Bringing an out of state car to New York

May 17, 2015 3:02 PM

In a month or so, I will be buying a used car from a relative in a far away state to bring to New York state (not city). What do I need to do to be in compliance with the law, regarding insurance and registration? I already have a NY state license.
posted by ocherdraco to Law & Government (5 answers total)

I'd call the NYS DMV and ask. I think they have a 1-800 number, but it might depend on your county.

I've found the folks running the 800 number to be very helpful.
posted by vitabellosi at 3:08 PM on May 17, 2015

Best answer: New York state has surprisingly good web information on this. In short, you need to insure the car and re-register the car in NY (timeframe will depend on local laws) and then get it inspected and you are good. The routine usually goes

- call insurance company and get insurance. Make sure you are clear if other people will be driving the car and whether they live in your household or not.
- fill out this form online (maybe can't do that if car doesn't have NY title, in which case read this big pdf and this little one) Make sure you bring proper payment methods.
- go to DMV with barcode and/or paperwork and they will chew it all up and spit out plates, a sticker for plates, a registration piece of paper
- go get it inspected within some quick amount of time

Assuming the car is not too old you will need a bill of sale and the title as well as money and a decent amount of patience.
posted by jessamyn at 3:55 PM on May 17, 2015

Response by poster: Awesome, thank you!
posted by ocherdraco at 4:14 PM on May 17, 2015

Best answer: It doesn't say so on jessamyn's very helpful linked web page, but you're supposed to get all this done within 30 days of arriving in New York. (It probably says that in one of the longer linked documents, but I wanted to point it out.)
posted by shiny blue object at 5:30 PM on May 17, 2015

Best answer: Jessamyn pretty much covered it, but I HIGHLY reccomend getting all your paperwork ready at home and making an appointment via their website. I did this, and I was in and out of the DMV in Queens, NYC in LESS THAN 15 MINUTES! I felt like I won the lotto.

My situation: parents gave me back a car that I used to own but they took ownership of a few years ago when I was going to sell it because I didn't need it anymore. I did do a bill of sale, but for the selling price I put $1. I had a couple extra forms that I didn't really need (if I wasn't sure, I printed them and brought them anyway, the guy just gave them back to me saying, "eh, I don't need these.") But whatever. 15 minutes. FIFTEEN MINUTES!!!

Seriously. It was my moment of glory.

(early appt on a weekday worked for me!)
posted by AlisonM at 11:56 AM on May 18, 2015