Wanted to take a minute to share our process of establishing Florida as our home state
1. We chose St. Brendan's Island as our mail service in Green Cove Springs, FL. ( After some initial issues with changing our addresses with Bank of America, we got all of our addresses changed and started receiving mail there...you need two pieces from either a bank or insurance company to establish residency)
2. Went to the Courthouse in Green Cove Springs to establish domicile. It cost $15 each (Visa/MAster Card card accepted) and all we needed was our old state driver's licenses to get this done. No lines and took about 10 minutes. As a side note we chose to go to the Court House/DMV in Green Cove Springs because it is a small town and they are familiar with people establishing residency and using the mail service there.
3. Drove next door to the DMV. On Weds at 10am there were two people in line in front of us. Driver's licenses required a birth certificate or passport and proof of SS# (SS card, W-2, or pay stub. If you have a clean driving record they do not require you to take the written test, just an eye exam. If you do not have a clean record they can require a written and/or driving test at their discretion. They took the pictures immediately and printed the licenses. Cost was $44.25 each and all major credit cards were accepted.
4. Voter Registration can be done right at the DMV aftre you get your licnese. It's free and they give you a card with numbers to call if you want absentee ballots.
5. Vehicle registration requires a VIN# verification of the truck, car, or motor home (none for the 5th wheel thankfully). If you drive it to them they will walk outside and do it for you, or you can take the vehicle to a police station or authorized car dealership and have them do it. I recommend driving your vehicles there as it was super easy. You also need titles for the vehicles in hand. If you own them outright no issue. If the bank owns them, you need your loan account number and the address the DMV can write to to request a copy of the title. This surprised us as I have read nothing about this requirement anywhere but luckily the DMV person Cheryl was extremely helpful and walked us through it.
We knew this process might require extra time (frankly I would have been shocked if everything would have gone off without a hitch) but 3 out of 4 items in one day is not bad. Of course the prep work took some time to get all the information together. I asked if I could have requested titles in advance but she said no it had to be done by the DMV for them to accept it. So we are here for another couple of weeks and hopefully it will all be taken care of before we leave. If we have to leave my impression was they would mail the plates to us. I have to say that was by far the best DMV experience I have ever had in my life. Highly recommend going to Green Cove Springs if you have to get all this done.
Trace
-- Edited by Lee and Trace on Thursday 26th of March 2015 08:07:51 AM
-- Edited by Lee and Trace on Thursday 26th of March 2015 08:12:29 AM
-- Edited by Lee and Trace on Friday 27th of March 2015 02:39:59 PM
Jim and Linda said
08:27 AM Mar 26, 2015
Thank you!
2riker2go said
02:06 PM Mar 26, 2015
Yes, we had the same experience in late December, also in Green Cove Springs. We also were surprised by the part about sending for the titles before the vehicles could be registered, as we had never been told about that part. I'm not sure though that you could get the plates mailed to you if you had to leave before the title came in. When we were there, the DMV rep told us about sending for the titles. At the time we were only there for a few days. So she advised us to wait and go to the DMV again in Feb when we got to another Florida location where we would be staying for a longer period of time. She told us that when the title came in, we would have to go back in to the office within 30 days or they would have to send the title back. So if you have to leave, I would just double check that you wouldn't have any issue.
cherylbrv said
07:44 PM Mar 26, 2015
I also use them as my legal address - highly recommend!
Camper Chronicles said
08:04 PM Mar 26, 2015
2riker2go wrote:
Yes, we had the same experience in late December, also in Green Cove Springs. We also were surprised by the part about sending for the titles before the vehicles could be registered, as we had never been told about that part. I'm not sure though that you could get the plates mailed to you if you had to leave before the title came in. When we were there, the DMV rep told us about sending for the titles. At the time we were only there for a few days. So she advised us to wait and go to the DMV again in Feb when we got to another Florida location where we would be staying for a longer period of time. She told us that when the title came in, we would have to go back in to the office within 30 days or they would have to send the title back. So if you have to leave, I would just double check that you wouldn't have any issue.
Thanks appreciate it. Our lady let us fill out all the forms in advance and said she would have everything she needed when the titles came but who knows. Hopefully they will get here before April 13th when we leave
Dog Folks said
06:59 AM Mar 27, 2015
Welcome to the state as an "Official" resident.
You are now allowed to complain about tourists.
2riker2go said
07:07 AM Mar 27, 2015
For us, it took about three weeks for the title to come in after it was ordered.
Technomadia said
10:00 AM Mar 27, 2015
Thanks for sharing about the title/loan requirement.. was not aware of that (as we own our vehicle & motorhome outright). I'll make sure to add that to our guide to domiciling in the Florida (www.technomadia.com/florida).
