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My son is in Texas going to college and his car is due for registration - which in CA requires a smog test. Can he get it tested in Texas or since the car is out of state, can he get it registered without a CA test?
My son is in Texas going to college and his car is due for registration...
Are you saying that he is living fulltime in TX with a car not registered there?
Most states have a 30 day "grace" period to change address & registration.
I'd find out about how Texas does this before doing anything else
He probably should get his Texas plates and register his vehicle with the state, which would probably remove the ambiguity. In Texas it is only required to have registration and a safety inspection. No smog test required.
My son is in Texas going to college and his car is due for registration - which in CA requires a smog test. Can he get it tested in Texas or since the car is out of state, can he get it registered without a CA test?
CA DMV openly states they will not title, license or register vehicles out of state.
Are you saying that he is living fulltime in TX with a car not registered there?
Most states have a 30 day "grace" period to change address & registration.
Not applicable to full-time students, military personnel, and other classes of temporary residents who maintain a home elsewhere. There are at least a million out-of-state snow-bird cars that stay all winter in Texas.
Just let the CA smog permit expire -- it won't be enforced outside California. But he'll have to have it inspected immediately as soon as he drives the car back into California. Be prepared to show evidence of enrollment at university (but usually a simple declaration will suffice), to account for the late re-inspection lapse, or there might be a token late fee.
This will not be the first time a car has ever been driven to another state, and authorities everywhere are pretty well accustomed to such circumstances. By federal law, all states are required to grant a certain reciprocity to vehicles legally plated in another state, and a state you are visiting cannot enforce its laws on any car that meets the specs of the state it is registered in. For example, window tinting needs only to comply with the law in the state of registration, and a car doesn't have to be refit every time it is driven across a state line.
Last edited by CowanStern; 06-24-2012 at 11:09 PM..
Not applicable to full-time students, military personnel, and other classes of temporary residents who maintain a home elsewhere. There are at least a million out-of-state snow-bird cars that stay all winter in Texas.
Not many students do that... Mom and Dad will but not many students.
Quote:
Just let the CA smog permit expire -- it won't be enforced outside California.
California won't suspend the registration if a car fails smog or doesn't get tested at all?
I'll reiterate: check with the state for an accurate answer.
Even with no knowledge of the regulation, I can read the first post and see that they can't just let the "smog permit" expire. It says the REGISTRATION is expiring, and to renew it it needs a smog test. Any state will enforce an expired registration (plate) from another state, at least by writing a ticket.
It is unlikely you can get this renewed without going back to California. So you'll have to decide which is easier, getting the car to California, or perhaps deciding to change residency to Texas for now. There really shouldn't be a big problem with the latter unless there is some California state benefit that he's using and would lose, or some benefit that would require a waiting period when coming back or something.
I just talked to three different people in various Texas offices. Basically, the student can drive legally in Texas as long as he remains a student, and keeps a valid registration on the California car. But after that, it is up to the driver to do whatever is required to keep the California plates valid, and if they're expired, he can be ticket for unregistered vehicle.
All three of the people I talked to acted like nobody had ever asked this question before.
I strongly suspect that California has some kind of procedure in place for people that fall into this category, to enable registration renewal in absentia under legitimate circumstances.
One thing that would be legal would be to put a 30-day transit plate on the car in Texas, and keep doing this every month until he can return to California. The tax authority I talked to said that would be technically legal, but if done repeatedly, it could be construed as an intent to avoid payment of taxes. Transit plates are intended to allow a person to buy a car in Texas, and transport it to his home state for registration there. All that is required is a title, bill of sale, or some other evidence of ownership. And insurance of course.
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