Gradually I am becoming a Bay Stater, at least on paper.
First I updated the address on my accounts: credit cards, LinkedIn, my Dartmouth alumni profile. Then I registered to vote in Cambridge … and realized that I should unregister in Los Angeles. It was in Los Angeles that I worked the polls in 2008, too young to vote and convinced that Americans would not elect a black president. It was in Los Angeles that I voted in 2016, not at all convinced that Americans would elect a woman president. And now I was defecting.
I held onto my California driver’s license for months, until suddenly it was about to expire. As if that weren’t tragic enough, it also meant that I needed to visit the DMV – or the RMV, as they call it in Massachusetts. The Registry of Motor Vehicles. In California, no one likes the DMV. The general consensus is that it takes forever to get anything done there.
I was not excited to visit the RMV.
How to convert an out-of-state license
I decided to get a Massachusetts driver’s license, as opposed to an ID card. We don’t have a car, but you never know when you might have to take the wheel – like when your sister drives you to Costco but then realizes that she forgot her wallet at your house, so you have to drive on the way home.
Furthermore, if you live in Massachusetts and want to drive here, you are required to have a Massachusetts license; you cannot use an out-of-state license indefinitely. It’s unclear how long the grace period is.
I went online to figure out what I needed to do. Here’s the scoop.*
- You must visit the RMV in person. (And no, you cannot make an appointment. The RMV takes appointments for behind-the-wheel tests only.)
- You must complete an application. You can do it at the RMV, or you can do it online beforehand.
- You must bring certain documents to the RMV to prove your birth date, address, and signature.*
- You must forfeit your out-of-state license at the RMV.
- You must pay $115.
*There are additional requirements in certain cases, such as if you are a minor or if your license has expired.
Eventually I found this page on Mass.gov and clicked “Complete your online application”. (I highly recommend doing this.) I followed the directions, and soon the website generated a PDF of my completed form, along with detailed instructions about what to bring to the RMV. I printed the PDF and gathered my documents.
My boyfriend wanted to get a Massachusetts license, too, so we decided to go together. The nearest location for us, at Haymarket, is open on weekdays from 9am to 5pm. We planned to go early in order to avoid any crowds.
The RMV
We arrived at the Haymarket RMV around 9:15am on a Wednesday. It was snowing lightly, and the usually bustling sidewalk was almost empty.
Inside the office an employee greeted us. He asked some questions and then ushered me into a short line, while he gave my boyfriend an application and a pen. (Despite my suggestion, my boyfriend had not completed the form beforehand. However, he had brought documentation, copying me.) At the head of the line I was given a number. I sat in the large waiting area for 10 minutes or so until my number was called. There were maybe a dozen other customers.
At the service station I gave the clerk my application and documents, including my old license. I took the vision test, had my picture taken, scribed my signature, and paid the fee. And that was it. The clerk handed me a temporary driver’s license. I thanked her, took one last look at my California license, and walked away.
I found my boyfriend in the waiting area. He was done already. Of course.
Reflections
“That was shockingly easy,” he marveled. Indeed, the whole thing lasted about 30 minutes, from the time we entered the RMV to the time we left. The operation was organized and efficient; the office clean and spacious. After dreading the trip, we were very pleasantly surprised.
Originally I was annoyed that the RMV doesn’t take appointments, but now I wonder. Apparently their system works like a machine, in a good way. Maybe appointments would just throw off the flow, making life harder for employees without making it much better for customers, who don’t have to wait long anyway. (That said, we did go at a time when the lines were very short. It could be different if the lines were very long.)
I do have one complaint, though, and that’s the fee of $115. It seemed excessive to me, and in fact it is much higher than in other states. In California the same transaction costs $35. In Maine it costs $65. In New York City it costs $75. And in Texas it costs $25. I can’t imagine that Massachusetts has a good reason for charging so much more than average.
Our new licenses arrived in the mail a few days later. During the interim I carried around my passport, since the temporary license from the RMV said “NOT VALID FOR IDENTIFICATION”. The new license is nice enough, I guess, but I miss my old one.