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Never trust a commonwealth...

I

iBrent

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Oct 13, 2005
Messages
568
Location
Northborough, MA
So I moved here recently from Atlanta, GA. When I got my first Georgia drivers license it cost me 8 dollars. That's right, 8 dollars. It was regulary 15 but I volunteered to be an organ donor so I got a discount. When I renewed it last year it cost me 20 dollars (no more organ donor discount).

The great state...err, commonwealth, of Massachusetts wants 90 freakin' dollars for an out-of-state license conversion. My GA license doesn't expire until 2010...what's the law on getting a MA license? I registered my car under my SSN so its legal. Can I wait a few...years?
 
If your Georgia address is no longer valid then you'll need to get a MA license and car registration and inspection ASAP. And car insurance, of course, which is mad expensive.

"Residents of Massachusetts (MA) are required to have a valid MA license to legally operate a vehicle in MA. Out-of-state or foreign-licensed drivers MUST obtain a MA driver's license upon becoming a MA resident."
from http://www.mass.gov/rmv/license/index.htm

And yes, cost of living is a little high up here ;)
 
im really sorry to hear all this. and im also really sorry that youll be paying out of ur a$$ for insurance as well :-(. mASSachusetts can be pretty stupid like that sometimes. just be careful where u take ur car for inspections, ive been failed for quite possibly the most retarded reasons EVER. e.g. the tail lights? apparently the two outside bulbs of the NINE in the center tail in my rear window were out. it was nearly impossible to tell haha. FAIL. :laugh: . then i got pulled over bcuz i had a red R sticker. *sigh*
 
My understanding is this: Massachusetts has a rule stating that you need a Mass license if you live here. That doesn't make your old license invalid. All they can do, potentially, is hassle you over it. That said, your vaild GA license should be just as good as anything else in the eyes of your insurance company. I would certainly register the car here if you haven't already, but that does not require a MA license.

Further, I believe there to be no statute that invalidates a license simply because you've moved. If your GA license is good until 2010, I think you'll be ok.
 
actually laura i think you are right! i work at a grocery store doing customer service, so i sometimes need to look thru our customer database for one reason or another. one gentleman (*COUGH* he wasnt really a gentleman, but that's beside the point hehe) had used a NJ driver's license for his ID, and he lived in MA, and had been living in MA for awhile. so im presuming its OK to keep ur old license until it expires.
 
i think that if you plan on stayigng here, you have somehting like 6 months or maybe less to change your license.
you could 'risk' it by not getting a new license, but if you ever get pulled over by an arsehole and he sees your name on the mass registration and your license is GA, he could be a prick and ticket you or worse.
but if he is nice, he might just let you go with a warning.
 
The last I was aware, you have 60 days from the time of residence change to have your car changed to MA plates. And this is as recently as two years ago. You also need to have your car inspected by a certified MA inspection shop, to the tune of $30. Not to mention you'll wind up paying excise tax on the car itself, too, based upon its value.

I dread the day I get the bill for the Mustang.
 
ElKy said:
...if you ever get pulled over by an arsehole and he sees your name on the mass registration and your license is GA, he could be a prick and ticket you or worse.
but if he is nice, he might just let you go with a warning.
Click to expand...

Indeed. In those instances where the local gens d'armes decide to run your plate, they'll come up with no matching driver (the computers of one state, of course, do not talk to those of another), and if he's feeling punchy, on go the wig-wags.

When I had my green '94 Taurus SHO (the one before the one mentioned in my signature) I had an excellent Bullet exhaust with 2.5" stainless tips that poked out just a touch past the bumper, one tip on each side, in the stock tradition, and looked and sounded terrific, but never obnoxious. Cruising down old Route 1 in Topsfield, MA, I was stopped by an officer who had originally been interested in my exhaust. Having found it within legal limits, he was satisfied, but it was the lack of a driver in the computer to match my Mass registration that piqued his curiosity. To the side of the road we went.

I was living in Montana at the time, going to UM, and had a license from the Big Sky state. I explained this. He couldn't have been nicer, and apologized for pulling me over.
 
Hey everyone, thanks for all the replies.

Yes I'm here permanently. I just started working for the Bose Corp in Framingham. I registered my car, paid all those taxes. I have MA plates and registered insurance. My car is totally legal, just no MA drivers license.

Funny story about the "safety" inspection. I called a few places in Marlborough (where I live now) and found out when they closed. Went to the one that closed at 4:30, arrived at 4:15, realized I didn't have my registration. Plus, the guy said I couldn't get the sticker until I had MA plates on both the front and the back. See, my car has spent its whole life in Georgia where front tags arent provided or required. So there's no bracket in the front for a license plate or even wholes in the bumper with which to install one. He gave me some zip-ties and said just attach it to the lower valence grill. So I went home and got my registration, put the plates on and came back only to find he put out the "last car" sign. Bummer. This place opens at 8:30, the place down the street opens at 8. So the next morning I went to the place that opened at 8. They failed my car for 3 reasons: tint was 27%, zip-ties are illegal, and this one got me: He said he couldn't fit a jack under my car to lift it up and inspect the front end. So since he couldn't fit his jack under, my car failed. Its not lowered, aside from the wheels its totally stock. Whatever. He gave me a refund. So at 8:30 I went back to the place that originally gave me the zip ties the previous day. 10 minutes later I was on my way with a sticker.

Funny story, felt like sharing.
 
Yeah ... I have a friend whose Accord has had the ABS light on ever since I've known him (going on five years). It's a prominent warning, front and center of the gauges so he can't hide with with tape or anyting. He says he has to go to the shadiest inspectors to get the car approved. ;)

I've only had one failure and that was for bad tie rod ends on the Contour.
 
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