[KZoppa]

i have no advice for you! i wish i did!!! I am thrilled though that there was a nationwide law passed recently regarding military dependents not having to change their driver license and vehicle plates over to the state their spouse gets stationed anymore. I never intended on changing my DL over from Colorado anyway so the fact its now a law makes that so much easier! I dont know how they handle out of country licenses though. I would suggest contacting the department of motor vehicles in the area you're going and asking them about it. Far as i can figure you should only have to pass the driving test (i never had to parallel park when i did mine cuz i suck at it). But i also havent had to take a drive test since i was 16. I'm now 23.

 

[KZoppa]

I am actually not sure how it will all work for hubby. His drivers license is from Virginia but his home of record is in Ohio and we move to NY. So where do we go to get the car registered? Where will I have my home of record then? In NY?

So this is going to get interesting too. :help:

If his driver's license is based in virginia i would guess the vehicles can be registered there as well. What is his home of record on his LES? If he wishes to, he can have his DL done in Ohio and you can register all the vehicles there. Honestly it should be pretty easy for you to get everything done as long as you have all the proper paperwork done beforehand which i'm guessing you already have taken care of. I wish i had more for you but i'm adament about not living overseas. I'm stressed enough with a move to a different state that i'm actually in charge of getting everything organized. I would need extensive therapy with a move overseas. keep us updated though! i'm curious to hear how everything goes and what you end up having to go through.

 

[KZoppa]

Now those are some good questions.

I would start by calling the Virginia DMV to see whether he can keep a Virginia driver's license or whether he would need to change his driver's license to either New York or his home of record, Ohio. (The reason I would call VA and not NY would be that VA doesn't have a stake in this either way, whereas NY may give you the, "Oh, you need to change everything to NY spiel." as they tried with us.)

In general, how it works for non-military people, is this - when you move to a new state, for work, school, or any other reason, you have 30 days to change your driver's license and also to apply for new plates for your vehicle. In most states, changing your driver's license coming from another state is as easy as turning your current one in and getting a new one.

In the military, you can keep a driver's license from your home of record. Now, my husband got his first license in California where he also finished high school and joined the military, but his home of record is Virginia. He has a VA license and our Jeep is registered in Virginia.

As of January 2010, spouses can also keep their driver's license and vehicle registration in another state, whereas previously they had to change once they moved to another state (just like any other civilian who moves to another state). I believe that you can declare your home of record - so if your hubby's is VA, as a military spouse, you could make VA your home of record. (Don't hold me to that, though - we moved here before that went into effect and I had to get a NY license. I will eventually change it to hubby's home of record (VA), just haven't yet.)

I don't know how it works if you come in from overseas. That may be a question for the DMV and/or JAG?



You won't need to be up here. I've never parallel parked in my life, except on the NY driving test.

thank you Abby for explaining that better than i did!!! but yeah, military dependents have it a little easier now and you dont have to spend nearly as much money with each move because you dont have to get entirely new plates on your vehicles. We have our license's and vehicle plates in our home of record which is Colorado. THAT saves us money yearly as is because most states on the east coast still require a yearly vehicle inspection whereas Colorado no longer requires it. yay on that. But i agree to definitely get in touch with the DMV for accurate answers.

Someone said this already but made a typo. Anyway, you need a credit card also to rent a car. And you have to be over the age of 25, which I assume you are.

i'm gonna assume as well. 25 is the age to rent a vehicle unless you go through Hertz (i believe thats the right one) and they only require you to be 21.

 

[KZoppa]

Well, if the vehicle(s) were registered in both your names and/or the military member's name, you didn't have to get new plates in the first place. You could keep the ones from your service member's home of record if you chose to do so.



Unless I am mistaken, this is actually wrong.

AFAIK, if you live in another state for any extended period of time (more than 30 days), your vehicle must meet that state's safety requirements, even if your vehicle's plates and registration are from your home of record. Although your home of record may not require annual inspection, if the state you live in requires annual inspection, you will need to get your vehicle inspected annually and you will need to display the inspection sticker in the window just like any vehicle registered in that state.

If you're in a state with annual inspections, the military base where you are stationed will most likely require that you have a current, valid, inspection sticker displayed on your vehicle as you enter the base.

we havent had that issue. so far as long as our plates are current and our insurance is up to date on our vehicles, we've been told we dont need the inspections done. Might just be NC but thats been our experience. I'll ask my local PD about it