Using Boat as Home Address

[Robin3]

Originally Posted by adam56usa

I plan on moving to a Marina in Miami, Florida next month. I am getting a PO Box for my mail. Can I put the marina address on my drivers license and voters reg? What about vehicle reg.?

Our cars are registered to our cruiser's mailing address with St Brendans Isle in Florida (see my earlier reply) Our driver's licences could have been at St Brendans also, but we chose to have them list our permanent address in Daytona as we no longer live aboard permanently and the police want an actual physical home address strictly speaking, probably so they know where to send the SWAT team . St Brendans is very useful to maintain our Florida residency even if later we decide to go cruising again or to move to another State, since FLorida tags are cheaper than many and there is no State income tax for Florida retired folk albeit the State/local property tax sucks (only on homes, not on boats). When we first arrived we did use the marina address to qualify for our our local Library memberships so we could then borrow music CDs and film/TV DVDs free. We do have a local PO box too which we use for forwarded stuff that would not fit into our tiny condo mailbox and which otherwise would simply be left by the mail man or whoever outside the door inviting it to be stolen. the Post Office required a 'permanent home address to grant us a PO Box but they accepted our St brendans one for that without question.

[adam56usa]

Got it straightened out. The Marina said I could use their address. I won't even need a PO Box. My mail can be sent straight to the Marina. Problem solved. Thanks for the quick response.
Charlie

[Dulcesuenos]

Good deal, wasn't sure about the PO box portion, didn't think that could be on a license. Glad the marina worked with you on it. Our licenses show our slip number which I found interesting.

[ReMetau]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

" a friend of mine wants to have only his boat doc.# on his drivers license. "
If you live in your car, can you use the car's VIN as your address? No, of course not. A car or a boat is chattel goods. It is not real estate, real property, or a fixed physical location. So the odds are your DMV will politely tell you "no" followed by "goodbye". They're each following a specific set of regulations and all of those can be found on the web.

Carlisle's dock number, on the other hand, is a specific fixed location. Some states will accept that. Some clerks will also accept that, with no idea it may not be legally sufficient in some states.

If you disagree with an agency there are three things you can do:

1-Change the laws, by suit if necessary or convenient
2-Move elsewhere

Doesn't get much simpler, does it?

Um, the address on my Florida driver's license is my boat document number along with the city I am currently in. I had to give a mailing address for receiving mail which is St. Brendan's.

[pdjb]

IF U ARE A MERCHANT SEAMAN...U HAVE TO GET ONE....GOOD FOR AIRPORTS...

[hellosailor]

Airport ID. ROFLMAO.

Last time I flew I gave the TSA overlord my US DoS Passport Card, which has been official government SecureID for what, five years now? And when he gave it back and waved me through his last words were "Excuse me, but I have to ask. I've never seen one of these before, what is it?"

ROFLMAO. Accepting an ID that he's never seen before? That I could have printed up in the parking lot?

Yes, merchant seaman's credentials should work well there also.

[woodymr]

St.Brendons Isle....it gives the Green Cove Springs Po Po a fit to find that you live in an empty building on main street!!!

[Canibul]

Does anyone know of any place that issues a non-resident drivers license? Our Turks and Caicos residency and drivers licenses both expire next year. We don't plan to renew our residency here, but plan to split our time between our boat and a travel trailer in the Rockies going forward. We don't plan to cruise in the US with the boat. We're all set for mailing address, we have a place for that. But I am concerned about what to do when these Turks and Caicos drivers licenses expire. We need to rent cars when we travel, and that needs a valid license. We don't want to try to portray ourselves as residents of a state where we don't live or own property. We are not looking to scam our way through this. I'd like to do it legally and properly, and really don't care what the costs are.

Does anyone else have this issue? What do long time liveaboard cruisers do when they need to rent a car?

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by woodymr

St.Brendons Isle....it gives the Green Cove Springs Po Po a fit to find that you live in an empty building on main street!!!

I've been a "resident" of Orange Park, Florida,- just nine miles from Green Cove Springs since 1979. Green Cove Springs has a population of about 7,000 people and about 2,000 live at that empty bulilding on main street. I'm pretty sure the police know about these residents by now,- no surprises here!

[Robin3]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

I've been a "resident" of Orange Park, Florida,- just nine miles from Green Cove Springs since 1979. Green Cove Springs has a population of about 7,000 people and about 2,000 live at that empty bulilding on main street. I'm pretty sure the police know about these residents by now,- no surprises here!

It is still our listed address for most things 'official' including our bank and credit card accounts even though we now have a residential home ashore, as that way we can go off 'cruising if and when we wish whilst retaining Florida residency for boat and cars registrations plus of course we can get our mail forwarded to wherever we are at the time. They are very helpful people and intercept and deal with mail concerning USCG documentation and Florida State registration renewals so they do not get overlooked. They will even obtain discounted marine supplies and forward these if required. WE do have our residential address listed on our driver's licences as I read somewhere that the police want it that way.

Maybe all of us ST Brendanites should have a family gathering there on Thanksgiving???

If you ever visit the 'address' on Walnut St.they give you a sheet of directions from that office to where they really are located just a mile or two down the road, We have been there many times and they really are a nice bunch of people offering an excellent service.