<p>I'm confused about what to do with S's car and drivers license. He goes to a private college so the OOS tuition is not an issue. Once I move, I register all the cars with the new state. Does S then have to get a driver's license for the new state or does he get one in the state he's driving in at school? I don't want to put his car in his name because the insurance would probably be higher, especially since he's in Chicago. And voter registration is the same state as your license? Thanks for any help!</p>
<p>Generally people vote in the state where they live, and have drivers licenses the same state as well.
Which sounds like it should be the state where you live, as long as he is a dependent.
Was there some reason for the odd timing?</p>
<p>Your son’s driver’s license should be renewed in the state where he lives. If he is not driving while he is in Chicago, then he can wait to renew his licence. His intent, not yours, governs his state of residence. So if he is coming “home” during vacations and plans to “return” to your new state, that might also be his state of residence. </p>
<p>The car needs to be registered in the state where the owner lives. If the car is in your name, then you are the owner – not your son. Be sure to check vehicle registration laws in both your current state and new state. My son moved from New York to the west coast, driving his car across country, and did not know that New York requires that the state license plate be mailed back. Because he did not do that, New York issued a license suspension, and when he tried to get a driver’s license in his new state he was turned down based on the New York suspension. Calling back to NY did him no good – apparently the time had expired for him to pay a citation in NY and clear his record – they told him he had a year’s suspension and would have to wait out the year.</p>
<p>ek4 – people have a myriad of reasons for inopportune times of making a move. </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Job transfer, military, government, or private. People generally are going where the job is, when the job is with the weakened job market. Even in the 80s my rm’s parents were given a military reassignment just as she entered first year. My boyfriends parents headed to London for a primo job right after HS graduation. Another dear friends parents moved her in at Duke and headed to the Middle East for many years (big oil money days).</p></li>
<li><p>New job. The economy has been less then stellar with many Americans laid off and subsequently underemployed. It has taken many years to regain former salary and can involve a move. </p></li>
<li><p>End of military or government service. Retirement after 50yo/20+ yrs of service will see my DH retire in Jan and move to private industry. We have no idea where we’ll be. Salary, location, longterm outlook will all be considered. With one in college (our state flagship), and one applying this fall (who will have no idea of his residence eligibility) it is pretty darn lousy timing in my book. In fact, I’m stressing quite a bit. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>People don’t always choose the timing. If they do its because there is an overwhelming reason.</p>
<p>We moved from WA to NJ while S1 was in college and S2 in high school. I took a new job, and it is a good thing I did because my job would have been eliminated within a year at my old employer.</p>
<p>None of our kids had cars of their own. Most states have laws requiring you to get new licenses (both drivers and cars) within a certain amount of time when moving to their state. DW and I did that immediately, but S1 waited until his old license was about to expire to get a NJ license, as I recall.</p>
<p>College students are able to register and vote where they attend college or at their permanent residence, so I don’t think one needs to worry about any connection between voting and whether or where to have your son’s drivers license.</p>
<p>We moved when the kids were in college. Since for FA purposes and taxes, their permanent address was with their parents, even if they spent little time with us. Besides we owned and insured the car so it was registered in the state we lived in. For insurance they determined where the car resided but the kids had DL in our home state.</p>
<p>Car owner and primary driver are different. Either you or he can be the owner but if he is the primary driver he should be that once he is the person who drives the car the most. That is what the rate will be based on, I think, and if you have more than one car on your policy, I think it’s possibly considered insurance fraud to lie about who drives which car most, but check with your agent. Since he’s away at school, you can be the primary driver, and he can be an occasional one, I think. (Is he the actual owner? Is his name on the title?)</p>
<p>Calmom - I got in trouble for not mailing plates back once too to MA from CA. We eventually moved back to MA (had no idea we would when deciding to not bother to mail the plates). We did not get licence suspensions but could not register cars until we paid the fines on those unreturned plates.</p>