We just discovered a perk of Florida residency too... zero deductible windshield coverage on comprehensive insurance. Ok, downside is.. we have a smashed windshield. But, at least it won't cost us anything to replace.
Hope the rest goes smoothly for you..
- Cherie
2riker2go said
01:24 PM Mar 27, 2015
Technomadia wrote:
Thanks for sharing about the title/loan requirement.. was not aware of that (as we own our vehicle & motorhome outright). I'll make sure to add that to our guide to domiciling in the Florida (www.technomadia.com/florida).
Also, the important part is having the title, so if you are from a state where the owner holds the title instead of the lending company, there wouldn't be any issue. When we lived in NY, we had our titles in hand even though we had a loan, so if we had gone straight from NY to FL we would have been fine. When we "moved" to SD, we had to turn the titles in.
Camper Chronicles said
02:35 PM Mar 27, 2015
Technomadia wrote:
Thanks for sharing about the title/loan requirement.. was not aware of that (as we own our vehicle & motorhome outright). I'll make sure to add that to our guide to domiciling in the Florida (www.technomadia.com/florida).
We just discovered a perk of Florida residency too... zero deductible windshield coverage on comprehensive insurance. Ok, downside is.. we have a smashed windshield. But, at least it won't cost us anything to replace.
Hope the rest goes smoothly for you..
- Cherie
Thanks Cherie!! I'm feeling like it's all downhill from here.
TheNewhalls said
09:21 PM Mar 27, 2015
Trace,
Good post. When we registered at Green Cove Springs everything went smooth and we were out of there with our licenses and plates in less time than it took us to drive there from Bradenton. We own both our vehicles and had to turn in the titles. When they took our pictures for our licenses the lady said "smile", I did and the picture looked OK compared to our Virginia photos. In Virginia they won't let you smile and they're a gray scale color. Looked worse than a mug shot. We received our plates right away and had to wait a couple of weeks for the new titles to arrive by mail. So far couldn't be happier with the service from SBI.
DenJen12 said
07:47 AM Mar 28, 2015
We used a company out of Pensacola, FL..American Home Base. We were in Oklahoma at the time, and were able to do everything via email/fax from there. The Home Base company registered our vehicle for us ( we had to fill out the form that we got online and gather the info....dr.license, insurance, titles...and a POA for the company). It took about a week and we had our license plates mailed to us. We owned one vehicle outright and the other had a loan on it. We just gave the info to them for the loan and it took no time for them to get it. We did all of that in Feb/March of 2013 and then in May/June of 2014 we took the trip to Florida to change our licenses. Just had to take official mail and they used the license number from our 5th wheel as our address on the DL. At this point we had already purchased a new truck (got rid of previous two vehicles) and purchased a new 5th wheel. The dealership in Texas we bought truck from took care of registering the vehicle for us and I filled out the proper form again and got the trailer registered via mail. It was such an easy process and the people at the Home Base were amazingly helpful! I would definitely recommend them to anyone else trying to make this decision. We have only been to Florida once, and it only took us a couple hours one day (mostly waiting in line) to get what we needed done. We have registered 2 trailers, 2 trucks, 1 SUV, 1 car and 1 cargo trailer since 2013 and ALL have been easily done via email/mail/fax. No problems.
Aurora Borealis said
12:06 PM Mar 29, 2015
Besides birth certificates, FL and TX both wanted my marriage license to show my name change from birth to married name.
I assume they asked for this also?
TheNewhalls said
04:48 PM Mar 29, 2015
Aurora Borealis wrote:
Besides birth certificates, FL and TX both wanted my marriage license to show my name change from birth to married name. I assume they asked for this also?
They (Florida) didn't ask us for our marriage certificate.
Aurora Borealis said
02:24 PM Mar 30, 2015
It is not an 'us' thing, it is only for a woman who has one name on her birth certificate and then gets married and has a different last name on her drivers license.
Maybe some offices are more laid back, but it was required for me in both FL and TX.
TheNewhalls said
06:17 AM Mar 31, 2015
OK, I stand corrected. While standing together at the counter, the Florida DMV in Green Cove Springs didn't ask Eileen if she had a copy of our marriage license.
Terry and Jo said
06:11 PM Mar 31, 2015
I've heard that South Dakota has also begun to ask about marriage certificates AND divorce decrees. Whether that is true or not, I think it would be a good idea that when changing domiciles, a couple ought to have the information (certificates and decrees) on hand when they go to the office, if for no other reason than to avoid making another trip.
