DMVs cracking down regarding addresses?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
702Rubi said:
Maybe they were able to use that as the "mailing address", but they would have had to provide a valid residential address as well.  Such as an RV park address?

The NV residency requirements for a driver's license are on the following page (scroll down a ways).  Perhaps a vehicle registration doesn't require as much residency documentation as a driver's license?


http://www.dmvnv.com/dlresidency.htm


Edit:  jackimac pointed out the same thing I did here!

Yes we gave an RV park address.  We are from the UK so we don't need US DL, we were registering vehicles only.
 
AStravelers said:
With Texas or Florida as your domicile you register your vehicles, get your vehicle insurane, get your drivers license, and vote with the address supplied by the Escapees mail forwarding address.
We set up our domicile in FL and that's how it's worked for us.
 
Dreamsend said:
The DHS regulations at 6 CFR 37.11 subsection (f) state that at the time of application, a person must present at least two documents of the State's choice that include the individual's name and principal residence.  A street address is required except as provided in section 37.17(f) of the part.  NOTE:  It says street address, NOT residential address.

What an informative post, Linda, thanks!

What WA state is doing so far is automatically rejecting any address that comes back to them as a business according to the USPS database. No ifs, ands, or buts. (And yet they are still not compliant!)

If I wanted to push the issue, I'd have to take these regs you quote to a state lawmaker and make them hold the DMV accountable.

But living 10 mins from the Canadian border, I always have my passport on me. Guess I'll pick up the fight when it expires....
 
Dreamsend/Linda,

That was a doozy!  I did read it all and I think you have good arguments there.  However, something tells me none of us will be getting driver licenses listing "Motorhome" or "Camper" as an address! ;-)

I pulled up the federal laws to browse through and copy/paste a few excerpts for myself.  I think their biggest concern was determining identity and legal presence in the country, probably not so concerned exactly where and how you live, or if you move around a lot, etc.  Maybe that's why they chose to define "principal residence" a bit loosely (and then dump it off onto the states to define residency requirements).  Or as you suggest, it was simply a rushed and botched job of writing the law!
 
We had our our FL mailing address months before we applied for licences and domicile. St. Brendan's Isle staff told us we could apply anywhere in FL, but applying in the same city where they were located would be easier because everyone at the DMV and the court system were familiar with what we were trying to accomplish. So we drove from the west coast to the east coast to apply, SBI could not have been more right. We flew through the process. No problems. The only thing to remember for women is if you are married or have been married you have to prove how you name changed to your current name. You need your birth certificate and marriage license. If you've been diviorced you need show your diviorce papers and marriage certificate for each time you were married. They don't always ask, but they have the right and we know couples that were turned down until they got their paperwork in order. So it's better to be prepared.
 
Linda/Dreamsend:

Excellent information. All the more reason to become a member of Escapees, who have significant clout with representatives in Texas to make sure members are not left in the lurch after 2020.
As as aside, I am a truck driver who is required to have a TWIC (Transportation Workers Identification Credential) to enter Nuclear Power Plants, Military bases, Ports and the like. I just renewed it and was issued one that will expire in 2021, and the Texas drivers License was part of the acceptable forms of identification. To get it you must be fingerprinted, photographed and a criminal backround check performed.
Because they accepted Texas DL. it appears that Homeland Security is not paying attention to their own requirements.
 
One of the things we did was to mail ourselves - one to me and one to my SO - a letter at the PMB address.  Once we showed the letter with the PO cancelled stamp, there were no more questions.  I guess if the USPS found the address acceptable, the DMV accepted it.

Don't know if this would work every time, but for the price of postage, it may not hurt to add it to your group of documentation.
 
herekittykitty said:
Just a thought, but you might write to or call your state senators or representatives to ask what they think you should do.

Off the wall, I know, but I've gotten help from my state's representatives on a state issue in the past.

While I know this is driven by Homeland Security, there are plenty of people who now live only in their rigs, and the government can't just pretend we don't exist. I discovered that WA State, while they will not let me change my physical address on my driver's or vehicle licenses to either of the RV parks I stay in (so I'm still using the address of the house I used to own, but no longer do), still considers me a legal resident based on their stated criteria.

