License and Registration, a dilemma wrapped in a conundrum...

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Bruce Patterson

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 10, 2005
Posts
188
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Some where on the Third Planet from Sol, Milky Way
Hi Folks,

Long time no sea (literally, I'm land locked).  ???

Well, I'm now in the longest assignment I've ever had--been in Las Vegas since Hollow Ween of 2011.  I had to go a way for a month at the end of 2011 in order to avoid being taxed on my Per Diem.

To this gets me to my dilemma wrapped in a conundrum.

For at least 16 years now, I've had an Oregon Driver's license and my vehicles are registered there.  My current license expires on Nov. 7, my 60th birthday.  I renewed it 8 years ago by mail and it doesn't even have a picture on it.

Well, Oregon has changed their laws about renewal.  They have several new requirements, some, but not all of which, I can meet.

  • I have to go there in person, can't renew by mail anymore.  I can't do that.
  • ]I have to have proof of my address I can't do that, it's a mail forwarding service where I don't actually receive any mail. I actually have another mail forwarding service in Seattle, where I actually do receive mail.  Both of those addresses are listed on my license and vehicle registrations
  • I need proof of US citizenship and my identity.  No problem, my passport takes care of that.

Bottom line is, it's impossible for me to renew my Oregon license, so I have to do something else, and do it before my license expires.

The path of least resistance is to get a Nevada license.
  • They don't require proof of address.  You can list a physical address and mailing address, the mailing address can be outside of Nevada and that's the one they put on the license and mail your renewal notices.  You can even opt to receive your notices by mail. I can list the RV park as my physical address because I don't need any proof.
  • Nevada licenses are good for 8 years and can be renewed online.

I really don't see any way I can avoid getting a Nevada Driver's license.  I don't even have to take any tests (for a Class C which is equivalent to what my Oregon License is).  I'm declining the voter registration.  I'm registered in Washington, more on that later.

There's only one fly in the ointment.  I'm required by law to transfer my vehicle reservations here within 30 days!

Doggonit!  My Trailer license still has a year left on the registration and the truck i just paid for another two years--haven't even put the tabs on yet.  On top of this changing the registration means changing the title (well it says  I can keep the Oregon title but it's best not to) and I'm not the title holder, the Credit Union is, so I would have to involve them.  Plus I have to change my insurance to Nevada, which is an additional complication.

On top of that, I don't plan to stay here forever.  My Travel Authorization expires on Dec. 13 and I have to leave again for at least a month for tax purposes. This job won't be finished (we're currently shut down, thanks to the three stooges, Obama, Reid, and Boehner) and there's no guarantee I'll come back in January, but I might.

I really don't want to transfer my vehicles here.  A friend here in the RV park  has his vehicles registered in Oregon and he switched his license, so I'm wondering if maybe they don't enforce it to furiously, maybe only if you get pulled over (crossing fingers, knocking on wood).

Well, I really don't have much choice, do I? I really can't get a license somewhere else within the next four weeks.  I think I'll get the license here and ignore the vehicle registration requirement, then if anybody has any other ideas I'll switch later. I've heard Texas and SD are good.

BTW, my home in Washington is for sale.  Dad was living there and he died this year so we are selling the house.  I'm registered to vote there and file my taxes there, but now I have no physical residence in the USA anymore.

My actual residence is in Brazil. I own a house there, have a permanent visa there, have utility bills and pay property taxes there.

Could I switch my driver's license and vehicle registration to Brazil and continue to work in the USA?  Just kidding!  ;D

 
Since you have to take a month off, couldn't you travel to Oregon and renew your license? Have something sent to the mail forwarding address you have in Oregon so that you have something with an Oregon address on it. Or stay at a campground and you'd have a rental receipt with an Oregon address on it.
 
Bruce just about any state will require you to appear in person for your first license issue do unless you're willing to travel NV seems to be it.


SD does issue extensions for renewal up to six months. Have you asked OR about that?
 
Wendy said:
Since you have to take a month off, couldn't you travel to Oregon and renew your license? Have something sent to the mail forwarding address you have in Oregon so that you have something with an Oregon address on it. Or stay at a campground and you'd have a rental receipt with an Oregon address on it.