Terry
TheNewhalls said
08:33 PM Mar 31, 2015
After a little research - In Florida the name that is on your social security card is also the name that will be on your drivers license, so they must match. If they don't match you will have to show documentation as to how and when it was changed. Like a marriage certificate. After we got married Eileen changed her name at the social security office, so the name on her SS card and all primary documents matched her married name. That probably explains why she wasn't asked for our marriage certificate.
I am now trying to get my mother a FL ID card. She is 91 and at that age they will forego some documents, but not the SS card or proof of birth date, does not have to be a birth certificate. There are other documents you can provide for proof of birth date like a life insurance policy, but not a recent one. We're trying to find the SS card.
US Citizens
Florida law requires identification, proof of date of birth, proof of residential address, and proof of social security number (if issued, Chapter 322, Florida Statutes, requires the Department see proof of social security number for the issuance of driver license and identification cards) from all customers before a driver license or identification card can be issued.
The name assigned to the social security number must match the name that will appear on the Florida driver license or identification card. If you have recently changed your name, update your records with the Social Security Administration before you apply for your license or identification card.
Each U.S. citizen renewing or applying for a new driver license or identification card in person after January 1, 2010 must submit:
Primary Identification
An Original or Certified of One of the Following Primary Identification Documents
Certified United States birth certificate, including territories and District of Columbia
Valid United States Passport or Passport Card
Consular Report of Birth Abroad
Certificate of Naturalization, Form N-550 or Form N-570
Certificate of Citizenship, Form N-560 or Form N-561
Note: When necessary, marriage certificates, court orders, or divorce decrees must be provided to tie the name on the primary identification to the name the customer would like to place on the driver license or identification card.
-- Edited by TheNewhalls on Tuesday 31st of March 2015 08:42:28 PM
jrzygrl64 said
09:02 PM Mar 31, 2015
I also wasn't asked for my marriage license when getting my FL driver license. I was never asked for it when I moved from NJ to KY in 1996, nor when I moved from KY to PA in 2002. They did want current driver license and SS card - which both have the same name.
Was the name on your SS card different?
Camper Chronicles said
03:08 AM Apr 4, 2015
That was my experience..only because I showed a SS# W-2 that had my maiden name did I need to show my marriage license
Camper Chronicles said
03:10 AM Apr 4, 2015
Update: I received a letter from the voter registration board and they will not register me because "the address is a mailing address only." Have to say I am very upset by this. I have been voting consistently since 1984 and the thought of no longer having this privilege (and not to get political but I absolutely consider it that) is very upsetting. At this point I can't really start all over, but other than having a family residence to use is anyone else getting around this??
Dog Folks said
01:51 PM Apr 4, 2015
Lee and Trace wrote:
Update: I received a letter from the voter registration board and they will not register me because "the address is a mailing address only." Have to say I am very upset by this. I have been voting consistently since 1984 and the thought of no longer having this privilege (and not to get political but I absolutely consider it that) is very upsetting. At this point I can't really start all over, but other than having a family residence to use is anyone else getting around this??
• A legal resident of Florida and of the county where you intend to vote.
I would take it up with St. Brendan's Island.
They are not providing a "Legal" address?
Or is that voter registration board un-informed?
One of them seems to be wrong.
Good Luck.
2riker2go said
02:15 PM Apr 4, 2015
Lee and Trace wrote:
Update: I received a letter from the voter registration board and they will not register me because "the address is a mailing address only." Have to say I am very upset by this. I have been voting consistently since 1984 and the thought of no longer having this privilege (and not to get political but I absolutely consider it that) is very upsetting. At this point I can't really start all over, but other than having a family residence to use is anyone else getting around this??
We got a letter like that as well. All we had to do was email them a copy of our Domicile Form.
Technomadia said
10:09 AM Apr 5, 2015
In Clay County (where SBI is), the voter registration has a specific street address they ask us travelers to use as our 'Where we Live' address:
1 Clay County
Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
And you need to include your Certified Declaration of Domicile.
There's a form on it SBI's forms section online that walks you through this. It's no biggie to get around... just follow the directions.
Camper Chronicles said
12:13 PM Apr 5, 2015
Yep I checked the fine print and the below language was on page 2
"For a person with a non-traditonal home (eg: boat, motor home, etc) who intends and has presence in the county and intends for county to be residence county, acceptable addresses include ....(and mail service addresses are listed as a choice.)
Not to be difficult here but this matters to me so I am going to say it. Who defines "has presence"? Generally I don't get worked up about this stuff...but throughout the entire changing home state and permanent address to a mail service I have in some way felt like I am doing something wrong. Mainly because I keep running into stumbling block after stumbling block. Yes you can gt through it, and certainly yes it is worth it, but if I had to do it all over again I would have used my in-laws house in Ohio and paid the state taxes.
