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phoenix2121
Junior Nomad
Posts: 85
Registered: 8-16-2008
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Need Some Vehicle Registration Help
A bit of background... I joined this forum in 2008, and had intended to move to the Baja later that year. Life happened, and it kept me from doing it.
Now, we're (myself, my girlfriend and my 11-year-old son) are finally able to make the move. We've been selling stuff in our home, and we're trying to
clear out to get down to the Baja by June.
Anyway, I think we've solved most of the problems we'll face logistically, but there's one that I just can't seem to find any good info on.
We both have cars that we'll be taking with us (from St. Louis). We have no problem getting our drivers licenses renewed, as we can just hop a flight
for a visit home, and then get it renewed while we're here, but we're running into a wall when trying to figure out how we'll renew our registration
on our cars (plates) each year.
Obviously, we don't want to drive 1,000+ miles home each year to get our plates renewed, and although they offer the ability to register online, the
cars also need a safety and emissions test from a Missouri testing facility.
We have friends in California and had considered using their addresses in order to get California drivers licenses and registration, but I think they
require a proof of California address to do that, and we're obviously not living there, so we won't have what they need (a utility bill in most
cases).
I know that there are tons of people that drive on expired plates in the Baja, but this becomes an issue when we drive the car into the US to visit
friends in San Diego, or if my girlfriend decides to work in San Diego (pending Sentri pass application currently).
So, what do you folks do? Are there any "good" options here?
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn\'t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
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Pescador
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Posts: 3587
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Location: Baja California Sur
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Most of us buy plates from South Dakota which can be renewed by the mail. You send your title, amount of money required, copy of your drivers license
or other ID , and they send you the plates.
You can call Cathy at South Dakota and she will walk you through the process.
605-677-7123
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Car registrations
Welcome!!
On your way to Baja, take a small detour to South Dakota. Register your car, get a driver's license and register to vote. That makes you a South
Dakota resident....also, no personal income tax.
You can renew your South Dakota plates by mail. and no emission requirements or safety inspections.
There are services that take care of most of the process for you and also provide you with a SD address
There have been reports of CBP giving grief to people who have SD plates and DL's from another state. One individual I know with a SD registration and
a California DL had her SENTRI renewal denied until she re-registered her vehicle in California.
Just do it all at once in SD and be done with it
[Edited on 3-7-2014 by bajaguy]
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dasubergeek
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Just be aware that if you drive back home, many states enforce the "three state rule", meaning that of your driver license, your plates and your
residence, two of the three must be the same state. You can't have a South Dakota plate, a Missouri license, and a residence in Baja California. The
chances of them finding out you don't actually live in Missouri is pretty slim, though.
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phoenix2121
Junior Nomad
Posts: 85
Registered: 8-16-2008
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajaguy
Welcome!!
On your way to Baja, take a small detour to South Dakota.
[Edited on 3-7-2014 by bajaguy] |
LOL at "small detour" - that sounds awful, but if it's what we have to do, then I'm all for it.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn\'t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
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phoenix2121
Junior Nomad
Posts: 85
Registered: 8-16-2008
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Pescador
Most of us buy plates from South Dakota which can be renewed by the mail. You send your title, amount of money required, copy of your drivers license
or other ID , and they send you the plates.
You can call Cathy at South Dakota and she will walk you through the process.
605-677-7123 |
Thanks for the info. I'll give her a call. Have you ever had an issue with someone (CBP, checkpoints, etc.) give you an issue over having SD plates
and drivers license from another state (assuming that you don't have a drivers license in South Dakota.
I'm assuming that I'd normally just use my passport for ID, so the checkpoints probably wouldn't be an issue, but the CBP might (from what I've read).
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn\'t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
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phoenix2121
Junior Nomad
Posts: 85
Registered: 8-16-2008
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| Quote: | Originally posted by dasubergeek
Just be aware that if you drive back home, many states enforce the "three state rule", meaning that of your driver license, your plates and your
residence, two of the three must be the same state. You can't have a South Dakota plate, a Missouri license, and a residence in Baja California. The
chances of them finding out you don't actually live in Missouri is pretty slim, though. |
Could I circumvent that by showing my passport instead of my DL?
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn\'t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
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SFandH
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7433
Registered: 8-5-2011
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| Quote: | Originally posted by phoenix2121
We have friends in California and had considered using their addresses in order to get California drivers licenses and registration, but I think they
require a proof of California address to do that, and we're obviously not living there, so we won't have what they need (a utility bill in most
cases).
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You might want to look into this option a bit further. Just tell DMV you're renting a room from friends for 6 months while making the transition (no
utilities in your name) and want to establish CA residency now. You can download a rental contract and fill it out and take it with you to the DMV. If
San Diego, the cars will need to pass a smog test before registration and either annually or biennially thereafter.
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Dave
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Registered: 11-5-2002
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Your 11-year-old...you're gonna enroll him in school, where?
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by phoenix2121
| Quote: | Originally posted by bajaguy
Welcome!!
On your way to Baja, take a small detour to South Dakota.
[Edited on 3-7-2014 by bajaguy] |
LOL at "small detour" - that sounds awful, but if it's what we have to do, then I'm all for it. |
It will pay for itself in the long run
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
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Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Two things
If you, your son and your girlfriend ever have thoughts about getting into the SENTRI program, I would suggest registration and DL match.
What you will save in registration fees by registering in SD (and claiming residency for personal income tax) as opposed to California will mean more
$$ in your pocket....and no emission inspections.
