Melle12 Posted May 27, 2018 Report Share Posted May 27, 2018 Hi all, We will starting full-timing this September and are deep in the planning (over-thinking in my case) phase. We are going to travel for a bit before landing in FL for about a week to get our licenses, register our vehicles, and register to vote. We are planning to use the Escapee Sumter address and mailing service, but I have a couple of questions still: 1. Do we have to got to Sumter County to get our licenses and/or register our vehicles or can we go to any DMV location outside the county? We had planned to stay elsewhere for our trip, and if possible, do all of this in the Pensacola area. 2. I see on the FL DMV site that once a FL resident, you have 30 days to get a license/register vehicles/etc, but I also see that most full-timers recommend establishing your Escapee mail service more than a month out to get the addresses updated for proof when we show up to get license/register vehicles/etc- Is it safe to say we can have a Sumter FL Escapee address for over 30 days without being FL counting it as the official start of our FL residency? Thanks in advance for any experience and expertise, M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWharton Posted May 27, 2018 Report Share Posted May 27, 2018 Why do you think Florida would know anything about your address until you tell them about your address? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melle12 Posted May 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2018 10 minutes ago, SWharton said: Why do you think Florida would know anything about your address until you tell them about your address? I was thinking dating- we will be using the documents provided by the Escapees, and I had assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that the Copy of Escapees: Home “welcome letter” and the Escapees RV Club “Letter of Acknowledgement" may have dates on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaH Posted May 28, 2018 Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 21 hours ago, Melle12 said: Is it safe to say we can have a Sumter FL Escapee address for over 30 days without being FL counting it as the official start of our FL residency? Having a Florida address, in and of itself, does not make the state your domicile. Think about all the snowbirds who winter in Florida and have an address there, but are not domiciled in the state. Until you take concrete steps to make Florida your domicile, it will remain whatever state it is currently. That will mean getting driver's licenses, registering your vehicles, registering to vote, changing your insurance, etc. As far as having to go to Sumpter County to do all of this, I don't know since I've never been domiciled in Florida -- hopefully, a Floridian will be along to answer that question. However, even if you *can* get your driver's licenses and register your vehicle in another county, the stumbling block may be registering to vote outside your home county. When we changed from Texas to South Dakota, we were able to get everything done *except* registering to vote. That's because the RV park at which we stayed was, unbeknownst to us, not in the same county as our address! We had to return at a later date and stay in a different RV park in order to get registered to vote. That might not apply to Florida, but best to check into it before you head there. LindaH 2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K 2011 Kia Soul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melle12 Posted May 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 Thanks Linda- interesting point about voter registration I hadn’t considered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whj469 Posted May 28, 2018 Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 I do know that some states require proof of residency such as a utility bill to get a drivers license. If this is your first time getting a drivers license in Florida they may well ask you to show your Social Security card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2gypsies Posted May 28, 2018 Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 Bigger cities might require emissions testing on your vehicle so check that out. It's always easier to do things in a small city. Full-timed for 16 YearsTraveled 8 yr in a 2004 Newmar Dutch Star 40' Motorhome and 8 yr in a 33' Travel Supreme 5th Wheel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroad Posted June 6, 2018 Report Share Posted June 6, 2018 am in a similar situation to Melle12. Overthinking this all. But want to go to a different county (not sumpter) to register as a resident of Sumpter. Found the DOMICILE DECLARATION document which was confusing for Sumpter county. It implies you need to be in Florida to make the statement that you want to DOMICILE in Florida. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melle12 Posted June 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2018 1 minute ago, offroad said: am in a similar situation to Melle12. Overthinking this all. But want to go to a different county (not sumpter) to register as a resident of Sumpter. Found the DOMICILE DECLARATION document which was confusing for Sumpter county. It implies you need to be in Florida to make the statement that you want to DOMICILE in Florida. I have come to the conclusion that the 3 main RV/Mail/Domicile counties are accustomed to dealing with full-timers and make the process of drivers license/registration/voting easy. I've heard many stories of other folks going outside their county, but those DMVs may be a bit fussier with full-timers and not all FL facilities can provide all the services. I called the specific courthouse (voter registration) and DMV directly just to make sure I knew what to expect. That said, we are 99.9% settled on going with MyRVMail and some of that decision is based on the convenience of the county. What an adventure... if we can get past the minutia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroad Posted June 6, 2018 Report Share Posted June 6, 2018 10 minutes ago, Melle12 said: I have come to the conclusion that the 3 main RV/Mail/Domicile counties are accustomed to dealing with full-timers and make the process of drivers license/registration/voting easy. I've heard many stories of other folks going outside their county, but those DMVs may be a bit fussier with full-timers and not all FL facilities can provide all the services. I called the specific courthouse (voter registration) and DMV directly just to make sure I knew what to expect. That said, we are 99.9% settled on going with MyRVMail and some of that decision is based on the convenience of the county. What an adventure... if we can get past the minutia we stuck with the ESCAPEES mail service. Florida for DOMICILE, and Texas for address. But we need to have at least one bank statement sent to the Florida address in Sumter county, Bushnell. Then we can turn off the bank statements completely. Still very confusing. My wife called the Fernandondo Beach Florida area, just on florida georgia I95 crossing area. Only three hours from where we live. --- else we would drive six hours one way, and we dont want to do that. yes I know the address will be on my INSURANCE CARD. and address supposedly on the ESCAPEES literature. will see. waiting on the letter from Escapees, as the SKP# and the address support email came through already. We only want the DMV stuff done. at least for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill w/bus Posted June 13, 2018 Report Share Posted June 13, 2018 We did our change in Clay County, Green Cove Springs, using St Brendans Ilse mail service. Drivers lic was done in Arcadia, Fl. Registered one vehicle at the Clay county tax collectors office, easy and pleasant. Others were done by mail/phone. Voter reg is in person. Again pleasant and easy. Good luck, Bill Bill & Lynn Baxter MCI102A3 Conversion, Detroit Diesel S50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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