Residency question

[proxima]

Any advice on establishing residency in Tennessee? I'm a week or two away from buying my van and I plan to spend at least a year around the Memphis area until I get a new contract with my current company.

 

[VJG1977]

Two Documents from List A
Examples showing residence address used on application and your name, or name of your parent, guardian or spouse

• Current utility bill including landline telephone, electric, water, gas, cable, etc. (Wireless telephone bills cannot be accepted)
  
• Current bank statement (Internet bank statements are acceptable only if taken to the local bank, stamped and dated by teller as an active account. Checks and checkbook information are not acceptable)
  
• Current rental/Mortgage contract or receipt including deed of sale for property.
  
• Current employer verification of residence address or letter from employer as long as it is on company letterhead with original signature. If employer does not have letterhead then signature of employer must be notarized.
  
• Current paycheck/check stub, work ID or badge, if address is included.
  
• Current automobile, life or health insurance policy (Wallet Cards cannot be accepted)
  
• Current driver license/ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety to a parent, legal guardian or spouse of applicant
  
• Current Tennessee motor vehicle registration or title
  
• Current Tennessee voter registration
  
• Current Internal Revenue Service tax reporting W-2 form within last 12 months
  
• Receipt for personal property or real estate taxes paid within past last year
  
• In case of a student enrolled in public or private school in this state, student may provide a photo student ID and acceptable documentation from the Dean or Bursar Office that the student lives on campus

 

[proxima]

I got that list, knowing that they want a "residential address" I am not too sure if an UPS store will work up there like it does in some states like Washington, Florida, etc.

 

[RoamerRV428]

Seriously, your best bet...a phone call. Talking to a human means you get the fast skinny on what is needed to show residency. Make the call and will know the basics of what is required easily for that state....just tell them what your needs are, why you are coming to TN and want residency and boom, info you can act on. Best of luck!!

 

[maki2]

every state will have a list of what proves residency.

For example you used Washington state and using a UPS store to prove residency. In some cases that is enough, in other cases it is not. They do get very specific about that for RV dwellers saying you can do it for a boat or RV residency if you were a resident of the state before you began that activity.

Here is a link to the official Washington state document about residency so that you can relate what you heard to what is the actual reality. Every state has such documents, just do a we search using the keywords "residency definition" plus the name of the state.
https://dor.wa.gov/contact-us/washington-state-residency-definition

Quickly finding information on the internet is all about using the right keywords.

I would say that one of the easiest ways to establish residency in the State of Wa is to register to vote in the state. That combined with a mailing address in the state would do the trick since voting in the elections in the state can be done by mail in ballots. So look for those kind of easy to obtain, at a low cost, residency methods to see which one can be made to work in the state you intend to establish residency in.

 

[wayne49]

One needs to provide a physical address in order to vote in the polling place where they live.
Defined somewhat as where one sleeps at night.
I came upon this requirement in NJ (New Jersey).
The UPS (United Parcel Service) store mailing address was no good for voting purposes.
Good enough for a DL (driver's license).
I could have provided the address of a shelter, but that would have been a lie put to paper.
Your Mileage May Vary.

 

[proxima]

every state will have a list of what proves residency.

For example you used Washington state and using a UPS store to prove residency. In some cases that is enough, in other cases it is not. They do get very specific about that for RV dwellers saying you can do it for a boat or RV residency if you were a resident of the state before you began that activity.

Here is a link to the official Washington state document about residency so that you can relate what you heard to what is the actual reality. Every state has such documents, just do a we search using the keywords "residency definition" plus the name of the state.
https://dor.wa.gov/contact-us/washington-state-residency-definition

Quickly finding information on the internet is all about using the right keywords.

I would say that one of the easiest ways to establish residency in the State of Wa is to register to vote in the state. That combined with a mailing address in the state would do the trick since voting in the elections in the state can be done by mail in ballots. So look for those kind of easy to obtain, at a low cost, residency methods  to see which one can be made to work in the state you intend to establish residency in.

When I lived in Washington, that is what I did for my residency. I used an UPS store, and before that I used the address of Puget Sound Energy until I got the UPS store address.

 

[highdesertranger]

" used an UPS store, and before that I used the address of Puget Sound Energy "

was that before "Real ID"? back in the day you could use any address they didn't care.

highdesertranger

 

[maki2]

In the neighborhood where I am doing my build there are many people living in their RVs on the streets. The local food bank is acting as the place of residence address and provide mail holding services for that community and of course also for the people who are camping in tents or under bridges. That allows the "homeless" population to obtain legal ID cards and driver license address as well as get their vehicle licensed. However this is not a mail forwarding service, it is only for persons in the immediate area. The goal is to enable people to have a residential type of address to assist with things such as sending and receiving responses to resumes for jobs.

If you are going to be nomadic on the road then you will need to use one of the private mail forwarding service addresses. Interestingly enough some of the businesses in the area use what amounts to a mail box as the registered location for their business corporations. That would work very nicely for a mobile RV service that has no actual fixed base of operation other than perhaps a storage locker to keep supplies and tools in.

There is another new trend in Seattle. Storage yards are installing the metal cargo containers in their yards with electrical hookup service and then putting in banks of mail boxes so that each container has its own unique mailing address. I suspect with the high cost of rents for warehouse space there will be a lot more of this type of activity across the country where a unique address is tied to nothing more than a small storage space.

 

[VJG1977]

I went through this with my step daughter about three years ago.  She moved back home after living in N.C. for five years.  Ended up adding her to one of my bank accounts and put the water bill in her name.