Making The Jump

[SGTJOE]

House will close mid July. MH is ready to hit the road. Questions

1.How do we establish residence in South Dakota?
2. Do we need to be there to get the MH and Toad Licensed.
3. Can we keep our Utah drivers license until they expire?

[2gypsies1]

If you're on Medicare the above directions are great.

However, if you need to buy your own medical insurance, before choosing a state for domicile you need to check into medical insurance and what it will cost you and if it's usable as you travel. South Dakota has an issue with that.

[Hidalga]

House will close mid July. MH is ready to hit the road. Questions

1.How do we establish residence in South Dakota? (THROUGH MAIL FORWARDING SERVICE, AND THEN DRIVER LICENSE)
2. Do we need to be there to get the MH and Toad Licensed. (NO)
3. Can we keep our Utah drivers license until they expire? (YES)

doxiemom11 gave you a great answer & I'll reiterate it:

1. Find a mail forwarding company to establish an address with. This must be first and foremost. There are several—some that offer more services than others. The one I love and use is based out of Box Elder. Do an online search for reviews on the companies to assist in your decision. Good ones will offer several services and send email notifications for your expiration dates.
2. Once you have established your address, everything else can be handled and done through the mail & online. Vehicle registrations and renewals can be done with an out-of-state license and you don't have to be present. You'll just be required to submit more paperwork without a SD license.
3. The one exception of being present is an Operator (Drivers) License. This requires you to be present for 1 night in the state (get hotel/campground receipt for proof) to establish residency, and then 1 night every 5 years for renewal. You don't need the license for the mail forwarding service or vehicle registrations, but to establish residency in SD or to vote by absentee ballot, get resident permits, licenses, etc., you'll need a SD license. You can hold on to your Utah licenses for as long as it's convenient, but the sooner you switch, the more convenient for paperwork on the SD side.

Good luck. It's nice to see fellow South Dakotans on the road!

[doxiemom11]

We just did that last year. We signed up for mail service with your best address in Sioux Falls. It is not necessary to be a resident to plate and title your vehicles there and the vehicles do not have to be there and inspected. We were given our mailing and resident address and with their assistance we titled and plated our vehicles. We needed to do this because ours were expiring in our home state before we could visit Sioux Falls. In Aug we drove to Sioux Falls, got our drivers licenses , purchased insurance for everything and opened a bank account. By setting up the mail service first, you will have the SD address on mail for getting your drivers license. You need to spend at least 1 night in the county with a receipt that has all names of the parties that want to get drivers licenses. Be aware that Sioux Falls is the only location open on Mondays. We chose Sioux Falls simply because it was much closer to where we were rather than say Rapid City. You can do a google search - mail fowarding services in SD and you will get a list of various ones. After signing paperwork and paying the intitial fees to establish service, you need to change your address on all of your mail to the new SD address so all starts going there. We just request our mail sent when we are stopped somewhere for a few days. Read some of the service websites and you will find additional information. You should change everything over just the same as if you bought a house there and NOT keep things in various states.