Loitering in a State...

aztex · May 2, 2020

Hi,

Friends run an RV park in SO California so I think I'm gonna head over there June 1 and wait and see what happens next.

About 5 years ago I was working on a friends house in San Diego. I got pulled over for no 3rd brake light. I had AZ plates as an AZ resident out for the summer but the cop had seen me up and down this street for a few weeks. I recall being hassled about being in CA with AZ plates for that long and I was supposed to retain CA "citizenship" after 90 days or some malarkey....

Ever run into this?

How long can we usually stay put in a state before they want us to "sign up"?

Thanks!

fpmtngal · May 2, 2020

Depends on the state. Arizona says you’re a resident if you are here 7 months. There are other things that make you a resident. California says 6 months. See this DMV page about CA residency: CA DMV Residency .

Kirk W · May 2, 2020

The answer depends not only on which state but also where in that state. Each state has laws about when you much register a vehicle in their state as well as getting your driving license and the two are usually the same. But not all areas enforce the state laws with the same amount of aggressiveness. Usually I have found the time to be around 6 months continuous time in state, or 30 to 90 days if you are employed in a full-time, permanent job.

Areas with a large tourist or snowbird economy tend to be less inclined to enforce such laws.

Edited May 2, 2020 by Kirk W

bobsallyh · May 2, 2020

Kirk's last sentence says it all. Enforcement in the Yuma, AZ. area by what I see doesn't amount to much. Snowbirding drives the economy here. Also with many contractors in this area building the "Wall", they sure aren't going to change their registration. A number of years ago, South Carolina decided to crack down on out of state plates that seemed to be "over staying" the limit. When the hotel, restaurant, beach industries in the Grand Strand area (Myrtle Beach) got word about the enforcement that was the end of the enforcement in that area. High school and college kids working the summer sure aren't going to change their stuff.

sandsys · May 2, 2020

7 hours ago, Kirk W said:

30 to 90 days if you are employed in a full-time, permanent job.

That LEO may think this is your case since you apparently travel the same route regularly and are working for your friend. If so, you may need to get clarification on that issue.

Linda

Randyretired · May 2, 2020

There are a lot of places where they seem not to check license plates at all. A number of years ago someone stole the rear license plate from our PU in CA. The Leo took the front plate and reported it stolen. We drove around mostly AZ and NV for most of 3 months without plates. We were never pulled over or challenged in any way. Once back home we purchased new plates.

sandsys · May 2, 2020

5 minutes ago, Randyretired said:

There are a lot of places where they seem not to check license plates at all. A number of years ago someone stole the rear license plate from our PU in CA. The Leo took the front plate and reported it stolen. We drove around mostly AZ and NV for most of 3 months without plates. We were never pulled over or challenged in any way. Once back home we purchased new plates.

On the other hand, in Minnesota we were on our way to the dealer to pick up our new plates when our daughter tore the temporary permit off the back window. We got stopped right away for having no plates. Fortunately, the trooper (city street marked as state highway) believed us so we didn't get ticketed.

Then there was the time I bought the annual stickers for our license plates in December to avoid the price increase in January. The camper was in winter storage so the stickers did not get applied. We made it almost to the county line the following summer when a county mountie stopped us for expired plates. His research showed we did buy the stickers so he gave us a fixit ticket with an extended expiration date so we could apply the sticker after our vacation. Nice guy. We were so glad to not have to go back home to get the stickers.

Linda

Captain Happy · May 10, 2020

Let's see. I've been in Nevada now for over 5 years wearing Texas plates. In our park there's vehicles from just about every western state, and a fee from back east.

richfaa · May 10, 2020

We have never had that happen. We have wintered in Arizona, Mexico for long periods of time with no issues and now Florida. Florida of course has out of state plates from everywhere.

Sehc · May 10, 2020

I have never had problems with vehicle registration. I have had to change my drivers license in Colorado, California, and Texas. I was employed in each state.

aztex · May 10, 2020

Thanks!

I'll be in CA for ~3 months; at an RV park run by friends so can probably keep the trailer off the radar but fear CA will be looking for any excuse to charge for anything so have to see how local LEO will be watching me in town.

As I said a few years back in San Diego I had my AZ plates and got hassled within a month of daily driving on one main road. They'd seen me and I assumed they pulled me as much for that as the brake light infraction since I was not fined.

Lou Schneider · May 10, 2020

CA is crazy. I worked for 5 years at a college owned radio station with several remote mountaintop transmitter sites. My job was to keep all of the transmitters running so I was given a SUV owned by the college to take up the dirt roads leading to the mountaintops.

All of the college vehicles had State Exempt license plates because the college was owned by a government entity.

I was repeatedly pulled over while going through tourist areas. Each time it was to check the registration and verify I wasn't using a government owned vehicle for a personal camping trip.

Edited May 10, 2020 by Lou Schneider

2gypsies · May 10, 2020

2 hours ago, aztex said:

Thanks!

I'll be in CA for ~3 months; at an RV park run by friends so can probably keep the trailer off the radar but fear CA will be looking for any excuse to charge for anything so have to see how local LEO will be watching me in town.

As I said a few years back in San Diego I had my AZ plates and got hassled within a month of daily driving on one main road. They'd seen me and I assumed they pulled me as much for that as the brake light infraction since I was not fined.

There are many California resort parks and folks with out-of-state plates stay there for a season - many more than your 3 months. Never heard of them being visited by LEO.