Address for drivers license if fulltiming

[Back2PA]

Looking in to the various things to consider for fulltiming and ran across this conundrum: what to use as an address for drivers license purposes if one doesn't have a sticks house. AZ cross checks the address and specifically disallows addresses such as a "suite" at the UPS store, etc. Unfortunately don't have anyone in AZ who's address I could use and I would need to stick with AZ for now to avoid complicating things. How have others dealt with this?

[docj]

There are a number of states that are considered "full-timer friendly" because they don't pose the problem you are encountering.  Your assumption that other people in AZ have resolved this problem may not be correct.  There are a couple of states I know of for which the legal issues surrounding domicile, vehicle registration, etc, essentially make it impossible to be a full-timer unless you continue to own property in the state.  Possibly AZ is another one of those.

FWIW I recall that AZ is a state with an annual vehicle registration cost that is pegged to the value of the vehicle.  Since RV's are "high dollar" vehicles this can make registration costs rather steep.  Are you absolutely sure you can't change your domicile to a friendlier state?

[Gizmo]

docj raises some good points and is on the right track.  We currently live in AZ and going fulltime in January, we will be domiciling in, as docj mentioned, a state friendly to creating a domicile.  In our case we are choosing SD, but there are others as well.  The key with AZ and I believe most other states is weather you spend 30 or more days in the state and what really complicates proving you are not a resident, is if you are working in the state, perhaps own a house or have a rental agreement in force.  These are the kind of criteria states may look at if they question your domicile status.  Many fulltimers go the route of establishing a domicile in one of the states friendly to fulltimers without issues.  It may be true AZ does not allow a UPS box or such as an address, I am not sure, but no matter, because in establishing a domicile in one of the states you will also need to get a mail service which will provide a "fixed" and legal address which should satisfy a legal address status.

[SargeW]

As Gizmo says, SD is one of those states. We have had a domicile in SD for a while now using "My Dakota Address".  SD rules for domicile are pretty straight forward. Since SD has one of the smallest populations in the country, being able to count RVers as residents helps them with federal tax dollars.

Since we full time and move around often we don't have to worry about "accidentally" establishing residency in another state. All of our financial stuff is addressed through SD, we are registered to vote in SD, and vehicles are registered in SD. The other popular states for RVer residency are TX and FL. 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Some people have rented a room or apartment for a month or two to have an established address for the license process. It rarely gets checked again once issued.  You may even be able to make that rental an RV site in an established park, one that accepts US mail for its residents.

You probably should have a talk with an AZ DMV person and learn what forms of "proof of address" are acceptable for someone who rents and moves around a lot..

[TonyDtorch]

Some states ask for a utility bill with your name and address on it to prove residency.

[Back2PA]

Are you absolutely sure you can't change your domicile to a friendlier state?

No, I'm not. It's just the complexity. I also have several LLCs which would have to be reregistered and have to look at the cost of doing that along with other things. I have already been considering SD, but my thought was to 'clean up' the inital address change with a local AZ address before I make the 'big move' to SD or one of the others

We have had a domicile in SD for a while now using "My Dakota Address".   The other popular states for RVer residency are TX and FL. 

I'll look into that as well Sarge. Americas Mailbox states $190 + about $200-500 for forwarding postage so the saving on annual RV registration tax would about be a wash. I would save a couple thousand in other income taxes but again have unknown costs due to the LLCs. Almost certainly worth it, just have to figure out the best way.

I will find out soon about a fairly unique workamping opportunity in southern AZ which still offers substantial time for travel, so I'm just looking at how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together

[docj]

No, I'm not. It's just the complexity. I also have several LLCs which would have to be reregistered and have to look at the cost of doing that along with other things. I have already been considering SD, but my thought was to 'clean up' the inital address change with a local AZ address before I make the 'big move' to SD or one of the others

I don't think there's anything preventing you from maintaining the AZ LLC's even though you are a resident of another state.  You would simply have to file income tax returns with AZ for income earned in that state.  I do that with an LLC I maintain that's not in SD.

BTW, I second the recommendation of MyDakotaAddress.  Terri has been handling our mail for 8 years and we've never had an issue.  We get very little mail these days, but when something that looks important comes in, at my request, she opens, scans and emails it to me with no additional charge.  She's a wonderful person to work with and Madison is a nice little town to call home. 

[Gizmo]

I don't think there's anything preventing you from maintaining the AZ LLC's even though you are a resident of another state.  You would simply have to file income tax returns with AZ for income earned in that state.  I do that with an LLC I maintain that's not in SD.

BTW, I second the recommendation of MyDakotaMailbox.  Terri has been handling our mail for 8 years and we've never had an issue.  We get very little mail these days, but when something that looks important comes in, at my request, she opens, scans and emails it to me with no additional charge.  She's a wonderful person to work with and Madison is a nice little town to call home.

This is good news, as this is one of the two mail services we have been looking at.