How Soon to Change DL

[seaotter]

I just renewed my WA DL and it is good until 2022. We are going to hit the road full time soon and I wondered how long I could keep that and not bother to change our residence without running into major snafus? I don't know if WA is at all friendly to fulltimers but if I don't have to get a new dl for a few years I'd like to keep it that way.

Is there a good reason to change residence/driver's license quickly or can we let it slide a few months/years? We have no need for physical mail at this time, so we don't even need to forward anything yet. I guess tabs would be the only thing at this time.

If I get pulled over will I get hassled?

Richard  :huh:

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I just renewed my WA DL and it is good until 2022. We are going to hit the road full time soon and I wondered how long I could keep that and not bother to change our residence without running into major snafus? I don't know if WA is at all friendly to fulltimers but if I don't have to get a new dl for a few years I'd like to keep it that way.

Is there a good reason to change residence/driver's license quickly or can we let it slide a few months/years? We have no need for physical mail at this time, so we don't even need to forward anything yet. I guess tabs would be the only thing at this time.

If I get pulled over will I get hassled?

Richard  :huh:

Well, WA has no sales tax, so no reason to change your domicile state over that.  Is your vehicle registered in WA?  If so, you'll probably have no problems at all with a WA license.  How often do you need to renew the registration?  Mandatory safety and/or emissions testing?  How will the WA DMV reach you over these issues?

General rule of thumb is that every bit of official paper you have - Driver's License, Registration, Insurance Card, CCW, Passport, etc. should all have the same matching address on it.  It's discrepancies here that cause cops to start asking probing questions.

 

[shadowmoss]

Well, WA has no sales tax, so no reason to change your domicile state over that.  Is your vehicle registered in WA?  If so, you'll probably have no problems at all with a WA license.  How often do you need to renew the registration?  Mandatory safety and/or emissions testing?  How will the WA DMV reach you over these issues?

General rule of thumb is that every bit of official paper you have - Driver's License, Registration, Insurance Card, CCW, Passport, etc. should all have the same matching address on it.  It's discrepancies here that cause cops to start asking probing questions.

I had a Lacey, WA UPS mailbox while I lived in Honduras as well as a WA  dl.  It worked well.  Lacey doesn't require emissions testing to get tags so my Jeep plates renewed via mail just fine.  You would need a mailing address for that.  With no State Income Tax in WA I kinda wish I had my WA residency back.  Not sure how the health insurance options work up there now though.

 

[MrNoodly]

After I sold my house in Charlotte, NC, I set up at a friend's place in South Carolina for three months while I built out my van. I kept using my NC driver license and vehicle registration, even though I no longer owned the address. I kept using the old address for my bank accounts and just had things forwarded to the SC address. Even my mortgage holder, who knew I no longer lived at that address, never asked what my new one was. (I got new license and registration when I finally got to South Dakota.) I think there are very few situations where anyone really cares whether you're giving a valid address. It seems everyone else just wants something to fill in a computer form so they can get on with their job.

 

[DuneElliot]

I won't be giving up my WY license and residency for anything; this is my home state and I love it. Just make sure everything matches...DL, vehicle registration and insurance etc so no one questions it. I know many states have a 30 day rule, but that only applies to those "living" or intending to live there and not travelers or seasonal workers.