Nothing is ever easy is it? Everyone suggested my daughter acquire Georgia license plates on her car in order to be less conspicuous in her new circumstance. It seemed like a tedious process, but doable.
She got a drivers' permit first to make certain that everything would be copacetic. A quick written test gave her a learner's, even though she already had an Ontario permanent license. Her "road test" and I use the term lightly, came a few weeks later. It consisted of driving around some pylons in a parking lot, because if any attempts were made for a real road test in her current city, the examiner would be out all day with one testee. (Yes, that's the correct term. I checked, then laughed). She would then earn her driver's license which sported her face beside a giant peach.
Next, she sought information on how to get a license plate. Apparently, only one on the back of the vehicle is necessary. It was a several step process requiring many days of driving to different locations. First, she needed to visit a Cobb County tag office where they told her that she needed to deal with several other issues first. Much like here, an emissions test was mandatory...no biggie although there was payment required. Next, she had to visit a police station to have her Hyundai checked...for what? Undetermined. I shudder to think as I wonder whether they routinely look in people's trunks. Finally, she went back to the tag office. It was then that the other shoe dropped and everything almost came to a grinding halt.
"You need to go to customs", she was told.
OK...so she needed to pay duty on a seven year old car. Seven percent of market value was considerably less than an auto purchase would have been. At this point, and well into her birth month, (the definitive deadline for all things legal), she found out she couldn't get plates. You require either a permanent resident status or a green card she was informed.
Panic ensued. She sent us all her info, emissions test, driver's licenses, U.S. car insurance info and more. After a trip to Service Canada and innumerable phone calls with "busier than usual wait times", I found out that we could renew her Ontario plates for six months only. All it required was a letter of explanation, all the aforementioned documents, a credit card number, and a fax machine. Then the sticker would be mailed within twenty days. Oh...and the renewal date would forever after no longer be her birthday. The car would have to come back within six months for the emissions test (Georgia test no good here), and sticker renewal. Phew...dodged another bullet. Or did we?
Tomorrow, is the twenty day deadline. Next week, her birthday month ends. As of today, the issues were not yet resolved. You can't get provincial license plate renewal without Canadian insurance. You can't get Canadian car insurance if you're living abroad.
My daughter is somewhat of a genius. With genius comes a degree of deviousness. She clearly takes after her mother. Until such time as this problem is resolved, she will remove the rear license plate and replace it with the front one. It has no date sticker. She doesn't require the front plate in Georgia.
Hopefully, all will be taken care of sooner rather than later and we can all carry on without any further stress.
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