I will be moving in less than two months, from New Jersey to Illinois. I have a question about the registration process of a car. I currently have one car that I own outright and a pickup truck that the bank holds title to. First, can I register my car and truck without getting them retitled in Illinois ? If not, what do you do about the title held by the bank ? Also, do you I need to get new insurance before or after I get registered in Illinois if I am covered by my NJ insurance well past the day I register my vehicles ?
Thank you for your time, I looked at the DMV websites but they are not very clear on my specific questions.
I’m only answering based on past experience: I’ve lived in three states and re-registered my car several times. These two are not among them, so the laws differ, YMMV, blah blah blah.
You probably don’t have to re-title the car. Most DMVs (3 out of 50 :rolleyes: ) do not require the title to register the vehicle. Typically, you need a valid driver’s license and proof of insurance to register. (And probably a wad of cash. A fat wad in Florida.)
What about the title held by the bank? As long as you are current in your payments, nobody cares. Except the bank, of course. You continue to make those payments after the move. When you’ve satisfied the loan, they will mail you the title. I know it’s confusing, but the title part actually has nothing to do with the license, tags and registration. I don’t think my ownership has ever come into question, but that could differ in other states. You may be required to prove that the bank holds the title and/or that you’re straight with the bank (current on payments). Now that I think about it, maybe SC did want to see something, but I don’t remember clearly. All I remember about SC is paying ad valorem tax on my car – like paying sales tax again every year you own the thing. Total ripoff.
When I’ve moved to other states, I went to find insurance and found that most major companies will simply transfer your policy to the state you now reside in and you sign a piece of paper and pay any difference in premiums. In my state, proof of insurance is required to register the car. Here, tags and registration sort of go hand-in-hand.
You might try calling the DMV. In some states, they actually answer the phone.
I should clarify: In Ohio, South Carolina and in Florida, I had to prove I had insurance policies issued in those states before they would register.
So you can’t register your car without getting an Illinois insurance policy. While your NJ insurance may very well cover you… you still won’t get a registration.
Probably.
I did, though, register a car in Georgia and later a different car in Texas with Michigan insurance.
Here in North Carolina, you have to transfer your title and drivers license within 30 days. In order to get a license, you have to have in-state insurance, so you’d have to get new insurance for that even if you could get your car registered with the old.
Every state is going to be somewhat different, so I’d say your best bet is going to be calling or writing the DMV in IL and asking them.
Thanks to everyone so far. You can call the DMV and they will actually respond (at least without hours of wait ?) Seems odd coming from NJ. Anyway, I was hoping somebody here lived in Illinois and had moved there from another state and could tell me what they had to do, this being the straight dope and a service of the Chicago Reader and all…
I don’t how feasible calling would be, but many states have a place where you can write or email them and someone will eventually get back to you.