PA peeps - need some DMV help

I am a FL resident but starting new job where I am based in Philadelphia. I've done this in other states (NC, WV, MI) and in all of those everyone was fine with me keeping my FL driver's license and using my second home (local apartment with lease as proof) as the title address. This way I could get local plates and local insurance. It has to be this way because of the insurance. Insurance is tied to location (theft and accident rates) and different states have different min limits, for example, so you can't tag a car in one state and have insurance from another state. If this were the case, everyone living in New York City would just get a North Dakota insurance policy.

I am struggling with PA. They insist that I either have to declare PA residency or tag the car in FL and keep it 100% of the time in PA. I tried to explain then everyone in PA would just use a relative's out-of-state address and no one would then have to deal with the PA inspection process. So they revert to telling me I have to be a PA resident. Then I ask what about my cars and house in FL? Dunno, they say.....

Does anyone have experience doing this or know someone at the DMV that has an elevated level of competency? I've even read the PA auto laws and they talk about PA residents that can have a car registered out of state but no mention of the reverse situation.

Maintain your fla residence and keep plates and insurance as it is. You are a fla resident visiting pa

Inspections if you have them in fla should be reciprocal. I know in ma I can insect a vehical from out of state if there inspection is expired. That way the car can be drivin legally in the state you are in.

Pa is a difficult state at the best of times. Just keep your florida tags, it's MUCH easier that way

It sounds as though you were hopelessly outmatched as soon as you used the sentence "I tried to explain to the DMV...."

The more important question is insurance: is your FL insurer OK with you relocating? DMVs hate anomalies, but insurers REALLY hate surprises. (If your premiums go up, can you claim the increase as a business expense?)

Call a tag place instead of the DMV- they handle pretty much all transactions short of licensing, and even if they can't handle everything for you they should hopefully be able to tell you the best way to go about it. I, too, would keep your Florida plates in that scenario- it's pretty common for people to have out of state plates here.

There are two small details on the insurance side - one is that your card lists your state. Progressive, for example, is not a "universal national." You either have Progressive-PA or Progressive-FL. The other is that in the original application you sign or check a box that says "this address is where the car is primarily garaged." This is how you can be covered on vacation while out of state. Stolen from a hotel parking lot? Covered. Vandalized while parked at an apartment complex parking lot? It won't take much investigation to find out the car is there near 100% of the time.

States, when you start or renew registration, verify that the insurance card is in-state. But this is the easy part. I can tell Progressive-FL that I am going to garage the car in PA and they'll issue a separate policy for it under PA insurance rules. But now FL DMV won't issue a FL plate for a car with PA insurance.

So we're back to PA-DMV being the problem when they say that the only way I can title/register a car is if I'm a PA resident, and not just with proof that I have a house/apt there. I'm not the only one doing this. I have to believe that there are rich dudes out there with four or five houses - Hollywood, New York, mountains, beach - that have to declare a state of residency and then all of the others are just non-resident locations.

Pretty sure you need a PA license to get a PA title. Title agencies are independent and some more lenient than others but I have a feeling this would be a deal breaker anywhere.

When I moved back from California, I had to register my car under someone else's name because I didn't want to give up my California license. (Didn't know how permanent the move was going to be). My car was registered under a friends name and insured by my personal policy, but I bought the car in PA so I didn't have to jump through the hoops of getting an out of state car registered here.

That's all the input I really have, I got lucky in that a pa license renewal form showed up in the mail one day (when it shouldn't have because I have it up when I got a Cali license) so I swapped CA for PA at the DMV.

My big question was rich people with vacation homes that keep cars here because there are a LOT of those in my neck of the woods, but no one was able to give me a satisfactory answer as to how they were able to do it and maintain residency in their home state.

RevRico wrote: My big question was rich people with vacation homes that keep cars here because there are a LOT of those in my neck of the woods, but no one was able to give me a satisfactory answer as to how they were able to do it and maintain residency in their home state.

This is a method I can see working, but do not view it as advice because there may be laws that make it illegal. If the car is registered in PA create a corporation in PA that owns the car, house etc. When ever the individual is in PA he rents the assets from the Co.

It wasn't that long ago you could register a car in one state with a title in another state. Big rigs frequently registered in several states at the same time so they wouldn't have to pay fuel taxes going back and forth in the states they frequented. I did it when I joined the military, the title to my car was in TX and I registered it in SD before I went to boot camp.

Ok what is a peep?

This is a peep but I am reasonably sure you are not talking about this.

How long will you be living in Philadelphia? It seems like you're going through three entire hassle based on them. I would call the insurance co and ask what is the duration requirement for a change in policy and requirement for tags and registration. If your vehicle will be going back and forth every few months then they may tell you to drop the entire exercise (besides how many claims have you made outside of FL?)

Most people in PA, NJ & NY are looking for any excuse to register and insure a car down south.

Looking at this from another angle, having done that move, FL requires that you be a reside in the state for >6 months a year if you are going to claim residency (at least 10 years ago anyway.) That also has implications too for your homestead and income tax as PA does not have reciprocity with FL.

So it depends how many months a year you're in PA and if you meet the legal definition of resident for FL. If you meet FL's definition I wouldn't bother with PA's DMV hassle.

The northeast is the home of the snowbirds. Pretty much all of them maintain a Fl license and plates. Its cheaper. As long as you have a house down there you are good. I know of several people that don't even live in Fl, but their parents do. They have paperwork saying something to the effect of guardianship over an elderly parents financial affairs and are listed on the property in Fl. With this paperwork, they are able to register all of there cars, trailers, boats, etc in Fl.

dean1484 wrote: Ok what is a peep? This is a peep but I am reasonably sure you are not talking about this.

It is made in PA, so maybe that is right...

I agree about the "snowbird" comment. I see a fair number of FL plated cars driving around here.

As far as the vacation home question, my only experience is with my ex's parents - primary residence is in NJ with a second home in PA. A couple of their cars have NJ registration, the rest are in PA. They get around it by her parents having different licenses. Father is NJ, her mother is PA with corresponding registration.

Regardless, I'd say keep your FL "home" for as long as possible. Especially if you will be living IN Philadelphia - your insurance costs would likely skyrocket. I'd possibly suggest living in NJ and commuting, but it will depend on where your job is.

I can guarantee 100% that you do NOT need to reregister your car.

I use my gf's sisters car (Georgia tags) regularly as she left it here when she moved to DC. I have no issues. Also its VERY nice not to have a PA tag parking in Philly as the PPA loves to ticket for expired stickers/etc.

I also lived in Seattle for 2 years and dealt with the mess that is explaining that you are 'temporarily' in the state and don't need to switch anything. It's confusing for your insurance person but is NOT illegal.

I also had my Xterra on the WA tags it came with for 6 months due to a title flub by the bank. Again, no issues. I'm extremely confident you will NOT have any problems. FL tags are quite common in Philly as its sort of the 'down south' spot for people here.

Welcome to PM me about Philly/PA tag/car stuff anytime. Welcome to da hood.