<p>DH and I retired and moved from VA to PA when S was a sophomore. In order to stay eligible for in-state tuition, S moved in with his dad and changed his driver’s license to his dad’s address. Now his dad has moved (still in VA), so S will have to get a new driver’s license. He’s in a sub-let for the summer, so he’ll get the license when he finds an apartment. Of course, he won’t be able to do that until he finds an internship or a job (or preferably both, since he’s responsible for his living expenses starting in August).</p>
<p>And here I thought you wanted to know if you should tell your kid that you moved.</p>
<p>(I actually have a friend whose parents moved somewhat locally and neglected to advise their daughter that they had done so. Caused a bit of confusion when she showed up at “her house” for Thanksgiving.)</p>
<p>Returning license plates??? Never heard of that.</p>
<p>Hat: that’s down right funny!</p>
<p>
That’s the point, my son didn’t know either. See [New</a> York State | Citizen Guide](<a href=“Commission on Judicial Nomination | Judicial Nomination”>Commission on Judicial Nomination | Judicial Nomination)</p>
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<p>The frustrating thing is that my son didn’t even have a New York state driver’s license – he had only been in New York for about 5 months on a temporary job assignment, but he needed a car so he bought one there. But the NY state “suspension” was enough to prevent him from getting a license in his new home state. </p>
<p>So that’s my point: some states have laws you don’t anticipate. Best to check the DMV web sites of both the home and the destination states rather than relying on advice from strangers on the internet… or at least specify which states are involved when framing the question.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t it be simpler for him to get a driver’s license and register to vote in Illinois, where he will be living for school purposes most of the year?</p>
<p>Some states have attempted to make it difficult for college students to register to vote locally, for partisan purposes.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses. I think since I am the owner of the car, the registration will be in my name and my state. But S will get an Illinois license since he has an apartment there. I just thought it sounded odd to have a license plate from Florida with an Illinois drivers license. I guess as long as he keeps the registration in his glove compartment (please, please) it is ok.</p>
<p>My parents moved right after I graduated from high school. When I was in college my car was registered in state A, my drivers license was from state B, and the address on my drivers license was in state C, where I attended college and was registered to vote. While this is extreme, I don’t see any reason why your S couldn’t have a driver’s license in Illinois and drive your car licensed in Florida. Just be sure to tell you insurance company where the car is garaged and who the principal driver is.</p>
<p>Even if your child is not listed as the owner of the car, be sure that the insurance company knows your S has the car at school. They may require the local address where the car is kept, and they rate the premium on where the car is. A child whose permanent address is the same as the owner of the car will not be considered a permissive driver and has to be a named insured on the policy. It will be more expensive, but to do otherwise risks denial of coverage in an accident. Not saying OP is doing this - just taking the opportunity to point something out that not everyone knows.</p>
<p>Yes, the above is true. I mistakenly had myself listed as the primary driver of the car my son drives because I thought I should be as the owner, but this was incorrect, and when my son had an accident, our agent noticed the mistake, and changed the primary driver to my son. We did have to pay a higher premium but it wasn’t that much more and not having coverage would have been far worse.</p>
<p>We moved during all three kids’ college years. With #1, we moved cross country after her second year; it was also the summer before #2 started. We moved before #2’s senior year of college, which was also the summer before #3 started. Then we just moved again, the summer before #3’s senior year. So the youngest two actually had two address changes with their college. DD2 was in the local paper for graduation and I had no idea because she wasn’t really even “from” there. A friend saw it and told me.</p>
<p>one applying this fall (who will have no idea of his residence eligibility) it is pretty darn lousy timing in my book. In fact, I’m stressing quite a bit. >></p>
<p>I can relate. When DD2 was applying, DH was on an unaccompanied tour overseas. He knew two states where he could likely end up, but had no guarantee. He didn’t get orders until after she was accepted and had paid her deposit. We had to decided to just suck it up if he ended up elsewhere. When DD3 was applying, he had orders, but was detaching before classes started, so she could have been deemed out of state; luckily, the school used her date of acceptance and not the first day of class to determine residency. It is stressful!! Good luck on retirement; we just moved to where DH’s post-retirement job is.</p>
<p>And here I thought you wanted to know if you should tell your kid that you moved.>></p>
<p>LOL. DD1 was/is living overseas for our last two months. She asked what the new address was and I told her that we weren’t telling her. :)</p>