Community Chat

[SeaMaiden]

 Wow. So much easier than in the old days! Most everthing can be done online now. We just sold our old car yesterday and rather than having to go to the Licensing Dept. to report the sale, I just went online and did the transaction lickity split. In fact if you do it online it is free,otherwise you are charged a fee to go in and do it personaly. They really have a great website here in WA. state with lots of information etc.  In some ways the computer age is such a blessing... rather than a curse!

[sidsmom]

YES!   Here in TX, we have to change our license plates every 7 years.  I was dreading spending any time on this task when...boom...you can 'online it' with a few clicks & a CC!  A week later, new plates were in my mailbox.  

"Sing 'Hallelujah' like the songs says!!"

[Nightowlz]

It would be nice if we only had to renew our license plate very 7 yrs. We have to do it every year. I always just go to the tag office. There's one about 5 mins from the house. Generally in & out of there pretty quick. When we sell a vehicle we go to the tag office. We always pay $10 to file a form to show the sale. The buyer has 30 days to tag & put in their name. Paying $10 to file that form keeps us from being sued if the buyer has an accident during that 30 days before changing to their name.

[sunshine45]

in our state we have limited online dmv/mva transactions that can be done online. if you sell your car you have to physically return your tags to the dmv before you remove your insurance.all sales/paperwork have to go through the dmv or a dmv certified business, nothing can be done online. the only exception is when you buy from a dealer. you can renew your tags (every two years) online and then they send you the stickers. you can  renew your drivers license online (they are good for 8 years) every other renewal period.....they just use your same photo. next time the renewal is up they will ask you to come in though.

[Nightowlz]

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@sunshine45 wrote:

in our state we have limited online dmv/mva transactions that can be done online. if you sell your car you have to physically return your tags to the dmv before you remove your insurance.all sales/paperwork have to go through the dmv or a dmv certified business, nothing can be done online. the only exception is when you buy from a dealer. you can renew your tags (every two years) online and then they send you the stickers. you can  renew your drivers license online (they are good for 8 years) every other renewal period.....they just use your same photo. next time the renewal is up they will ask you to come in though.

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When you sell a vehicle here the tag stays with it. I don't know if they change it when the buyer has it put in their name?

We have to buy a new tag every year. We have to get a new drivers license every 4 yrs. Cannot do that online.

[SeaMaiden]

We use to get new plates mailed to us USPS every eight years And the plates stayed with the car when you sold it....then about two years ago they changed that to you keep the Same  plates as long as you own the car....then when you sell the car, you take the plates off the car. The new owner will get new plates.

[chickenbutt]

My state is like that, too - with the plates going with the person, not the car.  Then if you replace the vehicle you just register your existing plates to the new vehicle.

I love being able to renew my auto registration each year online!   They have it down for sure.   I just go down the street to a gas station I've used for many years to get my annual smog certificate.  That goes directly into the system, attached to my license plate information, and by the time I get home 5 minutes later I can go online and renew the registration.   The smog certificate update is already there.

Wish I could do my driver's license online.  But now they just started offering an 8 year renewal so I got that a few months ago and hope that I never have to go again.   The people at the DMV are great.  I find that if you're nice to people, 99% of the time they are nice back.  But it's just a hassle I prefer to avoid (all those people!).

[Moonchilde]

This thread reminded me to go online and change my d/l and registration addresses. 

CA like most states has limitations on what can be done online. Paying for your tags (but we can also do this through AAA and I usually do that), Notice of Transfer, personalized plates, D/L renewal (new!), voter registration (new), ticket payment (wow, had no idea). 

Not the most user-friendly site, but I managed. The only bummer in changing address online is that you don't get anything *in hand* to show you've done it. If you go into a DMV office, they give you an official DMV CofA card. 

[halfpint1]

Do they have to know a person died. A notice for renewal and tests just came for dh or should I just tear it up?

[sunshine45]

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halfpint1 wrote:

Do they have to know a person died. A notice for renewal and tests just came for dh or should I just tear it up?

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when my father died we sent them a letter along with  a copy of his death certificate. we didnt want anyone stealing or using his drivers license number/information.