Need help from Massachusetts auto-owners

[beckms]

Hi all--

The car I drive is registered in my dad's name and has NY plates. I pay for the auto insurance through USAA, and it is a MA policy. I also have a MA license. It's time for the renewal of the registration, and I think we should just register in MA and be done with the whole confusing mess.

I have no idea how to do this, or even who to call. Is registration done through the insurance company, or do I call the DMV, or what?

Thanks for your help!:cool:

[leebee]

If you have a MA policy & NY plates, you could really cause yourself some trouble, so I think you'd do best to reg in MA--your dad could end up with a suspension from NY which is a nightmare to clear up, because there is a lapse in insurance. I'd encourage you to make the switch asap. You'll need to go to your local RMV, and you'll need to have your insurance forms--there are forms that MA will not accept faxed (they still are using triplicate forms), so I'd check with them for specifics on what you need to do. I'm not from MA, but I work for an insurance company that insures in MA. I'm sure an actual resident will be able to help more.

[Gracie]

Rebecca - go to or call your insurance agency. You'll need a copy of the title to bring with you to the registry showing that the car is in your name. Please do not bring the original - I was advised to do that by Fleet Bank once and the registry lost my title (it's a long story). Then you can register it at any registry.

It can be really bad if you get stopped for any reason to have the plates and the insurance not match. I had a CT license for a long time due to thousands of $ in unpaid MA parking tickets and my car was in Andy's name. Once I got stopped and I had to say that we were separated but I was using his car!!! The cop said he hoped we'd get back together and let me go :D but you may not be as lucky.

I have a lot of MA Registry infractions that I've lived through so I know that you have been lucky so far!!

Loren

[leebee]

The biggest thing is that more & more states are doing electronic reporting--insurance companies report info to the state & they check against their records, and with computers doing the reporting, the process is much faster. NY is an electronic reporting state, MA is not (but MA still gets the info reported to them). So eventually, your insurance company will get a notice that your insurance is invalid b/c it doesn't match a VIN on their records. At the same time, NY is going to run a report that states the vehicle registered under your father's name does not have insurance. The problem with that, is that if there's a lapse in coverage (which there is if a veh is insured in another state) they can suspend your father's license. Bad all around! Your insurance company can send the forms in and you will need to call them to get those forms, but you actually have to register the veh in MA so there's something for the insurance to match up with. The only problem I can see is when the NY plates are returned to NY DMV, there will be a lapse in insurance coverage. That's why you really need to get this taken care of ASAP.

[beckms]

Ack. thanks. What a pain. :rolleyes:

[leebee]

Oh, and just remember, Motor Vehicle employees are people, too! (You won't feel like it in a few days...).

[donnamp14]

Rebecca- Your insurance company will complete a form for you, and then send you to the Registry. (Or you can pay them to do this for you, I believe, about $20.) Then you will go to the Framingham Registry of Motor Vehicles which is in downtown, but next to impossible to find! Now, this is of utmost importance: You must bring a book with you! Leave your watch at home, or you will drive yourself crazy. Plan on being there for a while!

My sympathies.

-Donna

[gertdog]

More sympathy from me. Definitely take care of it before the insurance company or DMV comes after you. We didn't realize that we had to register the car in NJ within 60 days of moving here- and we got fined when we registered on day 70-something. Plus DH's NY registration was suspended because he didn't send back his plates soon enough after we registered in NJ- which was kind of odd because as far as I understood it, the whole purpose of registering in New Jersey was because we no longer lived in NY??? :rolleyes:

Good luck!

[melis_d]

I've actually found the RMV site (and employees) to be quite helpful in dealing with RMV issues.

Try looking at the RMV website information on registration (http://www.mass.gov/rmv/regs/index.htm) and see if that helps. They also have a phone number you can call to get more info.

Good luck!