Generally speaking, you are not able to register your vehicle at an address that is in a different state from the one that you reside in.
There are a couple of exceptions to this rule, which we are going to discuss on this page. However, these exceptions are quite minor.
The vast majority of people will not be able to meet these exceptions.
Table of Contents
When You Can Register a Car At a Different Address
Shortly, we are going to talk about reciprocity agreements. These will allow you to register a vehicle in a state where you do not reside.
However, these agreements are incredibly limited in scope and do not necessarily mean that you are able to register your vehicle wherever you feel like. However, as we said, more on those soon.
For now, we are going to talk more about the ‘general’ reasons that you can register a car at a different address from the state that you reside in.
Military
Active military members are allowed to keep their vehicles registered in their home state. However, this only applies if you are on a temporary move.
If you plan to move to a state on a permanent basis (each state has its own rules on that), then you will have to move where your vehicle is registered.
You Live In Two States
If you maintain homes in two states, you only need to have your vehicle registered at one address. Preferably, this will be the address where you are spending the vast majority of your time or, at the very least, in the state where you are doing the bulk of your driving.
You Are a College Student
Students are a very unique exception to the rule.
Not only are they fine with registering their vehicle in a different state from where they live, but they are also allowed to keep themselves on their parent’s insurance policy back in their home state.
This means that they could save a decent amount of money, depending on where their home state is.
It is, however, worth pointing out that any insurance policy that the college student has must be able to meet the insurance minimums for the state that they live in.
When You Can Register a Car With a Non-State License
While this doesn’t strictly tie into where your vehicle is registered, it is something that we feel is worth pointing out.
This is because if you are reading this article, then you likely are planning on moving states. It is not just your vehicle that you need to worry about here.
You also need to get your license switched over too. In most cases, you will need to do this within 90-days.
There are a few exceptions to this rule too, though. If you are moving to one of the following states, then you do not need to pick yourself up a new vehicle license.
They will be more than happy to accept your old license when you are moving the registration of your vehicle:
- Maine
- Kentucky
- Indiana
- Delaware
- Massachusetts
- North Dakota
- Pennsylvania
- New York
Remember, we are just talking about your license here. In almost all cases, keeping your vehicle registered in a state where you do not reside is illegal.
The only exceptions are the ones that we are going to discuss on this page.
Why You Shouldn’t Register a Car At a Different Address From Where You Reside
Well, you shouldn’t register at a different address from where you reside in most cases. It is illegal to do.
As we have said several times, the only exceptions to the rule are the ones that we are going to be discussing on this page, and they are exceedingly limited.
We know that it can be incredibly tempting to register your vehicle in a different state because you want to save money on insurance or taxes.
However, don’t. This is a crime. It could land you in jail (seriously!). Even if that doesn’t happen, there is a good chance that attempting to skirt the system would have rendered your insurance invalid, which means that you are effectively uninsured.
It is important that you read the rules of residency for any state that you plan to move in. Most will deem you a resident if you have lived there for longer than 90 days.
However, some states may draw the line as little as 10-30 days, assuming that you already know that you are planning a permanent move to the state. If you fall foul of these rules, then it is also going to be a crime.
Although, thankfully, changing the registration of your vehicle over to the new state that you reside in shouldn’t be too much of a hassle.
Reciprocity Agreements
Some states have reciprocity agreements. These are agreements that allow you to have your vehicle registered in one state while you work in another.
These agreements do not cover you for living in one state but registering yourself as living in another. However, you will need to check the rules for each of these states to be 100% sure.
The whole reason these agreements are in place is to allow people to easily work across state lines. Of course, this does mean that you are, in some cases, able to obtain cheaper vehicle insurance.
Do remember that this is still going to be based on where your main address is. However, for most of these agreements, there is no requirement for you to be constantly living in your home state. This means that you can travel for work.
These agreements are not strictly related to vehicle registration. They are actually related to tax registration. However, because both vehicle registration and tax registration are closely linked, these agreements are still in place.
We will go through this state by state. If you do not see your state listed, then you cannot take advantage of one of these agreements.
Montana
- North Dakota
North Dakota
- Minnesota
- Montana
Minnesota
- Michigan
- North Dakota
Iowa
- Illinois
Arizona
- California
- Oregon
- Indiana
- Virginia
Ohio
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- West Virginia
- Pennsylvania
- Michigan
Pennsylvania
- Indiana
- Maryland
- New Jersey
- Ohio
- Virginia
- West Virginia
West Virginia
- Maryland
- Ohio
- Kentucky
- Pennsylvania
- Virginia
Kentucky
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Michigan
- Ohio
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Virginia
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Pennsylvania
- West Virginia
Maryland
- D.C.
- Pennsylvania
- West Virginia
- Virginia
New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
Indiana
- Kentucky
- Ohio
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- Pennsylvania
Wisconsin
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- Indiana
- Illinois
Final Word
In most cases, you are not allowed to register your car at a different address from where you normally reside. This is to ensure that you are paying tax in the correct state.
There are a few exceptions, though. For example, military members moving temporarily, students, and those that reside in two states may have a choice.
You may also have a choice if you live in one state and work in another. However, you will need to see whether your state has any tax reciprocity agreement in place there.
This is something that is limited to certain states.
If you register your location in a state that you do not currently reside in then, in most cases, you are going to be breaking the law.
References
https://clearsurance.com/blog/can-i-register-a-car-in-a-different-state-than-i-live-in
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