How Long Can You Keep A Car In A State Before Registering

Updated on: October 25, 2021

When y'all're planning a automobile purchase, some deals are but too practiced to laissez passer up, even if they crave you to travel out of state (and mayhap thousands of miles from domicile). If you lot've found a dealer or individual seller offering the pricing you were looking for in another country, you could hire a professional transporter, or y'all could choose to drive your newly purchased vehicle back to your home state. Driving might save you money, and it could exist a great alibi for a fun road trip. Driving a machine home later on buying it out of land, however, requires proper preparation. All kinds of things can differ from state to state, including emissions requirements, prophylactic inspection standards, titling procedures, and, of class, local sales taxation. Follow these tips to avert potential issues and make your out-of-state vehicle purchase every bit hassle-gratis as possible.

Consult Your State'south Section of Motor Vehicles (DMV)

Once you've establish that special vehicle, your adjacent step should be to contact your state'due south Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), either by visiting or calling a local office or past visiting the section'south website. The DMV will be your all-time resource for answering a host of questions and will provide guidance regarding your state'southward requirements for transporting an out-of-state vehicle domicile. In some cases, those answers volition directly you lot to contact the DMV of the state from which you're purchasing the vehicle for additional data near legally driving the vehicle home. Keep in mind that the process often varies by state, so figuring this out may take a bit of time, only it all starts by reaching out to your local DMV.

Insure the Vehicle

Regardless of your state of residence or the current location of your new vehicle, yous'll want to go the automobile insured before hitting the road. Usually, with just the vehicle identification number (VIN), you lot tin can contact your insurance company and accept the motorcar added to your existing policy.

Automobile insurance is for more than just protection in the unfortunate instance of a collision or theft. Information technology's required to legally bulldoze the vehicle home. Requirements vary by state, and so you lot'll need to determine what level of insurance coverage is required and whether proof of insurance should exist in the grade of an insurance card or insurance folder.

Get Transit Plates or Temporary Registration

Afterward money has changed easily and all the necessary paperwork has been signed, that vehicle yous've traveled so far to buy is now legally yours. If you're in a state like California, yous'll soon realize that the license plates—or tags, as some phone call them—remain with the vehicle (which confuses out-of-staters who come across used-car lots full of plated vehicles).

In most states, however, the plates are assigned to the registered owner and should exist removed when the car gets sold. As the new owner, you lot'll need a transit let to drive the car home. This volition be in the class of a paper plate in place of the permanent plate or a sticker often affixed to 1 of the lower corners of the windshield. It volition exist valid for a limited amount of fourth dimension, ranging from a few days to several weeks.

That wide time window is attributable to the states' differing requirements, which carry over into the types of permits issued. There are interstate (transporting between dissimilar states) and intrastate (transporting within a single state) permits, transit permits, temporary registrations, movement permits, and various other names that apply, but they all chronicle to the topic of driving your new car home. The Maine DMV, for instance, will issue a transit plate that allows you to bulldoze the purchased car back to Maine from some other state. That sounds simple enough until yous learn that the country from which you're buying the vehicle may have its own rules, requiring you lot to visit ane of its DMV branches to become 1 of its transit plates. Muddying the waters fifty-fifty more are states like New York, which issues transit tags that work as a temporary registration, obtained only later providing proof of purchase, proof of insurance, and proof that you've paid the state's sales revenue enhancement. Substantially, driving the car home puts you on the hook for everything except the full registration fee.

Non to be outdone, Massachusetts takes the level of difficulty up a few notches. Massachusetts won't result any blazon of temporary registration or transit tag. In fact, it is illegal for Massachusetts residents to drive within the state using a temporary tag issued by another land. Non-residents, on the other hand, are allowed to travel within the state on a temporary tag. So, if y'all hail from that northeastern democracy and are doing your car buying out-of-country, y'all can drive the car as far as the Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, or Vermont border, but will and so need to park the car and call a cab to take you the rest of the manner. That's non a corking solution, so in the unusual case of Massachusetts, we suggest towing the vehicle dwelling house from a neighboring land (if possible) or utilizing a service such as CarGurus Commitment.

Again, consulting with the state's DMV will exist priority number one. That's where you'll receive your permits (where applicable), determine what paperwork is necessary, and, in some cases, learn if documents such as a championship or bill of sale must be notarized.

Ready for Your Trip Domicile

As with whatever road trip, you'll desire to work off a checklist to ensure yous've crossed all your t'south and dotted the i's. Mayhap most chiefly, make sure all your documentation is in social club, including the transit plate or sticker with valid operating dates, proper proof of insurance, signed (and, in some cases, notarized) purchase paperwork consisting of a championship and/or beak of sale, and your valid driver's license.

If you lot've made it this far, nosotros'll presume you've conducted a test drive, checked the car yourself, and had information technology inspected by an contained local mechanic prior to finalizing the purchase. Yet, give the automobile a last in one case-over, equally yous would with any vehicle before striking out on a long trip. Focus on the condition of the fluids, lights, tires, belts, hoses, and battery. Note how much gas the previous owner left in the tank. Any cheque engine lights, leaks, or other issues should be addressed before heading home.

If you're buying an particularly used vehicle or 1 with a higher odometer reading, consider getting some sort of roadside assistance coverage (such as AAA) as a safe cyberspace in the effect of a breakdown or if you run out of fuel.

Y'all may also find it beneficial to map out a route home alee of time. If your new motorcar doesn't have a functional navigation system, y'all tin can download a GPS app on your telephone. Too, an old-school road atlas—if you can find ane—is very handy in rural areas without strong cell service or with outdated GPS data.

Finally, we suggest sharing your travel program with someone and scheduling check-in times. If they don't hear from you, they'll know y'all've run into some type of trouble. Granted, this may seem to be overkill, only overkill is fine when you're talking about driving a motorcar with unknown reliability on what will likely be unfamiliar roads.

The Bottom Line

Y'all may very well find your perfect car at a compelling purchase price beyond state lines. Don't let that deter y'all from making the purchase, but practise keep in mind that buying a car out of state requires more than than catching a quick flight and pointing the headlights homeward. Whether you're ownership from a dealer or a private party, with a scrap of planning and preparation, you tin can ensure a fun and safe trip.