The most significant
moving-related accomplishments in the past month have been the
following:
1) Getting a
Wisconsin driver’s license
2) Registering to
vote in Dane County
3) Acquiring auto and
rental insurance
4) Getting Wisconsin
license plates for the car
Of the four, number
1 was the most convoluted, 2 was the easiest, 3 took up the most
amount of time, and 4 was surprisingly easy. What made number 1
relatively complex was the required documentation. Essentially, if
you’re moving to Wisconsin, and you need a driver’s license (in
2017), then you need to have at least the following:
1) Driver’s
license from current (old) state
2) Birth certificate
OR passport
3) Proof of local
residency (lease contract, name and address page from your house
title paperwork, etc.)
In situations (other
than border crossings) requiring either the birth certificate or the
passport, I usually bring both, as well as the Social Security card.
It never hurts to bring all of them, and it sometimes helps. After
you fill out the form(s) and get your picture taken, the clerk will
scan the relevant proof-of-citizenship and -residency documents into
the computer system. The clerk will then void your current (old)
license, and issue a paper copy of your new permanent one. The
permanent one will arrive in the mail in about a week.
With the new
permanent driver’s license (the one that came in the mail) in hand,
one is able to register online to vote. It only takes a few
minutes.
Getting quotes for
auto and renter’s insurance is always time-consuming. If you
haven’t been through that process, what you do is look up a bunch
of local insurance agents and brokers. Start making phone calls. You
will answer many questions, having to tell the agent/broker/clerk
that you don’t know the answer to at least some of the questions.
You’ll write down the combinations of deductibles, coverage
amounts, multi-policy discounts, and so forth. You’ll mull over the
options. You’ll wait to hear back from agents that never call back.
You’ll wonder if having one insurance company cover both the
apartment and the car is worth paying an extra $20 or so per year.
The alternative might be going with the cheapest auto and renter
insurance quotes, but at respectively different companies. I cannot
tell you what to do in this situation. Everyone will have different
experiences, and likely go with different companies or plans.
What is remarkable
is that most quotes for car insurance in Madison are less than half
of what I paid in Houston.
Getting the license
plates requires proof of residency (your driver’s license) and the
title or registration paperwork for your car. The clerk didn’t ask
for proof of insurance. Since my car still has a lien on it, all I
had was the registration renewal paper that you get in the mail in
Texas. The paper has the car’s VIN, weight, my name, and my old
address, among other information. You fill out a short form, and hand
that form and the registration renewal paper to the clerk. You never
see your old state’s registration paper again. The clerk returns
with the Wisconsin equivalent of the registration paper, and your new
license plates. You pay a total amount of fees well over $100, and
walk out with your new plates. I managed to receive one of the
remaining six-digit Wisconsin plates. My car is now registered in
America’s Dairyland. Yeehaw.
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