Just being honest here.
Trace
BiggarView said
01:11 PM Apr 5, 2015
Trace, the bureaucrats and other governement minions have to justify their J.O.B.s In order to protect their "turf", they get to decide what "presence" is and what is required to to prove it. Pity the lowly 9-5 clerical types with nothing better to do but create hurdles for the rest of us to jump over. It is what it is. LOL
Brian
-- Edited by biggaRView on Sunday 5th of April 2015 01:12:35 PM
TheNewhalls said
06:57 AM Apr 6, 2015
I'm not a fan of more bureaucracy and I didn't like having to dig through my records to find the paperwork to support my change of domicile to Florida. But I understand the need for all the checks and balances, and I prefer that to allowing anyone to roam around the country claiming to be someone they are not. Because of the way the world is right now we are all having to pay the high price of being inconvenienced. In the last forty years we've lost many of the freedoms and conveniences we took for granted.
If it weren't for these checks and balances my 91 year old handicapped mother wouldn't have had to make two trips to the Tax Collector to prove who she is.
Wanted to take a minute to share our process of establishing Florida as our home state
1. We chose St. Brendan's Island as our mail service in Green Cove Springs, FL. ( After some initial issues with changing our addresses with Bank of America, we got all of our addresses changed and started receiving mail there...you need two pieces from either a bank or insurance company to establish residency)
2. Went to the Courthouse in Green Cove Springs to establish domicile. It cost $15 each (Visa/MAster Card card accepted) and all we needed was our old state driver's licenses to get this done. No lines and took about 10 minutes. As a side note we chose to go to the Court House/DMV in Green Cove Springs because it is a small town and they are familiar with people establishing residency and using the mail service there.
3. Drove next door to the DMV. On Weds at 10am there were two people in line in front of us. Driver's licenses required a birth certificate or passport and proof of SS# (SS card, W-2, or pay stub. If you have a clean driving record they do not require you to take the written test, just an eye exam. If you do not have a clean record they can require a written and/or driving test at their discretion. They took the pictures immediately and printed the licenses. Cost was $44.25 each and all major credit cards were accepted.
4. Voter Registration can be done right at the DMV aftre you get your licnese. It's free and they give you a card with numbers to call if you want absentee ballots.
5. Vehicle registration requires a VIN# verification of the truck, car, or motor home (none for the 5th wheel thankfully). If you drive it to them they will walk outside and do it for you, or you can take the vehicle to a police station or authorized car dealership and have them do it. I recommend driving your vehicles there as it was super easy. You also need titles for the vehicles in hand. If you own them outright no issue. If the bank owns them, you need your loan account number and the address the DMV can write to to request a copy of the title. This surprised us as I have read nothing about this requirement anywhere but luckily the DMV person Cheryl was extremely helpful and walked us through it.
We knew this process might require extra time (frankly I would have been shocked if everything would have gone off without a hitch) but 3 out of 4 items in one day is not bad. Of course the prep work took some time to get all the information together. I asked if I could have requested titles in advance but she said no it had to be done by the DMV for them to accept it. So we are here for another couple of weeks and hopefully it will all be taken care of before we leave. If we have to leave my impression was they would mail the plates to us. I have to say that was by far the best DMV experience I have ever had in my life. Highly recommend going to Green Cove Springs if you have to get all this done.
Trace
-- Edited by Lee and Trace on Thursday 26th of March 2015 08:07:51 AM
-- Edited by Lee and Trace on Thursday 26th of March 2015 08:12:29 AM
-- Edited by Lee and Trace on Friday 27th of March 2015 02:39:59 PM
Thanks appreciate it. Our lady let us fill out all the forms in advance and said she would have everything she needed when the titles came but who knows. Hopefully they will get here before April 13th when we leave
Welcome to the state as an "Official" resident.
You are now allowed to complain about tourists.
We just discovered a perk of Florida residency too... zero deductible windshield coverage on comprehensive insurance. Ok, downside is.. we have a smashed windshield. But, at least it won't cost us anything to replace.
Hope the rest goes smoothly for you..
- Cherie
Also, the important part is having the title, so if you are from a state where the owner holds the title instead of the lending company, there wouldn't be any issue. When we lived in NY, we had our titles in hand even though we had a loan, so if we had gone straight from NY to FL we would have been fine. When we "moved" to SD, we had to turn the titles in.
Thanks Cherie!! I'm feeling like it's all downhill from here.