Wendy doesn't OR require tax payment receipts, uitility bills, etc?
 
All you actually need in Oregon is something mailed to you with an Oregon address on it. It can't be c/o, must be addressed to you. Mike took the packaging from VW parts that were sent via UPS to him at our Oregon address. A rental receipt or utility bill is also acceptable. That's to get a new Oregon license. Not sure what they require for a renewal but it sounds like it's the same.
 
Looks like you only have to have proof of residence if you have a change of address. So if you're using the same address as before, that shouldn't be a problem. I think they want you back in Oregon to physically renew because you're over 50 and they want you to take an eye test. Oregon used to be so easy.
 
Here's a little more background on my Oregon situation.

First I have two addresses on my Oregon License.  The first address is a mail forwarding service in Portland where I haven't received any mail for years, but pay $100 a year to maintain.  If they did receive mail for me there, they would put it in another envelope and snail mail it to my Seattle Address.  The Seattle address is also a mail forwarding service and that's where all my mail actually goes.  The last time I renewed my license there in person was 9/11/2001.  I remember it very well because of the events of that day, and I was passing through Oregon on my way to NYC.  Later I renewed it by mail for 8 years but they issued the license without a photo and it expires Nov. 7, less than a month from now.

One time I was in Oregon and went to the DMV and asked them to re-issue the license with a photo.  They looked up my address and saw that it was a mail forwarding service and they said I couldn't use that address so they couldn't re-issue the license with a photo. They also told me at that time that when I applied for renewal, they wouldn't renew it.

Ok, now the proof of address issue.  The postcard I got said that the postcard itself could act as proof of address unless I was using a mailing address that wasn't my physical address.  They send my renewal notices to my Seattle address, so that means I needed another proof of address.    I could mail myself something at my Portland address, but it would take some time to receive it unless I called them and had it FedExed to me here in Las Vegas (I could do that). 

However, the other requirement that I simply can't meet is actually appearing in person.  I simply can't go to Oregon between now and the deadline.

So the bottom line is that Oregon is out.

Nevada is very friendly to me.  I actually went there and talked to them about it.  They told me that having an out of state mailing address is no problem, and that's the address that will actually appear on my license, not the physical address (which will be the RV Park).  Also I don't need any proof of address at all, they take my word for it.

On top of that, the license will be valid for 8 years and I can renew on line at least once.  That gives me a licence for 16 years.  By then I'll be 76 and retired in Brazil (or maybe dead).  That's the year my son will graduate from High School, so I might actually be in Texas by then because I may decide to put him through HS in Texas.  Anyway that is far enough down the road not to worry about it.

The only thing that is an issue at this point is if I can get away with not transferring my vehicles here.

At one time in my wanderings, I had a DL in Washington, Oregon plates on the truck and Michigan plates on the trailer, and nobody ever bothered me about it.  But I was never pulled over by the police in either Oregon or Washington, I can't imagine why anyone else would even care. 

So, at least for a while, I'll have a Nevada License and Oregon plates on both vehicles.  I can't imagine it being an issue unless I am pulled over in one of those two states. Being pulled over in Oregon is not going to happen since I won't drive there.  In Nevada, I'm driving to work every day.  I'll just be careful. 

If I'm still here in 2014 (or come back, I should say return), maybe I'll consider transferring then just to be safe.  If it becomes an issue in the meantime, I'll say I'm only here until December and don't want to transfer them twice, if it becomes an issue later, I'll say I've been out of state and couldn't take care of it until I got back.  Maybe there will be a fine, which will have to just be fine.  :-X

How do I turn on email notifications for replies here?
 
Just do be careful.  I was told that if an insurance company (any kind) determines your residence is not where you said it was, they could cancel your insurance and/or not pay a claim based on "fraud."  They make these rules because rates are based on residence.  Putting your Washington house up for sale is another complication.

Since you have both tax and licensing and insurance concerns, you might want to contact a lawyer about this complicated business. 
 
