If you get the job in California you’ll have an income and a new life, and the $50 you spend to renew the registration is nothing. Just renew it, and move on.
Thanks Bing & wentwest! So if I am flying out this Friday to CA for perhaps a month to a month and a half you think it would be ok just to register my vehicle in MS the day I get back even though the tags will be expired? That would technically be over 30 days from when I got here. And would it be ok to also just get my new drivers license then as well? For MS the law says you have 60 days from residency so then if I decide I am going out to CA I can just keep my TN drivers license until I move there and not have to pay $25 for a new MS one right?
Or should I do it before I go? No one will be using my vehicle at all and I would do it the day I get back from visiting California.
There’s no law that I know of that says a car has to have a current registration. If you’re parking it at your parents house and it’s off the street, who cares if it’s registered. I also don’t know of any late fees for renewing a lapsed registration.
Having said that, you say you’re worrying about wasting the $50 on registration. For $50 it’s a no-brainer. Register it now. $50 is nothing compared to what you’re going to spend in CA and potentially moving there. Having it registered gives you options. Your folks can move it or drive it. You can drive it cross-country with no worries. It will be easier to sell or re-register somewhere if it is currently registered.
You worry about spending $50 on car registration and $25 on a driver’s license? I mean this in the nicest way…take a good hard look at what it will cost you to live in CA (at least SoCal or the Bay Area) if you’re worried about $50 for car tabs.
1 Like
Like I said, I’d do it in Tennesee so you have current plates and not worry about MS unless you actually land there.
Just as an aside. My DIL was from Ohio and got her cars from Ohio but went to college in Minnesota. They married but it was a few years that she was still running around with Ohio plates in Minneapolis. Seems to me she even traded cars and ended up with a new car with Ohio plates in Minneapolis. I don’t remember anymore when she actually got Minnesota plates but it was a while. “Somewhat” beyond the 60 days. Then of course they moved to Ohio and promptly everyone got Ohio plates and DL. Nobody was really checking where she actually lived as far as the plates on the car were concerned. Of course for taxes, etc. you have to come clean, but plates are not quite as serious. Of course if you are stopped and have a DL from one state and plates from another, you might end up with a citation for no current registration or something.
But I moved from Nashville to MS. I couldn’t register it again in TN now because that’s way to far from my old address?
Well I guess then you’re out of luck. It’ll have to sit with expired registration in MS then. Shoulda done it before you left. How would you get it to CA without plates though, and how would you even sell it without plates, plus leave it at your folks for a month or so without plates? I think like ASE said, just spend the $50 before you go and get current MS plates then. Like I said mine are $3-400 so consider yourself lucky.
I didn’t want to get in trouble…that’s why I didn’t renew it in TN before I left. Plus it’s the same price to renew it in TN as it is to register it in MS. So it didn’t matter?
Ok so you would get the new registration/title before I left this Friday for a month to a month and a half? I couldn’t just do it when I got back in late October/early November? No one would be driving my car and I would do it the day I got back? I wouldn’t even have to take the same vehicle to get it registered would I? Why do you say get it now before I leave? I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about selling cars…excuse me for my ignorance but do you have to have current tags on it even if you sell it to a junkyard or a dealer?
I just said to do it now because you’ll have to anyway when you come back. That way if they have to, your folks could use it. Otherwise it can just sit with old plates but they won’t be able to drive it. I don’t know about the sale part-you might be able to skirt that if you sell it right away but how would anyone try it out without current plates on it.
Lol that’s a good point, thanks Bing! I’m sorry I’m just new to this but I appreciate your helping me. Ok so if you say do it now you think it would be ok to get my drivers license for MS later once I get back? I believe in MS you have 60 days upon residency to get your new license…so that way if I come back and do decide to move back out to CA I can just not renew my drivers license and keep the TN one until I get out to CA and renew it there? That way I possibly save myself the $25 of renewing it here in MS if I can? If I don’t get a job out there I would just renew it in MS before the 60 days is up?
Also my parents wouldn’t drive my vehicle at all because they have their own vehicles. So if I did decide to register it when I got back you think that would still work without me getting in trouble? I wouldn’t even need to take the same car to get it registered from my understanding? But I guess they could see that it expired at the end of September so I could run into trouble there possibly or no?
Like I said don’t count on me but I think you could wait with the license. In Minnesota they can take your license and give you a slip of paper while the new license is being processed and sent to you. You don’t want to go out to CA without a picture DL for an ID. Maybe leave all your paperwork and everything so if they had to your folks could register the car later on.
I used to live in Mississippi a long time ago but have no idea how things are done there now. It might be a good idea to give the DMV a call and pose the what-if question so as to determine if they might hit you with a substantial penalty for not jumping through the hoops.
I found this cut and paste blurb and considering the interaction in today’s world and sharing of info among states it may not be worth putting it off…
Upon establishing residency, you have 30 days to apply for a MS vehicle registration certificate with the Department of Revenue. Failing to meet this timeframe could result in a $250 fine.
just spend the money and do it now. peace of mind is priceless.