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dasubergeek
Senior Nomad
Posts: 694
Registered: 8-17-2013
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No, because you have to prove you're licensed to drive. The problem is on the US side, not the Mexican side. The tránsitos don't know about the
three-state rule. If you're really moving and not just snowbirding, just go to S.D. once and get a license there.
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phoenix2121
Junior Nomad
Posts: 85
Registered: 8-16-2008
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Dave
Your 11-year-old...you're gonna enroll him in school, where? |
Hopefully this doesn't go through twice, but I don't think the first one worked.
We had planned to home school him, but we're going to tour two of the private schools in Rosarito before we make a decision.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn\'t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
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phoenix2121
Junior Nomad
Posts: 85
Registered: 8-16-2008
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by SFandH
| Quote: | Originally posted by phoenix2121
We have friends in California and had considered using their addresses in order to get California drivers licenses and registration, but I think they
require a proof of California address to do that, and we're obviously not living there, so we won't have what they need (a utility bill in most
cases).
|
You might want to look into this option a bit further. Just tell DMV you're renting a room from friends for 6 months while making the transition (no
utilities in your name) and want to establish CA residency now. You can download a rental contract and fill it out and take it with you to the DMV. If
San Diego, the cars will need to pass a smog test before registration and either annually or biennially thereafter. |
I think this might be the best option due to the close proximity.
Both of our cars are newer (5-7 years old) so smog shouldn't be an issue. I like the idea of having something close by to renew license and
registration, but I wasn't aware that it was as simple as getting a contract like that to prove residency.
I'll look into this further. Sounds like a good plan.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn\'t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
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phoenix2121
Junior Nomad
Posts: 85
Registered: 8-16-2008
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajaguy
If you, your son and your girlfriend ever have thoughts about getting into the SENTRI program, I would suggest registration and DL match.
What you will save in registration fees by registering in SD (and claiming residency for personal income tax) as opposed to California will mean more
$$ in your pocket....and no emission inspections. |
I'm not against this idea, but it begs the questions about renewals... I know that we can renew plates online, but what about the drivers license? How
long do you get between renewals? I'm assuming you can't do that online (renewals).
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn\'t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
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Cisco
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4196
Registered: 12-30-2010
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| Quote: | Originally posted by phoenix2121
| Quote: | Originally posted by bajaguy
If you, your son and your girlfriend ever have thoughts about getting into the SENTRI program, I would suggest registration and DL match.
What you will save in registration fees by registering in SD (and claiming residency for personal income tax) as opposed to California will mean more
$$ in your pocket....and no emission inspections. |
I'm not against this idea, but it begs the questions about renewals... I know that we can renew plates online, but what about the drivers license? How
long do you get between renewals? I'm assuming you can't do that online (renewals). |
http://mydakotaaddress.com/
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
Member Is Offline
Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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DL renewal
Here is the info
http://dps.sd.gov/licensing/driver_licensing/applications_fo...
| Quote: | Originally posted by phoenix2121
| Quote: | Originally posted by bajaguy
If you, your son and your girlfriend ever have thoughts about getting into the SENTRI program, I would suggest registration and DL match.
What you will save in registration fees by registering in SD (and claiming residency for personal income tax) as opposed to California will mean more
$$ in your pocket....and no emission inspections. |
I'm not against this idea, but it begs the questions about renewals... I know that we can renew plates online, but what about the drivers license? How
long do you get between renewals? I'm assuming you can't do that online (renewals). |
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Pescador
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3587
Registered: 10-17-2002
Location: Baja California Sur
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I have been stopped by the famous California State Patrol and they had no issue since I have a Colorado Drivers License and South Dakota Plates. I
explained that I have property in both states and Colorado wanted a yearly emissions test so I licensed in South Dakota but kept my Colorado Drivers
License. I am sure that would not work because of the tax issue if you have a California Drivers License.
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captkw
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3850
Registered: 10-19-2010
Location: el charro b.c.s.
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Mood: new dog/missing the old 1
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CALIFORNIANA
THE Mother Land !!! you folks that watch TV have no clue...Moscow...yuk,,yuk has the most millioneers on the planet !!...Ya They are all standing in
line for a loaf of bread !! turn off that BS TV ......the largest,biggest mind control in the world is a TV...Wake up fools !!Now back to your reg
programing and Flouriride....carry on !! CA. demands you to do All the rules they have in place......what,, they demand and NOthing ELSE.,..,Land of
the FEE...I laugh at folks that say "the USA is the free,,best place in the world to live """"BTW,,for you folks that don't know,,,New Zewland has
been the best rated place to live for over 30 years..keep waving that flag and paying the FED reserve bank....A private bank that is nothing to do
with the fed or helping the folks of the USA.....that IS ABOUT TO FALL ON ITS FACE!!! WHICH ONE OF YOU FOOLS IS GOING TO EVEN BEGIN TO DABATE THIS
FACT !!!..AND DONT FORGET,,,,DDT IS safe FOR YOUR KIDS!!! CANADA IS looking real nice !! A looney is not your EX -wife and Just for laughs-Gags,,is a
must see !!
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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Mood: Full Time Residents
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let's go "out of the box" and end the pain...
you are going to LIVE in TJ...import the car
use Mexican plates and get mex insurance
get USA insurance when you travel north
get a Mexican license...its about $50 bucks
no test
if the wife works in san diego...have here
walk across and use the trolly and
bus service
these things actually work in san diego
don't register in calif...big mistake...and why South Dakota if you are living full time in mexico...
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