It’s been 4 decades since I moved to another state. I’ve moved addresses, zip codes, and counties, but not states, so when we moved to Arizona – even for just a year – I had to consider if I wanted to go through all the legalities of becoming an actual resident or not. Our mailing address is in Washington State, so technically we could say we’re still residents, but…
Arizona considers you a resident if you live in the state 7 months in a year; we will only be here 6 in 2023 and 6 in 2024. I wanted to register to vote, and our insurance requires us to be residents in order to have our cars insured, so I gathered my documents and found a local licensing facility on the AZDOT website. I expected to have a long wait as I didn’t make an appointment.
The building is well marked on the cross streets and from the street, there is plenty of parking (although not a lot of shade). Entering the spacious building, there is a ticket kiosk and three well-marked lanes: “Walk-In,” “Appointment” and “ADA.” You pull a ticket (even though there are no lit ticket counter machines). THERE ARE 26 WINDOWS and all but 6 of them have staff. The lines move quickly, and there are SMILING and pleasant people behind the desks. They have several desks with Spanish-speaking signs; in addition to the tickets they have a color-coded system and call the next in line with a card for the line you’re standing in.
You’ll need two pieces of photo ID and your social security number; I used my Washington State Driver’s License and Passport (They took my Washington State license, so if you are sentimental, take a photo of it before you hand it over for the last time.) You’ll also need two documents with proof of address. You can use a utility bill or anything else with your local address on it. I took in my lease documents but didn’t have additional proof with me so I signed a form that promised I wasn’t lying about my address.
He entered the information and asked if I wanted to register to vote (uh, YES!) You have the option to register a party affiliation (or not), and the option to have a mail-in ballot sent to you. Receiving a mail-in ballot DOES NOT require you to vote by mail, you can go to your voting precinct and vote in person (but obviously no double voting).
After my photo and the $25 fee for EIGHT YEARS, I walked out the door in 40 minutes with a temporary license.
You can also register your vehicle in the same location; cars 5 years and older need an emission test. He handed me a map with several locations and sent me on my way WITH A SMILE.
I drove to the testing facility and for $17 and 15 minutes, received my emission paperwork which I brought with me to register the car. You’ll also need your Title (if you own the vehicle) or registration with the lienholder (if you don’t), your driver’s license (the temporary one is fine), and the driver’s license of any registered owners of the vehicle.
You can choose a one or 2-year registration; the cost to register for one year was roughly $80 less expensive than Washington State, so not a huge savings, but I will be asking for a refund from Washington as I renewed my registration there in March.
You are required to have your license and registration for vehicles within 30 days of residency and I was reminded to notify my insurance agent to send insurance verification to AZDOT within 30 days.
Our auto insurance did go up about $90/month; our renter’s insurance is half of what it was for Washington State.
My temporary rear plate is installed; it’s weatherproof material, so you can install it in the frame while you wait for your actual plate. There is no requirement for front plates in Arizona. I’ll keep one of my Washington plates, putting it in storage with all the other plates we’ve had over the years.
Washington Driver’s License $56 – 4 years
Arizona Driver’s License $25 – 8 years
Washington Registration $372.25 – 1 year (refund to be determined)
Arizona Registration $293.63 – 1 year
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Paige's Place 