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.
If you can afford to wait until after August 9th, I'll have better information for you because that's when I go through this process.
From what I understand:
1. Get auto insurance. I just got off the phone with Amica an hour ago to do this. The effective date is the day I intend to go to DMV once I'm in Raleigh.
2. Get driver's license. We are going for the "Real ID" license and the two proof of residency items we'll use are our insurance policy and our lease agreement from the apartment we're renting. Although we won't have a utility bill, we will have a Duke Energy Progress account for electric and a City of Raleigh account for water before we move in so we can get these utilities turned on ahead of time. You might be able to print out a statement or something from them online to have supplemental proof.
3. Get registration. This can't be done in the same place as the license, it's a different location. Your valid out of state driver's license and the temporary driver's license you got from NC DMV are what's needed. Along with the other things regarding ownership and leins, etc.
Because I can get screwed with fees from NY if I there's a lapse of insurance, I will be sending my plates back to them with proof of delivery required.
Hopefully it will go smoothly in person but if there are complications, we've taken vacation days to make sure we can take care of everything. Also, someone mentioned in a thread I posted recently that they require proof of identity with your full middle name. I just checked my Passport and Social Security Cards and they have our middle names, so we're covered there.
Let me know if I can be of any more help. I was confused too.
I remember finding this super confusing for that exact reason (made even worse by the fact I had not changed my car title to my name before I moved--it's was still in my parents' name). I think my insurance from my old state on my car was good enough to get the license.
We called our insurance company in advance and scheduled a start date for when we arrived in NC. We were able to do this before we got our NC Driver's License. It also allowed us to cancel our more expensive NJ policy.
Probably doesn't apply to the OP, but if I remember correctly, there is a quirk in NC, where a driver, even if they don't have a car, is required to carry liability insurance.
Just wait until you try to register a lease and the leasing company refuses to release your title without a written letter from the DMV, and the DMV refuses to write you anything. That was a fun few weeks of ping pong...
Alright, I spent four hours today to get a license, plates and tags. My process below is correct.
I went to the license office on the corner of Avent Ferry Road and Gorman. We got there at about 9 and stood on line for 45 minutes to get a ticket, then another hour or so to get called. Did the eye exam, sign test (if you don't pass this, you shouldn't be driving, it was that easy lol), gave them all the docs for the Real ID (proof of residence was my apt lease and insurance policy), registered to vote, became an organ donor, and took a photo. Everyone was very nice. The worst part was the wait, the people on line who didn't understand personal space, and a couple of crying babies.
Then we went to the plate/tag office on Buck Jones Rd in the South Hills Shopping Center. Besides it being the closest one, the woman who helped us in the driver's license office recommended we go there instead of the other ones. We ordered our custom plates, got our temp plates, and were in and out in less than 20 minutes.
The whole process took about 4 hours I think, for two people. I kept hearing people getting turned away because they had no idea they were supposed to bring documentation of residence, ID, insurance, etc. That's just silly in this day and age where most people have access to the DMV website.
So in other words, do a little homework, get to the license office when it opens or make an appointment, and you'll be fine. I heard someone said it takes weeks to get an appointment, so be aware.
Let me know if I can answer anything else.
Quote:
Originally Posted by greenie72
1. Get auto insurance. I just got off the phone with Amica an hour ago to do this. The effective date is the day I intend to go to DMV once I'm in Raleigh.
2. Get driver's license. We are going for the "Real ID" license and the two proof of residency items we'll use are our insurance policy and our lease agreement from the apartment we're renting.
3. Get registration. This can't be done in the same place as the license, it's a different location. Your valid out of state driver's license and the temporary driver's license you got from NC DMV are what's needed. Along with the other things regarding ownership and leins, etc.
I kept hearing people getting turned away because they had no idea they were supposed to bring documentation of residence, ID, insurance, etc. That's just silly in this day and age where most people have access to the DMV website.
Spent a couple hours in the license office this past winter when my twins were getting their permits and I was also amazed at how people just show up with nothing correct to get a permit or license. It is unreal.
Spent a couple hours in the license office this past winter when my twins were getting their permits and I was also amazed at how people just show up with nothing correct to get a permit or license. It is unreal.
I think some people just go so they can be told what to do, but when that means waiting on line for an hour and a half, I can't imagine that's any fun to be turned away. The line snaked through two rooms and out the door.
I still had a better experience there than I would have in NY though.
3. Get registration. This can't be done in the same place as the license, it's a different location. Your valid out of state driver's license and the temporary driver's license you got from NC DMV are what's needed.
One thing I did not know is that an inspection is not required for the first time registration, only for renewals. Wish I had known that before I told a friend to get the inspection first and save the $30.
One thing I did not know is that an inspection is not required for the first time registration, only for renewals. Wish I had known that before I told a friend to get the inspection first and save the $30.
Yup, good point! I knew that from reading it on the website but it was still a nice surprise.
I just realized I need to take the NY registration and inspection stickers off my windshield.
I'll be following this guide first thing in the morning, pretty much. I think we may have overkill on the documentation, but anything they could ask for, we should have. I thought I had to wait for my permanent NC DL to arrive before registering my two vehicles, though. I can use my permanent CA DL and my temporary NC DL and do it all the same day?
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.
