Our Continuing Exploits in New England: The RMV, part 2

So, as promised (I know, you were all so hoping for this) a run down of the process of getting our car registered in the state of Massachusetts.

First, let me say, I hate going to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. I suspect that I'm not alone. It's a horrid, soul sucking place that is probably as close as one can get to purgatory (if you believe in that sort of thing, and in fact I don't) on Earth. It involves a great deal of waiting, paper work, and in my case, crossing my fingers that all of that said paperwork is properly filled out.

I have gone to the RMV five times. Twice to get my driver's license, another three times to deal with car registration, although on the fourth visit I waited around for about ten minutes, then decided it wasn't worth it and biked home. There were no tears this time, but I had a forty-minute bike ride (one way, and not including the extra time I spent lost) just to get a sheet of paper.

So, for all you Canadians out there, who might be moving to the United States, here are the details of what you need in order to import your Canadian vehicle (do note this is all specific to Mass and may be different in other states).

1) Import papers. You're supposed to get this when you cross the boarder, of course they didn't even look at our car when we crossed at Kingston-Lewiston, so we didn't have any. This is what I biked forty-five minutes for*. I had to go down to the Port Authority in Boston with a slew of papers. You need to show that you own the car, so I brought our Bill of Lading. You also have to have a Letter of Conformity from the manufacturer of our car to prove that it conforms with the requirements of the US (this was a relatively simple phone call to Mercedes Benz, then they emailed us their form letter). I think they took my Alberta registration, too. I rather insensibly forgot to bring my passport, but I think they customs officer took pity on me and just took my driver's license for proof ID.

2) RMV-1 form. This is the standard form required to register any car in Mass. I got mine from my Insurance Company (GEICO), and they filled out a portion of it for me. You can get a copy of the form, RMV-1 here. Fill it out as best you can, but the person at the RMV will definitely let you know if you're missing something. The woman I had on my last visit was surly, and I was worried she was going to find a way to deny me my registration, thankfully she didn't.

3) The third thing you need is an Affidavit in Support for Exemption from Sales or Use Tax for a Motor Vehicle Purchased Outside of Massachusetts. I couldn't find an online copy of it, but it was about four lines long, so it didn't take long to fill out, even if you have to get one when you arrive at the RMV.

4) Your current car registration. So, whatever papers you've got from where ever you moved from. In our case our registration was for the province of Alberta.

5) Your Mass license. Although, now that I think about it, I can't remember if the woman actually looked at it, but you have to fill it out on the RMV-1 form.

6) Cash or check. Credit isn't accepted for car registration. Don't ask me why, I don't know.

I think that's everything, or at least that's everything I can remember. You can check US Environmental Protection Agency for import requirements. You can also check the state RMV website for Converting an out of state registration.

Still with me?

Last but not least, you have to get an emission sticker within 7 days of registering your car (or I would assume that you have to go back to the RMV and pay more money, and nobody wants to do that). I had a little trauma there, too, but nothing major.

Once that sticker is on your windshield, you're done with the RMV. If we're here for longer than a year, I plan to do my renewal over the Internet. Now we just have to decide if we want to pay for the Somerville parking permit, which is only another $30-40 more.

Ciao.

Andrea

*I biked because I didn't want to navigate through Boston traffic, on my own to a place I'd never been before and more than likely end up lost while trying to deal with traffic.

Early experiences of living in Somerville: the RMV

This is a helpful advice post for any Canadians moving to the US.

Andrew and I have been living in Somerville for a month and a half now (yeesh, has it really been that long already?) and it seemed time to take care of our drivers licenses and car registration. So, last Thursday we waded into bureaucratic hell for the day (so maybe just bureaucratic purgatory). I cried, twice. And at the of the day I still didn't have a license or a car registration.

So, what happened?

The RMV opened at 10:00 am. We'd been told it would be a good idea to show up early, at least half an hour, so we did. We biked over to the RMV as it seemed the a better plan over driving through rush hour, then trying to find parking/pay for it when we found it. The line up at 9:30 was already stretched along three quarters of the block--thankfully it was a nice day, so waiting outside wasn't too unpleasant. Neither of us remembered to bring a book, so it wasn't very interesting waiting.

Once the doors opened the line moved fairly quickly, with a front reception desk that directed people to where they needed to go (which was a good thing since there were at least 3 floors to the RMV we went to). Each person was handed a ticket with their number and the estimated wait time. I headed off to the licencing area, while Andrew tried to get our car registered.

When I got up to the desk I handed over my papers (driver's abstract, visa documents, drivers licence), then I was asked where my application form was. Application form? I didn't have one. So, the lady handed me a form and told me to come back when I'd filled it out. I did as quickly as possible, then re-approached her desk. She took everything again, then as she was going through things I pointed out that I didn't have a social (security number, they're big here in the US, they're needed for everything). Then I was told I had to get a social security denial form. Of course, this wasn't available at the RMV, so I'd have to go several subway stops away to the nearest office.

The lady polite enough, she even told me if I could get back by 2:00 pm (it was around 11:15 at this point), I could come back up to her desk without waiting. I mumbled out a thanks then left. By the time Andrew and I got down to our bikes I was blinking back tears.

We biked home (about a 30 minute ride), had some lunch, and decided it would be best if we did the social security stuff that day. There was one located in Cambridge, so we drove over there, managed to find some on street parking and a cafe where we could get change for the meter. The line up at the social security office wasn't too long, we probably made it to a desk in 15 minutes. The woman who helped us was very nice, then she noticed I'd handed over Andrew's passport instead of mine.

No problem, I had my visa info, did I have my driver's licence (photo ID)? Of course I did...I opened up my wallet...no, I didn't have my driver's license, it was with all the other papers I'd taken to the RMV and was still tucked in my pannier. We couldn't proceed without at least my photo ID or my passport. By the time were back to the car I was in tears. I had a nice little breakdown in the car. The tears were mostly just stress-related, and I hadn't slept well the nicght before. Andrew drove us back home, I ran up stairs and grabbed the documents I'd forgotten, then we drove back to the office (it closed at 3:00 pm). This time we were successful in getting the forms we needed.

I went back to the RMV on Monday, I received my Mass driver's licence on Friday.

What you need to get your Canadian driver's license switched to an American one (you can also double check this online at: Mass DOT RMV):
1) You're out of state driver's license.
2) A document showing your birth date.
3) A document showing your signature.
4) A document proving your residence in your new state.
5) A driver's abstract no more than 30 days old.
6) A social security number, OR a denial notice.

An out of state driver's license can be used to prove your birth date or your signature, but NOT both.
All documents must be originals.

I handed over:
1) My Alberta driver's license.
2) My passport (with supporting visa documents to show I was legal to be here).
3) My cheque book (to show my residence in Somerville).
4) My Alberta's driver's abstract (which I had to get my friend Lisa [thanks Lisa!] to order since the one we got before we moved expired).
5) My denial notice for a social security number.

You also need to fill out an application form, which you can get when you get online, or at the RMV.

Ciao,