JudyJB said:
Just do be careful.  I was told that if an insurance company (any kind) determines your residence is not where you said it was, they could cancel your insurance and/or not pay a claim based on "fraud."  They make these rules because rates are based on residence.  Putting your Washington house up for sale is another complication.

Since you have both tax and licensing and insurance concerns, you might want to contact a lawyer about this complicated business. 

Well, the property in my name is agricultural only.  Dad's house next door is where I am registered to vote.  I've inherited 1/2 ownership in his house and we are selling it, but my brother lives next door to that, I might register to vote at his house.  My absentee ballots go to my Seattle address that I've had more than 25 years.

My insurance is full timer's insurance and they know I travel full time in all states.  It's based on my "garageing" location, but they know I don't keep it in a garage in Oregon.  That's because I have Oregon plates.  I'm going to have to give them my NV DL number when I get it, so I don't know how they'll handle that.  I'll talk with my broker about it.

I haven't actually had a residence in the USA since 1993 except for my RV, and during that time I've worked in 45 states, most of them more than once.  Sometimes I store the RV and go overseas.  I've worked in Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, two Caribbean countries, and Brazil.  In 2005 I bought a house in Brazil and moved to a different house in 2011.  It's my only fixed residence.  As a Brazilian resident I'm legally allowed to vote in the last place I lived in the USA for the rest of my life, so I vote in Washington. I have an accountant handle my taxes and he is aware of my situation.  One time I paid State Income taxes and filed a return in New York, but haven't in any other state so far.  I let the accountant figure that out.

I'm really not too worried, just unusual.  If I could get work in Brazil, I would be there full time, when I retire that's where I will be.  Well, unless I decide to take my son to Texas to go to High School, which I might, but I would only stay there four years, then go back to Brazil when he starts college.
 
Hey Bruce,  Like your R-Forum link and the included Bio. Where do you find the time..go get'em, Tiger

 
What address currently appears on your DL? Presume it is an Oregon one? If it is you shouldn't have any problems renewing your license. If your mailing address isn't the same as it appears on your DL, Oregon probably already knows if its one within their border. The State and the USPS share information. When we went to renew our DL recently in WI, they already knew our latest address, we just had to confirm it and it was included on our new DLs. As long as you claim Oregon as your home of record and you're paying Oregon state income/property taxes you're probably safe to assume you are a resident.
 
Herezz the latest update.

I went to the Nevada DMV with my forms all filled out and paid them $25.  They gave me a Nevada License with my Seattle address on it, no questions asked.  I didn't transfer my vehicles here like I'm supposed to, and don't plan to.  My Oregon License had two addresses on it, that of my Mail Drop in Portland, and that of my Mail drop in Seattle.  I gave Nevada the address of my RV park as my physical address, and my mail drop in Seattle as my mailing address.  I didn't have to take any tests.  My license expires in 4 years, but any license issued after Jan. 1, 2014 is valid for 8 years and I can renew it online, so I'm good for 12 years. 
 
Bruce Patterson said:
Herezz the latest update.

I went to the Nevada DMV with my forms all filled out and paid them $25.  They gave me a Nevada License with my Seattle address on it, no questions asked.  I didn't transfer my vehicles here like I'm supposed to, and don't plan to.  My Oregon License had two addresses on it, that of my Mail Drop in Portland, and that of my Mail drop in Seattle.  I gave Nevada the address of my RV park as my physical address, and my mail drop in Seattle as my mailing address.  I didn't have to take any tests.  My license expires in 4 years, but any license issued after Jan. 1, 2014 is valid for 8 years and I can renew it online, so I'm good for 12 years.

Don't get stopped anywhere other than OR or NV! You might find yourself in violation of a three way split. Don't know how aggressively they enforce that today, but years ago in the military we were cautioned against having our DL, VR and Residence in three different state all at the same time. You always wanted two the same. So I always kept both my car and drivers license in the state of WI regardless of where I was stationed. On base it wasn't too big of a deal, but if you lived off base the local cops really could ruin your day. They didn't go looking for it, but if you were stopped for something else..it was often added to up the fine marking you as a habitual offender.
 

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