Trace,
Good post. When we registered at Green Cove Springs everything went smooth and we were out of there with our licenses and plates in less time than it took us to drive there from Bradenton. We own both our vehicles and had to turn in the titles. When they took our pictures for our licenses the lady said "smile", I did and the picture looked OK compared to our Virginia photos. In Virginia they won't let you smile and they're a gray scale color. Looked worse than a mug shot. We received our plates right away and had to wait a couple of weeks for the new titles to arrive by mail. So far couldn't be happier with the service from SBI.
I assume they asked for this also?
They (Florida) didn't ask us for our marriage certificate.
Maybe some offices are more laid back, but it was required for me in both FL and TX.
OK, I stand corrected. While standing together at the counter, the Florida DMV in Green Cove Springs didn't ask Eileen if she had a copy of our marriage license.
I've heard that South Dakota has also begun to ask about marriage certificates AND divorce decrees. Whether that is true or not, I think it would be a good idea that when changing domiciles, a couple ought to have the information (certificates and decrees) on hand when they go to the office, if for no other reason than to avoid making another trip.
Terry
After a little research - In Florida the name that is on your social security card is also the name that will be on your drivers license, so they must match. If they don't match you will have to show documentation as to how and when it was changed. Like a marriage certificate. After we got married Eileen changed her name at the social security office, so the name on her SS card and all primary documents matched her married name. That probably explains why she wasn't asked for our marriage certificate.
I am now trying to get my mother a FL ID card. She is 91 and at that age they will forego some documents, but not the SS card or proof of birth date, does not have to be a birth certificate. There are other documents you can provide for proof of birth date like a life insurance policy, but not a recent one. We're trying to find the SS card.
US Citizens
Florida law requires identification, proof of date of birth, proof of residential address, and proof of social security number (if issued, Chapter 322, Florida Statutes, requires the Department see proof of social security number for the issuance of driver license and identification cards) from all customers before a driver license or identification card can be issued.
The name assigned to the social security number must match the name that will appear on the Florida driver license or identification card. If you have recently changed your name, update your records with the Social Security Administration before you apply for your license or identification card.
Each U.S. citizen renewing or applying for a new driver license or identification card in person after January 1, 2010 must submit:
Primary Identification
An Original or Certified of One of the Following Primary Identification Documents
Note: When necessary, marriage certificates, court orders, or divorce decrees must be provided to tie the name on the primary identification to the name the customer would like to place on the driver license or identification card.
-- Edited by TheNewhalls on Tuesday 31st of March 2015 08:42:28 PM
Was the name on your SS card different?
From the Dept. Of State Election guide. Link Here: http://election.dos.state.fl.us/publications/pdf/2013/2014_VoterRegGuide.pdf
Page 3:
"You must be:
• At least 18 years of age,
• A citizen of the United States of America, and
• A legal resident of Florida and of the county where you intend to vote.
I would take it up with St. Brendan's Island.
They are not providing a "Legal" address?
Or is that voter registration board un-informed?
One of them seems to be wrong.
Good Luck.
We got a letter like that as well. All we had to do was email them a copy of our Domicile Form.
1 Clay County
Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
And you need to include your Certified Declaration of Domicile.
There's a form on it SBI's forms section online that walks you through this. It's no biggie to get around... just follow the directions.
"For a person with a non-traditonal home (eg: boat, motor home, etc) who intends and has presence in the county and intends for county to be residence county, acceptable addresses include ....(and mail service addresses are listed as a choice.)
Not to be difficult here but this matters to me so I am going to say it. Who defines "has presence"? Generally I don't get worked up about this stuff...but throughout the entire changing home state and permanent address to a mail service I have in some way felt like I am doing something wrong. Mainly because I keep running into stumbling block after stumbling block. Yes you can gt through it, and certainly yes it is worth it, but if I had to do it all over again I would have used my in-laws house in Ohio and paid the state taxes.
Just being honest here.
Trace
Trace, the bureaucrats and other governement minions have to justify their J.O.B.s In order to protect their "turf", they get to decide what "presence" is and what is required to to prove it. Pity the lowly 9-5 clerical types with nothing better to do but create hurdles for the rest of us to jump over. It is what it is.
LOL
Brian
-- Edited by biggaRView on Sunday 5th of April 2015 01:12:35 PM
I'm not a fan of more bureaucracy and I didn't like having to dig through my records to find the paperwork to support my change of domicile to Florida. But I understand the need for all the checks and balances, and I prefer that to allowing anyone to roam around the country claiming to be someone they are not. Because of the way the world is right now we are all having to pay the high price of being inconvenienced. In the last forty years we've lost many of the freedoms and conveniences we took for granted.
If it weren't for these checks and balances my 91 year old handicapped mother wouldn't have had to make two trips to the Tax Collector to prove who she is.