by John
(Florida)
Question: Hello, I have looked at Motor Homes, and would like to sell my home. But, without a permanent residence what do folks do about there drivers license, I mean needing to renew the license when you don’t have a residence to show as permanent. I was asked this question by a friend and it made me think and I don’t know.
And I think it would be the same issue with a registration. Can you give me some insight?
Answer: If you go truly fulltime, you do need to maintain/establish a legal address somewhere. It sounds like you have already considered factors such as state requirements for vehicle registration, inspection, drivers licenses, state income tax, other taxes – property, estate, etc., insurance costs, how you will take care of medical visits, mail forwarding, etc.
Our legal address and mail forwarding service is in South Dakota. We use a company called Dakota Post (previously called Alternative Resources). http://www.dakotapost.net/
Their address qualifies as a legal address, it has all been cleared with the county, etc. We call them every few weeks to forward our mail. They also took care of registering our car in SD, when we first made SD our legal address. And we made a trip to SD to get our drivers license. We only need to return every 5 years to renew it. We do our car registration renewal online.
Many of the states that fulltimers use as a home base have companies that do mail forwarding. And the post office may even have such a service now. The address we have with Dakota Post is a legal address.
FMCA and Escapees also do mail forwarding. Escapees is a club that caters to fulltimers, and many fulltime RVers make Texas their legal residence, so Escapees are definitely worth checking out. More on RV clubs at www.your-rv-lifestyle.com/RV-clubs/.
In addition to Texas and SD, Florida is another popular choice. We think both Good Sam and Camping World have mail forwarding services in Florida, but don’t know if they qualify as legal addresses. Hope that helps.
Additionally, you will want to consider other factors. Please see our pages related to the fulltime lifestyle – here are a few:
RV Costs
Fulltiming
RV Home Base
Best State for Fulltimer Residence
RV Internet Access
RV Clubs
RV Buying
Jill Miller is the founder of Your RV Lifestyle. Trading corporate America for the open road, Jill, along with her partner Jose, began their RV journey, making an unconventional start by wintering in New Jersey. A natural adventurer, she was motivated by a desire to explore the USA and beyond, embracing the varied landscapes, communities, and cultures across the country.
For Jill, the allure of RV living was not about material accumulation, but rather the pursuit of an adventurous, fulfilling lifestyle. A lover of golf, bicycling, hiking, and line dancing, she has carried her passions across the country, engaging with them in diverse settings. Jill’s commitment to the RV lifestyle came after years of careful research, numerous consultations with RV owners, and personal trials, including living in a rental RV.