How long can I visit a state before needing to register car/switch license?

[letswastemoney]

Hi. Let's (hypothetically) say I wanted to drive to Colorado to work for a few months and then drive back to California.

Can someone keep their license from another state and hang around for a while without going through the hassle of switching everything related to the car, or does it need to be registered again etc.?

[ThinkingAlways]

Hi. Let's (hypothetically) say I wanted to drive to Colorado to work for a few months and then drive back to California.

Can someone keep their license from another state and hang around for a while without going through the hassle of switching everything related to the car, or does it need to be registered again etc.?

This depends on state law of where you are "hanging around."

[Clocker]

It also depends on whether or not you are maintaining an address (like with family or friends) for legal purposes like your California car registration.

[Overlay]

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dmv/registration-requirements

According to the above link from the Division of Motor Vehicles of the Colorado Department of Revenue, if you work in Colorado, that makes you a resident of the state. You then have ninety days from the day that you start employment to register your vehicle.

[letswastemoney]

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dmv/registration-requirements

According to the above link from the Division of Motor Vehicles of the Colorado Department of Revenue, if you work in Colorado, that makes you a resident of the state. You then have ninety days from the day that you start employment to register your vehicle.Darn. I figured it would be something like that.

[barn32]

Darn. I figured it would be something like that.I got busted for that when I first moved to Vegas. I got away with it for a couple of years, but I think somebody ratted me out. I came home one day and there was a ticket taped to the front of my door.

[AndyC]

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dmv/registration-requirements

According to the above link from the Division of Motor Vehicles of the Colorado Department of Revenue, if you work in Colorado, that makes you a resident of the state. You then have ninety days from the day that you start employment to register your vehicle.

I sure didn't see that in the link you provided. Couldn't you live in Kansas and drive to Colorado for your daily job? That doesn't make you a resident of Colorado. Would you consider a college student from California who takes a winter break job at a ski resort in Colorado a resident of Colorado? While there is no question that a person would owe Colorado tax on income earned in Colorado (military excluded) the issue of residency is not determined by virtue of having worked a temporary job in Colorado.

[Overlay]

I sure didn't see that in the link you provided. Couldn't you live in Kansas and drive to Colorado for your daily job? That doesn't make you a resident of Colorado. Would you consider a college student from California who takes a winter break job at a ski resort in Colorado a resident of Colorado? While there is no question that a person would owe Colorado tax on income earned in Colorado (military excluded) the issue of residency is not determined by virtue of having worked a temporary job in Colorado.

Here's another link from AAA that says the same thing:

http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/registration-for-non-residents/

"Colorado

"Non-resident must register vehicle within 90 days of becoming a resident or becoming gainfully employed in the state. There is a supplemental unregistered vehicle surcharge of $25.00 per month that begins after the initial 90 days.

"Non-resident military personnel on duty may retain the current vehicle registration from another state."

I got involved in a similar dispute with the California Department of Motor Vehicles in 1995, when I was assessed $93.00 in penalty fees on the cost of my California registration and the smog check that California was requiring (at that time) for all out-of-state vehicles. (I went to the local office of the California DMV to register my vehicle two days after I signed the loan papers for the house that I was buying in Susanville (Lassen County). (California required people who worked in California to obtain non-resident registrations, even if they did not live in the state.) (Prior to purchasing my home, I had been staying at a hotel in Reno, Nevada, with valid Kentucky license plates on my car.) I appealed the penalty fees to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, but my appeal was denied. I finally had to write my state senator to get the penalty fees refunded, and even then, I think that the only reason I got my money back was that the smog check requirement/fee had been declared an unconstitutional infringement on interstate commerce.

[AndyC]

Here's another link from AAA that says the same thing:

http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/registration-for-non-residents/

"Colorado

"Non-resident must register vehicle within 90 days of becoming a resident or becoming gainfully employed in the state. There is a supplemental unregistered vehicle surcharge of $25.00 per month that begins after the initial 90 days.

"Non-resident military personnel on duty may retain the current vehicle registration from another state."

I got involved in a similar dispute with the California Department of Motor Vehicles in 1995, when I was assessed $93.00 in penalty fees on the cost of my California registration and the smog check that California was requiring (at that time) for all out-of-state vehicles. (I went to the local office of the California DMV to register my vehicle two days after I signed the loan papers for the house that I was buying in Susanville (Lassen County). (California required people who worked in California to obtain non-resident registrations, even if they did not live in the state.) (Prior to purchasing my home, I had been staying at a hotel in Reno, Nevada, with valid Kentucky license plates on my car.) I appealed the penalty fees to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, but my appeal was denied. I finally had to write my state senator to get the penalty fees refunded, and even then, I think that the only reason I got my money back was that the smog check requirement/fee had been declared an unconstitutional infringement on interstate commerce.

You are missing the point. Having a temporary job in another state does not make you a resident of that state.

When you took the job in CA and was "living" in a Reno hotel, you were neither a resident of Kentucky nor a resident of Nevada. Had you purchased a house in Nevada and commuted to CA you would not have been required to register your car in CA.

[Overlay]

You are missing the point. Having a temporary job in another state does not make you a resident of that state.

When you took the job in CA and was "living" in a Reno hotel, you were neither a resident of Kentucky nor a resident of Nevada. Had you purchased a house in Nevada and commuted to CA you would not have been required to register your car in CA.

At that time, even if I had bought a house in Nevada, as long as I was working in California, I would still have been required to obtain an out-of-state vehicle registration in California (in addition to my Nevada registration). I would have had Nevada plates on my car, but I still would have been required to pay California for registration of an out-of-state vehicle, since I was working in the state, which involved driving over California roads and polluting California air every day on my way to and from work. I don't know if the California state law has changed since 1995, but that was the requirement then.

[AndyC]

Even if I had bought a house in Nevada, as long as I was working in California, I would still have been required to obtain an out-of-state vehicle registration in California (in addition to my Nevada registration). I don't know if the California state law has changed since 1995, but that was the requirement then.

It isn't required now unless your vehicle is used in your business.

[barn32]

If an NBA player, who lives in another state, plays a game in California, he has to pay state income taxes to California for any income incurred from games played in that state.

Not a great analogy, but the same idea.

[Shemp Howard]

If you go to a sanctuary city, forever.

[jballscalls]

I moved to Oregon in 2008 with Washington plates and license. Spring of 2012 i got pulled over and the cop said "You live in Washington and I said 'no i live here.' He asked "since when?" I said "4 years ago." He replied "you're supposed to get an oregon license within 30 days of moving here" LOL oops