Question about South Dakota driver's license

[mileena]

Hi, I am going to become a full-timer and getting my driver's license through South Dakota. I have heard they issue you your new license on the spot. In the other states I have lived in (NY, ME, NV) they only issued you are temorary paper license, and they mailed your permanent one to you.

So is this true? If so, I will only get a South Dakota mail forwarding service for the minimum of three months, and not get one again until I need to renew in five years, since I have a mail forwarder that I prefer that is out of state. This will save me a ton of money. South Dakota only requires you show them proof of your South Dakota mail forwarding service at the time of application. I won't need the mail forwarder there for anything else.

 

[Bill N]

Deleted - I forgot you had said you were going full time.

Bill

 

[darsben]

What is your plan for communication from the SD DMV

 

[Gizmo]

It is true that you get a SD drivers license on the spot once all the required documents are in place.  It took us 10-minutes and we were out the door with our SD Dl's in hand. 

On another note it seems you may be possibly opening yourself to undue scrutiny and questioning by not establishing and keeping your residency in SD, wjile holding a SD DL.  Why not get a DL in the state your have your mail service and/or the state of your legal residence?

 

[Betty Brewer]

We have SD  Driver's licenses and have  renewed every 5 years for over 20 years.  You will get your license on the spot.  The DMV is quick.  I think you will need to provide  a SD  address on your license.  Their website is very informative.

And for full timers the newest requirements for a license require proof of overnight in SD of at least  1 night. ( RVPArk receipt is fine)
We stay at the Elks Club in Rapid City.

Be reminded that there are several things that use  your  zipcode to determine cost, for example heath insurance, registrations fees on vehicles, insurance on vehicles.  So there are a few details to  research when  going full time.  Have fun!

 

[docj]

And for full timers the newest requirements for a license require proof of overnight in SD of at least  2 nights. ( RVPArk receipt is fine)
We stay at the Elks Club in Rapid City.

With all due respect, all I can find reference to on the DPS website is a requirement for a one-night stay.  See the attached screenshot.

 

[docj]

If so, I will only get a South Dakota mail forwarding service for the minimum of three months, and not get one again until I need to renew in five years, since I have a mail forwarder that I prefer that is out of state.

With all due respect, what you are proposing is essentially fraud against the State.  South Dakota is very gracious in offering residency to full-time RVers who don't own property in the State with the only requirement being that you maintain a mailing address there.  The cost of basic mail forwarding in SD is on the order of $15/mo.  You can have a mail forwarder in SD just for the purpose of establishing residency and one in another state where you prefer to use for your mail.  Most places you do business with are quite content to record mailing and permanent addresses for their customers.  Use your SD address as the permanent one and your other one as your mailing address.

I can't see how saving ~$15/mo is going to save you a "ton of money"?  FWIW, SD is a "no income tax" state; is your other mail forwarder located in one of the other such states?  If not, aren't you going to save a lot more by not paying state income tax?

 

[currinh]

With all due respect, what you are proposing is essentially fraud against the State.  South Dakota is very gracious in offering residency to full-time RVers who don't own property in the State with the only requirement being that you maintain a mailing address there.

I second this. If not illegal it is not right or moral. If you want to take advantage of being a resident (domicile) of South Dakota you should move. That means drivers license, vehicle registration, insurance, banking, etc.

I'd love to pay the zero income tax in South Dakota (our new state) and the vehicle registration in Oregon (our old state). But it would be wrong and illegal. With our luck Oregon would say "you are an Oregon resident, cough up the income tax", and South Dakota would say "you are a South Dakota resident, cough up the vehicle registration". Not worth the risk. Bite the bullet and move everything to South Dakota.

 

[mileena]

What is your plan for communication from the SD DMV

I have not my received a notice from my current or past DMV's ever, in 27 years. They only used the address to mail me my permanent license.

 

[mileena]

It is true that you get a SD drivers license on the spot once all the required documents are in place.  It took us 10-minutes and we were out the door with our SD Dl's in hand. 

On another note it seems you may be possibly opening yourself to undue scrutiny and questioning by not establishing and keeping your residency in SD, wjile holding a SD DL.  Why not get a DL in the state your have your mail service and/or the state of your legal residence?

I never thought of this. I better have a valid SD address then. Maybe I will get mailed a jury duty notice or pulled over by the police.

I am going to use My Dakota Address in Madison, which is the lowest priced one.

-----

UPDATE: I just learned My Dakota Address in Madison, SD has gone out of business!

 

[mileena]

With all due respect, what you are proposing is essentially fraud against the State.  South Dakota is very gracious in offering residency to full-time RVers who don't own property in the State with the only requirement being that you maintain a mailing address there.  The cost of basic mail forwarding in SD is on the order of $15/mo.  You can have a mail forwarder in SD just for the purpose of establishing residency and one in another state where you prefer to use for your mail.  Most places you do business with are quite content to record mailing and permanent addresses for their customers.  Use your SD address as the permanent one and your other one as your mailing address.

I can't see how saving ~$15/mo is going to save you a "ton of money"?  FWIW, SD is a "no income tax" state; is your other mail forwarder located in one of the other such states?  If not, aren't you going to save a lot more by not paying state income tax?

