylvania Car Registration Guide - Renewals, Changing States, New Vehicle Purchases, Non Operational - DMV.ORG

If you are a student or not planning on staying in PA for that long, I would hold onto the NJ registration and plates.

PA DMV is a tropical paradise compared to NJ DMV.

[PeterRabbit]

Contact the AAA or a local notary here, one that does more than witness signatures. Some advertise Fast Harrisburg Service and those are the ones who should know and can handle things for you. Your car will need a PA inspection and proof of insurance is required. An emissions test is also required and usually done with the state inspection. Thise need done every year.

[pic-chic]

To change your insurance, you'll need PA registration.

Actually, you need the insurance first. And PA doesn't really have a DMV system like most states. You can only get your license at a DMV location. Your car's registration is done through a notary (most dealers have one to do this). You need the proof of title and insurance before you can register the car. It cost more for the notary's work than for the actual registration (they can pretty much charge what they want). Inspections vary by county here. All have an inspection requirement, but some add emissions while others don't (and the clouds of emission gases I've seen on some cars here tell me they all should).
If you're here as a student, keep your official address as your home/NJ one and don't change your car.
And for the record, my insurance went up from $850 to $1200 moving from MA to PA. Don't assume things are cheaper here.

[nynjmapa]

Originally Posted by pic-chic

Actually, you need the insurance first. And PA doesn't really have a DMV system like most states. You can only get your license at a DMV location. Your car's registration is done through a notary (most dealers have one to do this). You need the proof of title and insurance before you can register the car. It cost more for the notary's work than for the actual registration (they can pretty much charge what they want). Inspections vary by county here. All have an inspection requirement, but some add emissions while others don't (and the clouds of emission gases I've seen on some cars here tell me they all should).
If you're here as a student, keep your official address as your home/NJ one and don't change your car.
And for the record, my insurance went up from $850 to $1200 moving from MA to PA. Don't assume things are cheaper here.

Forgot that it was the reverse order in terms of getting insurance first, then registration. Thanks for the correction. And now I remember going to AAA for the registration, I think they switched my out of state title to a PA title.

Personally speaking, my auto insurance dropped substantially when I moved from Jersey to the greater Boston area. And it dropped even further when moving from MA to Pitt suburbs. NJ is consistently ranked as one of the Top 3 states with the most expensive auto insurance. Here is a random link citing states with the most expensive insurance costs:
Mass. 4th most expensive for auto insurance in '05 - The Boston Globe

PA DMVs rock compared to Jersey DMVs. And MA license fee was highway robbery, $90!!!

[pic-chic]

And MA license fee was highway robbery, $90!!!

That's just when you first move there and is mostly so they can track down your previous driving history when converting from another state. Normally, it's only $40 every 5 years. I wish my insurance had dropped when I moved here. Even my MA company was going to charge me more if I stayed with them (which I couldn't after changing the registration). I mean, I went from just outside Boston to the countryside of western PA and it's $350 more to insure it?! Fixing it would definitely cost more in MA and it's more likely to be stolen up there, too. It just doesn't make sense.
And I'd much prefer a one-stop DMV instead of what they have here, too. Having to go to separate places to do the license and car stuff is a waste of time and gas.