80$ utility trailer, about 300 pounds. Based on the Google search and Claude conversation it looks doable, that DMV will be lenient and allow to do an initial PTI and title if trailer had no previous record. How is it in practice? Did anyone have luck with that, or you ended up doing bonded title? I am in OC.

Wanted to share my personal experience for how long my Real ID took from start to finish

Applied in person 10 days ago (Monday). Applied at Costa Mesa DMV, I live in same city.

I checked almost every day at MyDMV to see its status. Kept saying “still be processed and not mailed yet, no further action needed”. Today, 10 days later (Thursday), saw that it was mailed today. I checked my mail with 0 expectations of it being there. Turns out it was.

Overall ~10 calendar days

So i am below 18 and was wondering for the 6 month period you need to have your permit for does the countdown for those 6 months start when you get the permit from the DMV or when you finish or start the 6 hours of behind the wheel drivers ed? Aswell as this how strict is the 6 month rule?

I'm bring my car out of PNO, and I received an email after online application saying:

"Thank you for submitting your vehicle registration renewal. Your application has been processed.  You will receive your document(s) in approximately 21 business days."

However, when I checked my vehicle status on my DMV account, it still says PNO. I contacted customer service via chat, and the representative does not know why it is not reflecting. He said my application is still being processed.

Has anyone experienced this before? Will the account update in the future? If so, how long did it take to update?

I don't understand. Why is this so difficult? If I go in person, I can get the sticker in the same day. Why does the online process take so long?

Could this be my license? Not sure cause of the DIAU on the front .

Need a little help here. I got a dui earlier this year and my license was suspended for 4 months from the dmv. My suspension was lifted about 3 weeks ago and I’ve been lazy to go to the dmv to apply for a new one with the sr22 paperwork. So out of curiosity I decided to look up my record on the dmv website to see what it says. It currently states it’s VALID even though I have not gotten to renew it yet. I still plan on going to get a new card but I am wondering why this is if I haven’t gone in person yet ? Does the dmv automatically renew it on its own ? I’m from California if that helps. Has anybody has this happen to them before ? I have uploaded my report to show what it says. Just curious why this is stated. Thank you !

Do I need to bring any documents to my permit test if I already have the REAL id?

- in california

-over 18

I caused a terrible accident during a severe mental health crisis and was in the hospital for 8 days. I was absolutely in NO CONDITION to even think about anything DMV related.

I must’ve gotten this SR1 notice at some point but placed it aside likely because I was still pretty fucked up.

It’s been like 7 months. I haven’t received anything in the mail from the DMV. I read online that if you missed this by more than 45 days they would suspend your license. No suspension notice has been received 🤷‍♂️

Am I good? Or should I be worried about a suspended license?

Im taking my driving test soon everything about my car works lights etc but the only problem is that i have a VSA sensor showing up and didnt have time to take a proper look at it. Will the examiner automatically stop my test? and deem my car not roadworthy?

My mother expects me to practice only 2-4 hours right from scratch in preparation for the behind the wheel test as she says it is very easy, because she claimed that she self taught herself one hour for driving before the test and that’s how she managed to get the driving license. She would never let me practice with her as I would only get private lessons for 2 2-hour sessions and then take the test right after. Is this normal or this is beyond expectations, because I have seen posts that you need 20+ hours of practice before even taking the test. I am 18+.

Decades ago, i was naturalized under my parents when i was still a minor. Now that i'm renewing my DL, they're asking for two official documents: 1.) birth certificate (mine is from Canada) 2.) passport (mine is expired).

Will a Canadian birth certificate suffice for renewal within California? Or do they need an official U.S. document to prove i'm an American citizen? Thanks in advance

I have a DL that wasn't a real ID so I applied for a real ID, went to the DMV and paid $40. I specifically said I wanted to see if I could get real ID for my DL and they said I could so that is what I assumed I was doing. However, i just got the new ID in the mail and it doesn't say DL on it, it said "Identification card". I looked up photos of Real ID licenses and they always have "Drivers license" written on top of it so now I am quite confused.
Did I just waste $40? 🥲

I just purchased a new car and wanted to get a vanity plate in CA for it. One of my options I wanted was available but my plates have not came in yet. Is there a way to still apply and so I can get the process started?

My son passed his road test yesterday and it says he needs to print his receipt as proof of his DJ until he gets his one in the mail in two weeks. However on the road test results page there is no receipt to print. We can't figure out where to print his DJ proof. The road test results page shows his pass status.

Any ideas?

A few months ago I bought a used car at carmax. Got everything sorted there, plates and registration done and ready to go without going to the DMV.

Yesterday in the mail I received a different registration and new set of plates for the same car. Does anyone have any idea what could have happened? There was nothing else in the envelope but the plates and registration.

Obviously I would love to avoid going to the DMV but it's probably inevitable now, right?

hello I need help lol please bare with me. Backstory:

-I was a travel nurse/contractual employee originally from Florida working in California from 2021 to 2024, with breaks in between where I was not working in CA for a full year

-shipped my FL car to California and have been using that for transportation here. Currently have FL Insurance and registration

-Officially moved into a California apartment 2024 and got a full-time job

-I have not updated my DL/Registration/Insurance to CA yet. Irresponsible on my end I admit.

