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CA DMV question


Mijo

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Time to renew tags for 2020. My renewal notice asks that I send in proof of insurance and that I could not pay online. So I mailed a $345.00 check along with my Mexican proof of insurance. 

Are they going to request that I have auto insurance from the US? Even though I am a temporary resident and can keep my car here for 4 years?

 

TIA

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We were faced with the same situation almost 20 years ago when we moved full time to Mexico.  Our vehicles were registered in Arizona at the time. We contacted AZ DMV and were told to send an affidavit stating that our vehicles will not be driven in the US. We were told to indicate in the document that we were permanently residing in Mexico.  We did what they asked.  Received a confirmation from AZ DMV and were never contacted again regarding the registration.   Of course,  that was then...

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7 minutes ago, Mijo said:

Time to renew tags for 2020. My renewal notice asks that I send in proof of insurance and that I could not pay online. So I mailed a $345.00 check along with my Mexican proof of insurance. 

Are they going to request that I have auto insurance from the US? Even though I am a temporary resident and can keep my car here for 4 years?

 

TIA

Seems to me that would best be answered by the CA DMV.

The price of those tags makes me glad I left CA for good in 2001. Holy shit!

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19 minutes ago, chapalence said:

Seems to me that would best be answered by the CA DMV.

The price of those tags makes me glad I left CA for good in 2001. Holy shit!

I'm sure that money goes toward good causes. No need to chide our Cali friends...

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I am a current resident of California and before I got my PR visa, I drove a California-plated car in Mexico on a Temporal.  To have your car registered in California (with California plates - wherever the car may be physically) you must show proof that you have a minimum liability coverage. This means coverage by a US company that can be verified by the DMV and I doubt Mexican insurance would be adequate.  The question raised by California would be - why are you registering the car in CA, if you don't drive it there? If you do drive it there, you need minimum US insurance.  You can try to register the car for "Planned Non-Operation" (see CA DMV website) but I don't think this is what you want.  Additionally, this is done online and often gets lost by the DMV computers, leading to even more hassles.

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You can not re-new Ca. registration without a physical California address. No PO boxes. They want to know where you live in California so they can tell government oficials including voter registration (police). I tried everything including a private PO box but USPS verifies it is a commercial PO box and tells everyone. I sold the car and take a bus when visiting San Diego now. Only my voter registration forms come to my condo address and my renter holds them for me. A relative or friend's address will work though. I didn't want to burden my friends so I didn't ask any of them. My problem not theirs.

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When we moved from CA to MX, we filed a "Certificate of Non-Operation" by mail with the Dept. of Motor Vehicles while our license was still valid.  Several years later, when we went for Permanente status, there were no fees due in CA for the years in  between, and the new owner took the car back to the states with no problems.

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20 hours ago, Mijo said:

Time to renew tags for 2020. My renewal notice asks that I send in proof of insurance and that I could not pay online. So I mailed a $345.00 check along with my Mexican proof of insurance. 

Are they going to request that I have auto insurance from the US? Even though I am a temporary resident and can keep my car here for 4 years?

 

TIA

That insurance requirement and physical inspections are exactly why most vehicles here from the USA are registered in South Dakota.

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Keeping a Calif plated current when not residing in Calif can be difficult. When your car reaches a certain age you need have a SMOG check at an approved station in Cal. If you stop paying fees without filing a certificate of Non-Op you rack up heavy penalties and past reg fees. I personally have seen cars with over $2000 due to bring the  Calif registration current.  By far best to get South Dakota plates.

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