Car Registration Conundrum (Santa Monica: 2013, insurance, houses)

[trylikeafool]

Hi guys,

I moved from TN in September 2013, and have kept my TN car registration valid while driving out here with TN plates. Now my registration in TN is up for renewal and I figure that I'll just go ahead and move everything over to California - license, registration, insurance. Did my insurance this week and have an appointment at the DMV in February to get my California license and registration. The problem is that I've waited a year-and-a-half, so I'm looking at $1200 just for registration. Would have done it sooner, but I wasn't sure I was going to stay out here. I've been told to just fib about when I moved to avoid the late penalties. If I do, I can knock $1000 off my fees. However, I'm concerned that the DMV will find out, especially since I got a speeding ticket a year ago on the 101, and was involved in a very minor accident in Santa Monica nearly a year ago as well - luckily the cops didn't bother me about my out-of-state plates. Could they see those incidents on my record while I'm applying for the new registration/license? If so, they'll know I've been here a while.

I'm about to get hit with a ton of California/city taxes as well since I'm self-employed. It's going to be hard enough to afford those without being robbed by the DMV as well. I can pay $200 for registration, but $1200 is way too excessive.

Any experience with this?

[cb73]

Do you still have your TN drivers license? If so, the tickets would have been sent to that. So no, when registering your car they would not actually have access to the ticket information.

People often go back and forth before deciding to establish residency in a particular place and the DMV does not honestly get that deeply involved. The question is not "when did you move here" but "when did you establish residency"--and only you can answer that.

Plus, if when you arrive at DMV for your appointment your TN registration is still valid, no questions will be asked. The questions are more likely to be asked when some has out of state plates that expired a couple of years ago and then finally show up to register in California. Then all those dates become super important to establish which state is owed fees.

California will be soaking you tax-wise in many ways. Don't worry about this one.

[smokingGun]

don't worry... the DMV is strapped for cash, they're not going to investigate whether you moved here 2 months ago or 10 when they've got to deal with the tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants who're now allowed to apply for licenses.

[bpeeps]

Isn't that 1K you have to pay taxes and not late fees?

The DMV isn't going to fact-check your history, you will be fine.

[2sleepy]

just register it, it's not expired - you have nothing to worry about. On the application there will be a date asking when you brought the vehicle to California, for all they know you brought it here last week.

[trylikeafool]

Thanks guys. I still have everything valid in TN, so guess the tickets are on that license. The 1K is in late fees. My car is fairly new, so most of the tax was paid to TN at the time of purchase. As soon as I mess with the residency dates in their estimator, the amount drops substantially. They also line item the fees...they're desperate for every penny they can get. Never knew how good I had it in TN.

[RoaminRebel]

Remember you'll need to smog the vehicle which means there can't be any CEL lights on...

You may also want to consider a membership with AAA to avoid dealing with the extremely slow lines at the DMV. Good luck!

[trylikeafool]

Yeah, I keep up the maintenance regularly, so the car's in good shape. I'm still concerned about the tickets I got. They may be tied to my TN driver's license, but I got a letter from the state of California a few months ago warning me that I'd received some points on my record. If those tickets are linked to my TN license, then how does California see them on my record? The DMV would probably have this in their records as well, I'm thinking.

Also, AAA only lets you do a driver's license test with them. They won't register the car. I'm just going to take care of both in one trip. Plus, I already pay for roadside assistance with Hyundai's Blue Link, so no sense in paying twice for the same thing.

[2sleepy]

Getting a ticket in California is not proof to DMV you were a resident. My husband and I went back and forth between Nevada and California 20 times over the course of 6 months shopping for houses and just generally checking out the area.