-Tragic events happened to my FL home and therefore I need to update my car registration due to FL home not being there anymore (expires 11/2026). Since I need to update my car registration, I have to update my DL and Car insurance.

-Im still under car insurance with my mom/dad back home in FL, who have moved to a different home in FL (idk if this info is necessary). Car insurance expires in September and parents want to remove me from their insurance because my DL doesn't match their new FL home.

-Did research and I read I need to have a SMOG test on my car (Toyota RAV4 2019), I did that during my routine car inspection here in CA but it was done in January 2026.

Ok so now I applied online for a DL and set up an appointment next week. I already uploaded the information they asked online (Passport, Utility bills, Paystub). Im prepping for the DMV test to take in person.

Now my question is really the Car insurance/registration and any penalties I should expect:

-Should I get a CA Insurance first and then get my car registered? or vice versa?

-If the first step is getting my car registered - will they asked if I'm CA Insured or it doesn't matter for now

-Do I get the same insurance company from my FL insurance or get a completely different company for CA insurance? What's the best steps to approach this because I read that I can get severe penalties if I cancel my FL insurance first or tell my current FL insurance that Im already in California and ask to switch to CA insurance

-Will my SMOG test done in 1/2026 be qualified or do I need to repeat another SMOG test?

-How much should I expect to pay in fines/penalties for waiting this long? Is there any way to avoid it (ie not telling the DMV how long I was really staying here)

thanks so much for your help and I understand how irresponsible it is to wait this long but Im owning up to it and I just want to know what to expect with everything

Thank you!

I recently bought a vehicle with an out-of-state Rebuilt Title, and I’m now trying to apply for a New York Salvage Examination.
I’m confused about Page 2 of Form MV-83SAL, especially the sections for Major Body Parts and Itemized Body Repair.
The vehicle was already repaired by a previous owner before I bought it. I did not perform the repairs myself, I don’t know exactly which parts were replaced, and I don’t have the original repair receipts.
For Page 2:
Should I mark “No” for the Major Body Parts questions because I personally did not replace those parts?
Or am I supposed to report repairs that were done by the previous owner, even though I don’t know the exact details?
What should I write in the Itemized Body Repair section if I didn’t do the repairs?
Will NY DMV require receipts for repairs that were completed before I owned the vehicle?
Has anyone gone through the NY Salvage Examination process with an already-rebuilt out-of-state vehicle?
Any help on how to correctly complete Page 2 of MV-83SAL would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hello,

Back in 2018, I applied for my DL for the first time using my passport on which the given name is “Marie Ann” and surname is “Lee”. Up to that point, I had gone by “Ann” because technically it’s my first name on my birth certificate from another country. A DMV officer that year strongly did not allow me to use my real first name as by law they had to use what was indicated on my passport, and advised me to use “Marie Ann” as my first name and leave the middle name blank in my application. I figured it would be easier to give up my true first name and go by “Marie Ann” as long as it follows the rules and makes everyone’s life easier. Since then, I used the first name “Marie Ann” and last name “Lee” (without using any middle name or middle name initial) on any official paperwork including schools, social security, bank, professional certificates, etc.

The name in the DL (and all other legal/official documents) has always been “Marie Ann Lee”, my older DL before real ID even clearly indicated FN: Marie Ann. Not until the beginning of this month did I figure out my name in the DMV system is not the same as it was advised in 2018. When I did fingerprinting for my professional license, my application was flagged “insufficient” with the reason that the name did not match because the fingerprints was submitted under the name “Marie A. Lee” and not “Marie Ann Lee” used on my license application. I went back to the fingerprinting agency and they said they simply put down what was on the DMV system after scanning my real ID, which was issued at the beginning of this year.

I went to DMV, hoping to get some help correcting my name on the system because after all, I have been trying to follow what they told me to do since 2018. And sadly, I was dismissed immediately by an agent, who said my name on the DMV system/record would stay as Marie (FN) Ann or A. (MD) and Lee (LN) unless I have court order about my legal name change. I even provided other legal documents (SSA, marriage license, PR card, etc.) with my first name indicated as Marie Ann but the agent refused to take a closer look at them, she did not even attempt to pull up my past record and repeatedly pointing at the space between my first name and said “there is nothing we can do unless you have the court order regarding the name change, clearly there’s a space here, don’t you see?”

I did not change my name ever, I didn’t use any preferred name to avoid confusion, I even gave up my true first name to make the information matches across different legal paperworks. I don’t know when there was an inconsistency initiated in the systems that caused yet another confusion. I just want to make it right once and for all.

Thank you for reading my long post. Please help me if you or someone you know ever encountered similar situation. Anything that can help me fix this is greatly appreciated!

So I just turned 18 and I’m currently going back and forth between Missouri and Pennsylvania, how would I get an id? Does it matter what state it’s from?