So what happens when you need to renew your license? What address are they going to send it to?
 
yolo said:
I live in Florida and have a mail service to receive mail and forward it to where I might be at the time.  All of my vehicle registrations and driver licenses show my home's physical address although I don't receive mail at this location.  Not a big problem since I do own the house at this address.  It just gets a little dicey when someone wants to use my physical mailing address and I don't have a mailbox.

So where do they mail your license when you renew??
 
Gary RVer Emeritus said:
As a fallback, you could always rent a room in a flophouse somewhere for a month and do your license application.  Nobody's gonna check next month to see if you have moved, and you should be good at least until renewal time.

I am disturbed by this answer, as it advocates breaking the law. You are required to keep the DMV informed of your current address. So if you rent a room in a flophouse for just a month with the intent on having an address to receive your mailed license, you need to inform the DMV when you move and provide a current address. If you can't provide a sufficient address, then your license will be revoked. You have to have the current address since the court may use that address for juror duty notices and the police/courts use that address to mail you info if you get a ticket. The DMV may also need to contact you.
 
herekittykitty said:
One of the things I learned is that a recreational RV park (as opposed to a residential one) will be in the address system as a business, and it's that part that will kick the address back as being unacceptable.

So make sure whatever flophouse you choose is a rooming house with a legal residential address, and not classified as a motel (for transient rather than permanent guests) and therefore a business.

This information in wrong. A motel address or campground or homeless shelter where you actually live and can receive mail will satisfy all state DMV's. Period. Lots of people stay in motels for a year or two for business or while their home is being repaired. I don't know where you got this info from, but it is simply not true.
 
herekittykitty said:
What an informative post, Linda, thanks!

What WA state is doing so far is automatically rejecting any address that comes back to them as a business according to the USPS database. No ifs, ands, or buts. (And yet they are still not compliant!)

The USPS database does not show if the address is a business or not; it only shows if it is a commercial mail receiving agency that offers PMB's, like a UPS Store or Postal Annex. Here is the database info for a motel (Courtyard by Marriott):

https://s21.postimg.org/q8glcxw07/usps-2.gif

There is nothing on it which shows it is a business.

I tried to give my mailing address to the Maine BMV (same as a DMV) in 2007, which was a UPS Store when I had to renew in 2008. They rejected it since it came up as a commercial mail receiving agency. But then they said I could use it as a mailing address, and either my mailing or physical address could appear on my license (my choice). I still had to show them proof of residential address to satisfy potential Real ID requirements, which Maine does not adhere to still, btw (people with Maine DL's are currently being denied entry  to VA hospitals and military bases, but not airports). They said if I have no proof, I can't have a Maine license since you have to actually live in Maine to get their license. I showed them an auto insurance card with my residential address, even though the post office does not deliver there as it is a General Delivery address (so you pick up your mail at the post office window as General Delivery or get a free PO box, depending on the distance you live from the post office).

So my point is you can use an RV campground or hotel or homeless shelter where you are staying, and the DMV will not know. And they do not care anyway, as long as you are living there. Heck, some states, if you are homeless, the DMV gives you a map and tells you to place an "X" in the forest or under a bridge or cardboard box or wherever where you live.
 

Attachments

  • usps-2.gif
    usps-2.gif
    75.4 KB · Views: 4
TheNewhalls said:
The only thing to remember for women is if you are married or have been married you have to prove how you name changed to your current name. You need your birth certificate and marriage license. If you've been diviorced you need show your diviorce papers and marriage certificate for each time you were married. They don't always ask, but they have the right and we know couples that were turned down until they got their paperwork in order. So it's better to be prepared.

None of that will be necessary if your passport book or card has your current name. I never showed my birth certificate, since a passport acts as an identity document and gives proof of date of birth and legal presence/citizenship.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
131,670
Posts
1,382,720
Members
137,455
Latest member
MtnRV
Back
Top Bottom