car permits temp

South Dakota Plates - Regarding importing or changing plates on a vehicle for the folks who live here, I received a full explanation and will pass on the website address on to those interested (see below). It seems that Canadians can get S. Dakota plates after all and the same business also supplies a USA address and pertinent necesities. Here is the info: southdakotalicenseplates.com. The phone numbers are: Cabo, 624-129-9237; and in the U.S., 845-790-1110. I do not know the cost.

South Dakota Car Registration: To dispel all the rumors
I just registered another vehicle in South Dakota. The only difference now is:
You must download a new form (mv3020) Affidavit claiming Lack of Residence Post Office Address, in addition to the mv608. You will also need a copy of your DL.

Updating California Registrations.
DMV- Tell your DMV person to refer to "Register Manuel, 27.150 Smog Exemp". It is the rule in their book that explains it all. anon.

a. Alan, you simply DO NOT have to get your car smogged and you CAN STILL get California registration...I did this myself this past year..the dummies at DMV do NOT know anything about it, but the rules are if the car is not located in certain NAMED border cities, than you can get it registered without smog..guaranteed, you just have to have them read the regs, they are VERY clear. Please note the following previous postings in BPE that I saved for my own use, AND THEY WORK! Bill Karr

(1) On the California DMV registration, we created a page with
instructions on our blog.

 How to register a car in California,
 when you can't smog it because it's stored in Mexico
 http://loreto.ehuna.org/archives/000238.html

This page can be used for future reference to anyone who's had
problems with the DMV.

Thanks for the Baja Pony Express,

Emmanuel and Janelle

(2) I have gotten three renewals during this summer and
have always checked the box about outside California 
and then written "over" and filled in the explanation
on my "Statement of Facts" form. I put in the
explanation that the car is in Baja between LaPaz and
Cabo San Lucas (almost 1000 milaes below the border) 
and it wouldn't make it up to California for a smog
check and it is never in the State. I also give them
a copy of my Mexican auto insurance policy. I have
been doing this for years and have never had a 
problem. I even mailed in the statement of facts form
and a copy of the insurance last March because my
renewal is during a time when I'm not in the States;
however most of the time I just go into the office. I 
asked the supervisor why other people were having
trouble getting their renewals this year and she no
idea what the problem was.

(3) Regarding the ongoing car registration discussion. We started keeping a car in Baja last year. The first time we re-registered it by mail and we used a Statement of Facts (a DMV form on their website) stating that the car was more than 1,000 miles from the CA border. Though the form says that the smog exception is not good for cars in either Canada or Mexico, we had been told that in excess of 1000 miles was the ruling fact. So we received our renewal sticker last year. This year I took my renewal notice, again with a Statement of Facts, to the local DMV office and was told no, because it was in Mexico, didn't care how far. So I took the same papers to AAA and got my renewal sticker no problem. Moral of this story? Maybe thinking it's all open to rational analysis. Sometimes you just have to keep asking until you get the answer you want. Next year, who knows?

(4) This is in response to item #2 on the last post.
Additional information regarding CA DMV registration for cars kept in
Mexico. For years I have been registering my cars in the State of
California, but used and kept in Mexico only. The tough part of the
registration is the smog requirement not so much the insurance. No
one wants to drive 1000 miles to have their car smogged! Under the
smog exemption clause, the form lists no exemptions for cars kept in
Mexico. But, if you read further into that civil code it only lists
border cities (ie: TJ, Ensenada, Tecate, Mexicali) where no smog
exemption is allowed. The civil code is intended to prevent people
from registering their cars in California, kept in Mexico with smog
exemption while they still commute to California for work etc.... If
the car(s) is kept in other cities other than those listed in the
civil code, you simply fill out and sign "A Statement of Fact"
affidavit, stating the car is kept and used exclusively in "whatever
city" in Mexico other than those listed and the registration is
valid. The reason that this is so important is because this offers
you current "VALID" tags on your plates. The DMV does not issue new
valid tags for cars registered as "Non-Operational" which can become
a problem with local Mexican police (especially Highway Patrol) if
you are pulled over while driving with expired tags, which is a
violation in California as well. Hope this information is helpful
getting and keeping your car(s) legally registered. Contact me with
any questions..... peloncito@mac.com

Rather than undergo the hassle and expense of renewing my California license plates, I successfully registered with the state of South Dakota. They do not require smog checks or proof of insurance and are much less expensive.

Just call Cathy Powell, treasurer, Clay County, SD at 605+677-7123. You must have a clear title (which you will submit along with the appllication), and a US mailing address. In the application one window asks for "South Dakota drivers license or Social Security number".

I was very honest with her about the situation and she was really great in talking me thru the process.... what a difference from the indifference of big time California.

Anyway, go to their website at: http://www.claycountysd.org/ and print out an Adobe file with the application. Fill-out each page as an original (You will not fill-out the last form as it is addressed to the lienholder , not necessary for your transaction). Then these forms have to be mailed as they are originals, and you include your title. I sent mine priority mail and had my new plates and tags in about ten days. The new title took about three weeks as it is actually processed at the state level.

CALIFORNIA CAR REGISTRATION:
I routinely get our Baja (East Cape) cars registered and avoid smog by use of REG256 (Statement of Facts). If the car is south of Ensenada, it’s OK to register without smog. North of Ensenada, you’ll need smog. The idiotic thing is that you need Calif auto insurance also, so I put the insurance on for a month to get registered, then take it off. When you take if off, be sure to go to DMV site and execute the Affidavit of Non-Use: ; this is not the same as Planned Non-Operation. When you put the insurance back on, go to to reverse the Affidavit of non-use.