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Title & Registration For California Resident Buying Car Outside Of CA

  • October 15, 2021
17003 views
  • Online car sales are booming, after a major shift in consumer behavior fueled by the pandemic
  • In California, whether you buy a car out-of-state or just moved in to the Golden State, you must transfer title and register in CA, unless you prefer a non-transferable registration
  • New to California drivers have 20 days to register their car, from the time they’ve established residency
  • A smog check is needed every two years, but But if you just moved to California, you need an emissions inspection even if you have a certificate from where you used to live.

These days it’s not uncommon to purchase goods and services from a different state (or even country for that matter) than the one you live in. Getting online means you can practically buy anything from anywhere. You can be in sunny California and buy fashionable boots from New York City. You can be a city dweller in Austin and buy a spacious motorhome to park seasonally in sunny Florida.

Use eTags© to Quickly Complete Your DMV Service. Renewals, Title Transfers and More, All Online!

Car buying has gone that direction too. For several years now you can buy vehicles online, both brand new and second hand. The pandemic took online buying to the next level. Today, drivers are buying from websites like Vroom and Carvana, as well as from private sellers on Auto Trader and Tred. Let’s not forget car dealerships also have their own websites for online browsing and shopping.

“The nature of consumer expectations in the pandemic world drove dealerships to embrace a digital, socially distanced, contact-free approach fast in order to not only survive, but thrive.” (Forbes Contributor)

Carvana, a used-vehicles online retailer, sold 244,000 vehicle in 2020. That’s one every 2.2. minutes on average. Compared to 2019, Carvana sales went up 37% during a time where most people in the U.S. didn’t drive. Carvana also bought a vehicle FROM a customer every 2.5 minutes on average for a gran 203,000 vehicles purchased in 2020.

On AutoTrader online, of the eight million visitors to the automotive marketplace website every month, about 1.3 million people by about 600,000 vehicles (per month). AutoTrader represents a 14% share of all used vehicle sales in the U.S.
SEE ALSO: CAR BUYING: DEALERSHIP OR PRIVATE PARTY

Digital sales hit $211.70 billion in the second quarter of 2021; online sales went up up by 9.3% when compared to that same time period last year

Photo Credit: Tucson.com

If you live in California and recently purchased a vehicle from a private party from another state, there are several steps you need to take to ensure your car is legally titles and registered in CA. These procedures are the same for new residents to California; those who recently moved to the Golden State and brought their vehicle with them (from another state).

New to California drivers have 20 days to register their car, from the time they’ve established residency

Out-of-state vehicles section 7 of form REG 343
If you have a vehicle from out-of-state you need to apply for title and registration by completing form REG 343. Your signature as well as vehicle info is needed. Section 7 of form REG 343 is for out-of-state vehicles. In that section, you can indicate is sales tax was paid to another state if you bought the car up to one year ago. You must also indicate how you’ll be disposing of your out-of-state license plate to make room for your California plates.

The CA DMV requires proof of insurance for a California registration card

To transfer title to California or not
You can transfer the out-of-state title to a CA title at the time of registration, which is included in the REG 343 form. You can process your titling and registration paperwork online, instead of making an appointment with the DMV. If you chose to NOT transfer the title (or ownership of vehicle) know that the registration will be non-transferable. These types of tags are given for out-of-state cars registered in CA but without proof of ownership/title. So these vehicles can’t be sold in the future.

If later on you want to sell that vehicle, you’ll first have to convert the non-transferable registration to a transferable one. At that time, you’ll need the vehicle’s last-issued title and if you don’t have it, you’ll need to apply for a title replacement also called a duplicate title.

Smog and VIN inspections in CA
In the Golden State, a smog inspection for vehicles is required every two years. But if you just moved to California, you need an emissions inspection even if you have a certificate from where you used to live. The smog check should be done before you register the car in California since you need to show proof of inspection with certificate you’ll get from emissions inspection station. Some counties in California require emissions testing only in certain zip codes. These include El Dorado, Sonoma, and Riverside. But Alameda, Fresno, Los Angeles, Orange, and Santa Cruz counties require smog checks in every zip code.

If you gas car, motorcycle, or trailer is a 1975 year model or older, you don’t need a smog check in California

A vehicle inspection isn’t needed on a regular basis in the Golden State, but when you first register your car when it’s out of state, you need a VIN inspection. There’s no safety inspections required.

Related Topics
  • california registration
  • california title
  • car buying
  • vehicle registration
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4 comments
  1. Miguel Robinson says:
    March 28, 2024 at 10:56 pm

    If I bring a 1975 Plymouth Duster from Texas to California, does it have to be smogged to get the California title and registration?

    Reply
    1. eTags says:
      March 29, 2024 at 1:52 pm

      No, you will not be required to smog the vehicle since smog requirements are for gas-powered, hybrid, and alternative-fuel vehicles that are 1976 and newer. You will, however, need to obtain a VIN verification if the vehicle has a TX title.

      Reply
  2. Antuione Collins says:
    March 13, 2024 at 6:53 pm

    Purchased used vehicle from dealership in Arizona as a California Resident . Need to register car here in California. Car is being financed through credit union . Completed smog , insurance & weight certificate because it is a pick up truck . Says I need to upload copy of most recent registration . Reached out to Arizona DMV & vin was never registered there . already have 343 form filled out . Car facts history report does say last owners were in California. Trying to figure out next steps . Already calculated penalties for late fees & registration & taxes need to be paid . Just need a companies assistance . Please help .

    Reply
    1. eTags says:
      March 14, 2024 at 7:24 pm

      Vehicles previously registered in CA, taken out of state, and then returned to CA can have issues when trying to (re)register them, so you are not alone there. If you already have an order with eTags, our title experts will help you with each step and requirement. You will be asked to mail us all original documents (title, signed applications, etc) for which you will be provided a pre-paid label. Please keep in mind that the the process may take time as we fight through “red tape” that can often be associated with vehicles that have left the state and returned. When possible, we do provide an registration card that can be downloaded from your eTags account to confirm that the transfer has been submitted and vehicle is in your name but we may still have additional work to do after the fact to assure that a transfer is complete. Please do not hesitate to contact our support team if you have additional questions.

      Reply

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