DMV Registration – Leaving California

[JES]

I may be stating the obvious here, but when you leave California it is essential that you cancel your CA licence and registration on all vehicles. Simply signing up for an out out of state licence and registering a car out of state is not enough. You need to contact the CA DMV and cancel. And by the way, the CA DMV is the most beurocratic, inefficient agency in the world, so prepare to be persistant! To illustrate my point:

I moved out of state in March, registered 2 x vehicles and got a licence out of state. I contacted the CA DMV, they said I need to mail a change of address form for each drivers licence, and each vehicle. They would not do it over the phone, and would not update my address over the phone. I did this, and mailed it the next day. I didn’t have a perm. out of state address yet, so I fear they trashed it even though I provided my email address and cell. 2 weeks later, 1st notice of expiration arrives at old CA address. 1 month later, 2nd notice arives, one at my Iowa address, one at CA address! I called and 1 form had not been received, even though they were mailed together. Again, I called, and they refused to update anything, or even note that I wasn’t planning to register that one vehicle, even though they had the updated info for the 1st vehicle in front of them! My licence was cancelled, my wifes was not. Again, can’t change that over the phone. 1 month later, notices for both vehicles arrive at out of state address. Yes, both vehicles. See, the first address had been updated, but even though I had told them 4 times now, they were still trying to get me to register it, and even mailed it to my new address in out of state! I mailed both notices back with “Out of State” clearly marked. End of story, right? No way. I just got a letter threatening me with garnishment of wages and collections if I do not pay for the second vehicle. I called last week, they updated the info, but the second guy told me that the system was frozen and that I would have to call back in 3 days!

Summary: 4 letters, 4 phone calls, 6 months, and I am still not unregistered!

And I bet most people out there just leave the state and forget about it! Prepare to have your wages garnished and your credit ruined if you do that. Heck, even if you do the right thing like I did you can’t get it right…

[JES]

By the way, so long as you have a valid CA licence, you can log into the online system and do a change of address. Do this before you surrender your licence out of state! It would have saved me all of this trouble. Also, in my above situation, when I say that they cancelled my licence, but not the wife’s, that is because requested they cancel both licences, not a punishment imposed or anything like that. I had a new out of state licence and just wanted to simply cancel my CA one…

[JES]

By the way, so long as you have a valid CA licence, you can log into the online system and do a change of address. Do this before you surrender your licence out of state! It would have saved me all of this trouble. Also, in my above situation, when I say that they cancelled my licence, but not the wife’s, that is because requested they cancel both licences, not a punishment imposed or anything like that. I had a new out of state licence and just wanted to simply cancel my CA one…

[JES]

By the way, so long as you have a valid CA licence, you can log into the online system and do a change of address. Do this before you surrender your licence out of state! It would have saved me all of this trouble. Also, in my above situation, when I say that they cancelled my licence, but not the wife’s, that is because requested they cancel both licences, not a punishment imposed or anything like that. I had a new out of state licence and just wanted to simply cancel my CA one…

[Ex-SD]

We had the same problem when we left in 2005 with four vehicles. We received new drivers license’ within two weeks of leaving and turned in the old ones to the DMV in SC. We notified them that we had moved and registered all four vehicles in SC but each time one of them would come due in CA they would send a renewal notice so we would notify them again but they kept sending delinquency notices. After repeated letters and phone calls, I finally got someone with some sense from the DMV on the phone and the notices stopped. It took over a year to get it straightened out.
What was really interesting was that it took us less than 30 minutes to get new drivers license’, and register four vehicles……….with NO appointment. We just walked in and we live in Greenville, SC which has 500k people in the county. Quite a contrast from the CA DMV.

[Ex-SD]

We had the same problem when we left in 2005 with four vehicles. We received new drivers license’ within two weeks of leaving and turned in the old ones to the DMV in SC. We notified them that we had moved and registered all four vehicles in SC but each time one of them would come due in CA they would send a renewal notice so we would notify them again but they kept sending delinquency notices. After repeated letters and phone calls, I finally got someone with some sense from the DMV on the phone and the notices stopped. It took over a year to get it straightened out.
What was really interesting was that it took us less than 30 minutes to get new drivers license’, and register four vehicles……….with NO appointment. We just walked in and we live in Greenville, SC which has 500k people in the county. Quite a contrast from the CA DMV.

[Ex-SD]

We had the same problem when we left in 2005 with four vehicles. We received new drivers license’ within two weeks of leaving and turned in the old ones to the DMV in SC. We notified them that we had moved and registered all four vehicles in SC but each time one of them would come due in CA they would send a renewal notice so we would notify them again but they kept sending delinquency notices. After repeated letters and phone calls, I finally got someone with some sense from the DMV on the phone and the notices stopped. It took over a year to get it straightened out.
What was really interesting was that it took us less than 30 minutes to get new drivers license’, and register four vehicles……….with NO appointment. We just walked in and we live in Greenville, SC which has 500k people in the county. Quite a contrast from the CA DMV.

[bsrsharma]

Hmm.. We moved out, gave a change of address (in new state), registered in new state, ignored all the scare letters since we HAD evidence that we have always been legal (in registration). Did’t even bother with new licenses for a few months. Finally (on third notice or so), I just called up CA DMV and described the wasteful threat letters they are sending OUT OF STATE and she just wiped it all clean from the computer.

I think giving an out of state change of address as soon as possible may reduce the pain as it takes time to trickle down the database.

[bsrsharma]

Hmm.. We moved out, gave a change of address (in new state), registered in new state, ignored all the scare letters since we HAD evidence that we have always been legal (in registration). Did’t even bother with new licenses for a few months. Finally (on third notice or so), I just called up CA DMV and described the wasteful threat letters they are sending OUT OF STATE and she just wiped it all clean from the computer.

I think giving an out of state change of address as soon as possible may reduce the pain as it takes time to trickle down the database.

[bsrsharma]

Hmm.. We moved out, gave a change of address (in new state), registered in new state, ignored all the scare letters since we HAD evidence that we have always been legal (in registration). Did’t even bother with new licenses for a few months. Finally (on third notice or so), I just called up CA DMV and described the wasteful threat letters they are sending OUT OF STATE and she just wiped it all clean from the computer.

I think giving an out of state change of address as soon as possible may reduce the pain as it takes time to trickle down the database.

[noone]

The problem is that you’re claiming that you have moved out of California. The software knows that is a lie because no one leaves California.

[noone]

The problem is that you’re claiming that you have moved out of California. The software knows that is a lie because no one leaves California.

[noone]

The problem is that you’re claiming that you have moved out of California. The software knows that is a lie because no one leaves California.

[JES]

Haha, that’s great! They don’t even have a process built into the ‘system’ because who ever leaves CA, right. We also rather enjoyed the trip to the local DMV here in Iowa. No line, they handed the kids candy, the people working there were really happy, and we were in and out in 10 minutes.

[JES]

Haha, that’s great! They don’t even have a process built into the ‘system’ because who ever leaves CA, right. We also rather enjoyed the trip to the local DMV here in Iowa. No line, they handed the kids candy, the people working there were really happy, and we were in and out in 10 minutes.

[Author]

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