It is a lot of money if you are on Social Security. Not all full-timers are rich. I only get $848 a month. And I don't have to pay income tax since my income is so low. My current mail forwarder charges only $100 for 13 months, but they are out of state, but SD told me you need to have an in-state mail forwarder for your DL.

I hope we get a big COLA (Cost of Living Adjustsment) this year. I used to get COLA's of $15-$30 a year in the '90's and early 2000's. Now they are like $3, lol. In fact, for three recent years, there was no COLA at all. My income would have been closer to $1,000 a month now if COLA's had continued like they did in the Clinton and Bush years.

 

[mileena]

I second this. If not illegal it is not right or moral. If you want to take advantage of being a resident (domicile) of South Dakota you should move. That means drivers license, vehicle registration, insurance, banking, etc.

I'd love to pay the zero income tax in South Dakota (our new state) and the vehicle registration in Oregon (our old state). But it would be wrong and illegal. With our luck Oregon would say "you are an Oregon resident, cough up the income tax", and South Dakota would say "you are a South Dakota resident, cough up the vehicle registration". Not worth the risk. Bite the bullet and move everything to South Dakota.

Thank you for the post. I agree with you.

 

[mileena]

We have SD  Driver's licenses and have  renewed every 5 years for over 20 years.  You will get your license on the spot.  The DMV is quick.  I think you will need to provide  a SD  address on your license.  Their website is very informative.

And for full timers the newest requirements for a license require proof of overnight in SD of at least  2 nights. ( RVPArk receipt is fine)
We stay at the Elks Club in Rapid City.

Be reminded that there are several things that use  your  zipcode to determine cost, for example heath insurance, registrations fees on vehicles, insurance on vehicles.  So there are a few details to  research when  going full time.  Have fun!

Thank you. I can't get auto insurance in South Dakota unfortunately. I want to register in Rapid City (Hot Springs County), since they have no wheel tax. But the mail forwarder I want to use is in Madison, SD (Lake County). The mail forwarders in Rapid City charge too much, like Escapees (and you still have to go through their offices in Texas).

 

[mileena]

With all due respect, all I can find reference to on the DPS website is a requirement for a one-night stay.  See the attached screenshot.

Yes, it is a one night stay from what I have read. You can also stay in a hotel or use AirBnB or VRBO, as long as you have a printed (not handwritten) receipt the state said. AirBnB's there are going for like $20-$40 a night, lol.

 

[darsben]

So if I can ask
What is the purpose of all this?
At your income level your certainly are not saving on income tax.
You will be increasing your monthly outlay for mail forwarding.
Depending on your state at the present time you may be giving up a lot of social services when you come in off the road.

What are you gaining?
Lastly since you never received a mailing from your DMV do not assume you never will. With the changes coming to drivers licenses in a lot of states you may well get one.  If you receive a traffic ticket and your address is different than that you give the DMV  you could be liable to drivers license suspension and either have to return to South Dakota or hire a lawyer. (Long shots but possible) 

 

[Betty Brewer]

With all due respect, all I can find reference to on the DPS website is a requirement for a one-night stay.  See the attached screenshot.

Whoops!  post edited.  Guess I got confused  because we did  stay 2 nights.

BB

"Too error is human and I keep proving I  am."

 

[mileena]

So if I can ask
What is the purpose of all this?
At your income level your certainly are not saving on income tax.
You will be increasing your monthly outlay for mail forwarding.
Depending on your state at the present time you may be giving up a lot of social services when you come in off the road.

What are you gaining?
Lastly since you never received a mailing from your DMV do not assume you never will. With the changes coming to drivers licenses in a lot of states you may well get one.  If you receive a traffic ticket and your address is different than that you give the DMV  you could be liable to drivers license suspension and either have to return to South Dakota or hire a lawyer. (Long shots but possible)

Thank you. Since I will be a full-timer, I need to be able to get a DL from a state that allows me to without actually living there, since I will be cutting the cord, so to speak. I have researched it, and SD, FL, and TX are the best options. Also, I will save a ton of money on vehicle registration fees and excise tax. And no vehicle safety, emissions/SMOG, or VIN inspection to worry about.

 

[darsben]

Will you be permanent somewhere or on the move??
I ask because in Arizona where I stay the state comes through every so often and makes those who have a rig  permanently on a  site get Arizona plates.
Last time was about 3 years ago.
If you are not mobile make sure the same does not apply to where you are.

 

[docj]

Whoops!  post edited.  Guess I got confused  because we did  stay 2 nights.

We usually end up spending two nights also, just to have the day to go to DPS and stand in line, etc.

 

[docj]

I ask because in Arizona where I stay the state comes through every so often and makes those who have a rig  permanently on a  site get Arizona plates.

I'm not denying that this has occurred, but I seriously doubt that the state can force you to get plates unless you have taken some step towards establishing residency in that state.  For most people getting a job is usually the key to establishing residency.  I suspect that many (most?) of those permanent rigs you described had occupants who were employed locally.  We are SD residents and own property in TX.  We spend half the year there but are not employed and haven't done any of the other things that would signal that we were becoming TX residents.  We see no conflict in that; lots of people own property in multiple states, but you can only be a resident of one of them.