My family and I are full-timers, which is why I'm posting this question. And here's the reason I'm asking:
A week ago, I was driving back from NM to see friends and heading back into TX where my RV is at. The speed limit is 70 on the I-40. I was going 74mph, and a State Patrol pulled me over. Although his "reason" was for speeding, I honestly think he was checking to see if I was intoxicated and if we were wearing seatbelts. It was Father's Day, and I saw quite a few Staters pulling people over. He had me standing still outside, asked me tons of questions, then asked some questions to my wife, etc.
Anyway, one thing came up that concerned me. I told him that we had recently moved in to TX and I was working there. He said that my AZ driver's license is no good after 30 days, and I would need to get a TX one. I think he said this BEFORE I told him that we were full time RV'ers, and that we were going to stay in TX for about 8 months or so getting things fixed up on the rig. He didn't say much about the license after that.
My AZ license is a valid license, and my address on it is my house which I still own. It's my permanent address. It seems rather stupid to get a TX license when I have no permanent address to put on it. All I would have is the address of the RV park, which could easily change if we move to a different one.
So back to my original question. As a full-time RV'er, do I have to get a TX Driver's License since I'll be living here for the next several months?
As long as you do not consider your permanent domicile TX, you can have a valid license from any other state which is your permanent domicile. Since you still have property elsewhere, you shouldn't say you have "moved" to Texas until you really have. Just my opinion of course, as I'm not a lawyer.
Any state can require new residents to get a driver's license from that state, and some have very definite time limits. It doesn't matter how newly-acquired your license may be from another state.
Starrfoxx. where are your vehicles registered and what state do you declare as your domicile? As an example of the drivers license thing, a friend of mine set up his domicile in SD and registered his vehicles there and all the other stuff yet he retained his Calif drivers license using a relatives address because he didn't want to go back to SD for that. Everything was done by mail except the DL can't be. Now due to several reasons Calif. has caught up with him and the 6 month rule has been raised meaning if he is in Calif. for more than 6 months he must register his vehicles in calf. Having the Calif DL complicated things even more for him. many states are starting to get this way.
You might want to check with TX DMV on the specifics, but if you aren't domiciled there I wouldn't see it a problem unless they enforce a time in state rule for wjhat I described above.
If you have a valid license from one state, you may use it in other states that you visit. But, if you make a permanent move to another state, you'll have to take a trip to the local department of motor vehicles to apply for a new license. Usually, you must do this within 30 days after moving to the new state. Most states will issue your new license without requiring tests, though some may ask you to take a vision test and a written exam covering basic driving rules.
In some situations, you may be unsure as to whether you need to apply for a new license. If you make frequent business trips to another state, or even if you attend school in a state away from home, there's no need to get another driver's license. But, when you set up housekeeping in the new state and pay taxes there as well, it's time to apply."
Officially, you may only have on driver's license in Texas and would be required by law to surrender any other one that you have. With a mailing address, AZ and a Texas driver's license, I suspect that you would have a lot of trouble if you were ever stopped again.
I would just leave out any discussion of fulltiming with any LEO in the future. For legal purposes, you have a permanent address. Period. The further you go beyond that, the more likely you will find yourself in a situation that becomes difficult to explain. I've worked in business in other States beside Texas for nearly a year. While they wanted my income tax money, there was no problem with my TX driver's license as long as that was my permanent residence.
I would use the answer to the Trooper would be I'm just passing thru, we live in a RV and move often. There is one thing I have learned is the less you say the better off you are. GBY....
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Not a good answer ...............but, If you still own a home in Az, how do you consider yourself a fulltimer?
You may claim to be a Tx domicile , but until you move your domicile (unless u already have) to Tx, Tx , IMO, will still consider you a visitor.
The Tx state troppers are some of the friendliest people in Tx, and very helpful, so I cannot imagine what took place. To have you exit the auto and stand on the side of the road, is very rare in Tx. Especially in WTex. And to grill your wife is very very uncommon. Especially if you were only doing 74MPH.
I would sure love to hear page two of this.
At the same time, you should study what Tx "calls" a resident. Working here May REQUIRE you to be considered a resident and in that case, Yes, you would have to have a Tx drivers license.
firedude wrote: Starrfoxx. where are your vehicles registered and what state do you declare as your domicile? As an example of the drivers license thing, a friend of mine set up his domicile in SD and registered his vehicles there and all the other stuff yet he retained his Calif drivers license using a relatives address because he didn't want to go back to SD for that. Everything was done by mail except the DL can't be. Now due to several reasons Calif. has caught up with him and the 6 month rule has been raised meaning if he is in Calif. for more than 6 months he must register his vehicles in calf. Having the Calif DL complicated things even more for him. many states are starting to get this way.
You might want to check with TX DMV on the specifics, but if you aren't domiciled there I wouldn't see it a problem unless they enforce a time in state rule for wjhat I described above.
Actually due to a new CA law if you are living in CA more than 20 days, you have to get vehicles licensed there and a CA drivers license. The CHP website solicits people to turn you in if they see your vehicle for a prolonged period of time to leave the info, license tags, etc on their website.
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THE KEY phrase is:
"we were going to stay in TX for about 8 months or so"
Most states have reciprocity, they allow you to drive in the state you are in, for the same period that your home state allows. I believe AZ allows you 6 months in AZ, then you have to get an AZ license. Saying you are staying in TX for 8 months or so, can mean even longer. Even if TX would allow you to stay there as long as AZ allows a TX resident in AZ, that is over the six month period.
TX may not even allow that much time, Id check with the TX DMV to find out.
State laws where you are, are the ones to abide by. Even if intending to return to AZ, you may have to get a TX license. Then when returning to AZ, you may need to be getting another one there.
None I know of, are licensed to practice law in either TX or AZ and so if it were me, I'd check with the appropriate authority instead of taking advice in RV.net... Heard of a case on FMCA or Escapees forget where, about someone in TX getting into serious trouble over RV, taxes, and registration, etc. Then they had to do community service and were not able to leave for some time, kind of put a big crimp in their travel plans.
Happy_Trails wrote: Actually due to a new CA law if you are living in CA more than 20 days, you have to get vehicles licensed there and a CA drivers license. The CHP website solicits people to turn you in if they see your vehicle for a prolonged period of time to leave the info, license tags, etc on their website.
Bob actually there are legal workarounds on this so people need to check on their individual circumstances. I have friends coming for a few months stay from BC and they checked direct with the DMV and CHP and are fine. We also have many out of state FT'ers as Volunteer camp hosts with state parks here in Calif. and they are not being held to the above by either state parks or CHP. I read what you are talking about and it is pretty confusing, but it is not straight across the board as one might think. Example a loved one needed you here to help during a health crisis and you came from out of state to help care for them and they are not going to make you register your vehicle in Ca. for such. After talking to a good friend here who is a CHP he did some checking, got back to me and apparently this you mention refers to taking gainful employment in the state, not visiting, camping or even volunteering. I think if anyone has questions on this should contact the DMV and CHP directly for accurate info on the matter. Living and working for gainful employment (wages) and camping/visiting/volunteering are different matters. As put by the officer if it were as stated above nobody with a RV could come to Ca. for more than 20 days to visit or tour the state. That is not the intent here.
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