6 Rules Arizona Winter Visitors Have to Follow to Keep Out-of-State Plates

Trading snow for Arizona sunshine for the winter is hard to beat.

But winter visitors who stay a while can run into questions about their car, and the answers depend on how you spend your time there.

Here are the rules that help keep your out-of-state plates legal.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Registration rules and fees are subject to change, so confirm the current requirements with the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Division.

1. Renewing Your Home-State Registration

Your out-of-state plates stay legal in Arizona only while the registration behind them is current.

A vehicle can operate on the state’s highways when the state has registered it.

It can also operate there when it’s properly registered for the current year by the state or country where the owner or lessee is a resident.

Your home plates fit that second description.

If you let your renewal lapse at home, they no longer fit it.

Trailers and semitrailers are covered too, so a trailer you tow falls under the same rule.

2. Staying Under Seven Months

For out-of-state plates, the calendar is the first test: Arizona’s resident definition adds up an aggregate period of seven months or more in a calendar year.

That count applies “regardless of domicile,” so a permanent address in another state doesn’t change it.

Short trips add up too.

If you arrive in late October and leave in April, your stay splits into about two months in one calendar year and about four in the next.

The Motor Vehicle Division’s new-to-Arizona page uses the same line, listing a stay of seven months or more in any calendar year among the ways you’re considered a resident.

While you’re a nonresident, a valid home-state license covers you if you’re at least 16 and driving a vehicle that needs a class D license.

3. Avoiding Arizona Work

Winter visitors who accept a job in Arizona count as residents under the state’s resident test, with limited seasonal exceptions.

It also reaches you if you engage in a trade, profession or occupation in the state.

The law exempts seasonal agricultural work.

It also exempts temporary seasonal work of no more than three months, but only if your home state has a similar exception.

The statute’s wording doesn’t mention remote work.

The Motor Vehicle Division’s residency page lists working in Arizona, except seasonal agricultural work, among its tests.

Confirm with the division before you assume a laptop job for your employer back home is exempt.

4. Paying Nonresident School Tuition

Enrolling your kids in an Arizona public school without paying nonresident tuition makes you a resident, and your out-of-state plates don’t change that.

The text of that trigger sets no length of stay.

Arizona’s school law says children of nonresidents of the state may be admitted on payment of a reasonable tuition.

If your kids attend a public school in the state, paying that tuition is what keeps this trigger from applying to you.

5. Skipping Arizona Voter Registration

Does registering to vote in Arizona affect your out-of-state plates?

It can.

The statute lists a person registered to vote in the state among the residents.

If you're already registered to vote in Arizona, you meet this test.

The division's residency page lists being registered to vote in Arizona among the ways you're considered a resident.

6. Declaring Residency for Resident Rates

Arizona's resident test also counts what you declare, whatever out-of-state plates are on your car.

If you declare Arizona residency to get resident rates on a state license, the test counts you as a resident.

The same goes for declaring residency to get resident tuition at a publicly funded school.

Registering Once You're a Resident

If you cross any of those lines, the vehicle behind your out-of-state plates needs an Arizona title and registration.

The Motor Vehicle Division says you have to visit an office to do it.

Bring a signed application, plus your out-of-state title or, if a lender holds the title, your registration.

Your out-of-state title and registration must be surrendered when you apply for an Arizona title.

If a few winters turn into a permanent move, you may want to read up on aging in place in Arizona.

You also need a lien clearance if the vehicle has a lien, and a leased vehicle needs an original or certified power of attorney from the lessor.

Vehicles in the Phoenix and Tucson areas need an emissions compliance form too.

You pay all applicable title and registration fees.

A late registration carries an initial fee of $8, plus $4 for each month it's overdue, up to $100.

Under state law, the Arizona Department of Transportation assigns license plates to the vehicle when it issues your registration card.

You have to carry the card at all times in the driver's compartment, or display it on a wireless communication device.

Lending Your Car to a Resident

Lending your car to an Arizona resident puts a seven-month limit on its out-of-state plates.

A resident can't operate a nonresident-owned vehicle that has been primarily under the resident's control for more than seven months.

Current registration is the exception.

If a relative who lives in the state drives your car as their main vehicle past that point, the car has to be registered in Arizona.

Insurance Once You Register

Arizona's insurance law covers any motor vehicle operated on a highway in the state, so your out-of-state plates don't exempt you.

The Motor Vehicle Division says that insurance must be liability coverage from a company authorized to do business in Arizona.

For policies issued or renewed since July 1, 2020, the minimums start at $25,000 for injury or death to one person in an accident.

Two or more people raise that to $50,000, and damage to other people's property has a $15,000 minimum.

State law lets you show proof of insurance on a phone.

Insurance companies notify the Motor Vehicle Division of all new policies, cancellations and non-renewals.

If your insurer reports that your policy is no longer active, the division sends you an inquiry notice.

Failing to maintain proper insurance could lead to suspension of your vehicle registration, your driver license or both.

FAQ

Here are short answers to related questions about keeping out-of-state plates in Arizona.

Can winter visitors keep out-of-state plates in Arizona?

Yes, while you stay a nonresident and your home-state registration stays current.

Arizona counts you as a resident at seven months or more in a calendar year.

Other triggers can count you sooner, such as taking a job outside the seasonal exceptions, registering to vote or claiming residency for resident rates.

How many months can you stay in Arizona before you count as a resident?

Seven months or more in a calendar year, counted as an aggregate, so several shorter trips add up.

A stay from late October through April splits into about two months in one calendar year and about four in the next.

Do winter visitors need an Arizona driver license?

Not while you're a nonresident who's at least 16 and carries a valid home-state license while driving a vehicle that needs a class D license.

The Motor Vehicle Division lists seven months or more in any calendar year among its residency tests.

Do you need Arizona car insurance on out-of-state plates?

Your vehicle needs liability insurance from a company authorized to do business in Arizona.

The minimum limits are $25,000 for one person's injury or death, $50,000 for two or more people and $15,000 for property damage.