Registration worries in Georgia

[Sirdave]

Cool thank you. I'll post when I get insurance and we'll see how it goes.

[Brad_SwiftFur]

So I went in and titled/registered my bus today. Title was quite straightforward, I did not have them make any changes. Registration (tag) was a different matter, as they wanted to register it as a commercial vehicle. But I told them it was not in any way, shape, form, or fashion being used in any sort of commerce - that this was a vehicle I would use on a strictly personal basis, such as taking friends to the game or races, taking my aging parents to doctors (if and when they are wheelchair bound; I do not intend to remove the lift). She looked at the various registrations but they were all for various commercial and farm uses. In the end, she simply registered a regular personal car tag to it with no problems. I paid $213 (this includes the initial $18 and $20 tag and title fees); the remainder calculated on the $2500 sale price at 7% sales tax (this varies based on the local county tax rate); any sales tax paid will deduct from this amount. From this day forward, my tag will be $20 per year (as long as I don't change the type of registration, such as to a commercial bus, limousine, etc.)

I made no effort to change anything to RV or MH. I feel I had no reason to; I got my tag and I'm legal to drive. This could be different if the GVWR is over 26,000 or I had air-brake concerns (and worried about Class B drivers license issues) but since I have a Class A, I'm covered either way.

[BigDavid]

Damn, you got off great. They asked the weight & I guessed 18k. They are charging me $70 extra a year for "road stress".

[GaryTheRock]

I went to my local tag office to register a handicap van I bought from the State of Georgia. I wanted a 10 passenger but in an auction ended up with a 17 person E450.
Like others I'm having no luck so far. The tag office says it has to go through the salvage process to be changed from being a bus. A different visit said a sheriff, on a special form, can declare it not a bus.

I did write to my local State of Georgia senator and representative, asking them to fix this in the legal code. What I'd really like is them to address changing buses to motor homes, making it clear what items have to be there, and changing from the irrational process of declaring it salvaged, which has a requirement you can't drive it to where it gets inspected despite the fact my E450 is and has been perfectly fine!

I may be too naive, but I think if everyone would write to their State members we'd get this fixed!

[PNW_Steve]

I have not read the entire thread. Forgive me if this has been covered.

Has anyone in Georgia tried going the Vermont registration route to get your bus registered as an RV and then going back to Georgia with VT RV registration to get Georgia RV reg?

Just a thought.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

I have not read the entire thread. Forgive me if this has been covered.

Has anyone in Georgia tried going the Vermont registration route to get your bus registered as an RV and then going back to Georgia with VT RV registration to get Georgia RV reg?

Just a thought.

Why, it's not hard to get it registered as an RV here.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Why, it's not hard to get it registered as an RV here.

Well.... The title of the thread and Gary's post gave me the impression that some folks are having trouble getting RV registration.

If that is not the case then please forgive my misunderstanding.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

Well.... The title of the thread and Gary's post gave me the impression that some folks are having trouble getting RV registration.

If that is not the case then please forgive my misunderstanding.

Maybe you should have read the thread then. The OP was completely wrong on all points and Gary's issue is unusual in that there is a salvage issue on the title.

[GaryTheRock]

There is no salvage issue on the title. The bus is perfectly fine. Never wrecked, never salvaged, that's just not the problem. It's a 2012 in great condition.
The salvage part comes in where the Bartow County Tag office said that's the only way to have it changed from a bus to an RV. That sounds like a totally insane suggestion to me.
The second visit sounded like I might be able to get the Sheriff to declare it's an RV. The requirements are vague or at least I don't know what they are.
I'm not the only one in Georgia to have trouble with registering my bus as an RV. Those posts are all over the place. The core of the problem is each county does, or doesn't do, what ever it pleases. If there are regulations in Georgia that specify what is supposed to happen I don't know what they are. Some suggest going to another county tag office and I think I can but don't know if there is some residence in the county requirement.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Maybe you should have read the thread then. The OP was completely wrong on all points and Gary's issue is unusual in that there is a salvage issue on the title.

Ok then.....

[Robin97396]

I get tags outside of my own county. The waiting line in my area DMV is well over an hour, and if I go elsewhere there are at the most three people inline. The clerks are much more pleasant too.

They do ask why I came to their office and I simply tell them about the waiting line and how much time it takes to get up to a window in the other office. These are just satellite offices in smaller towns and registration still proves easier there.

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Originally Posted by GaryTheRock

I went to my local tag office to register a handicap van I bought from the State of Georgia. I wanted a 10 passenger but in an auction ended up with a 17 person E450. Like others I'm having no luck so far. The tag office says it has to go through the salvage process to be changed from being a bus. A different visit said a sheriff, on a special form, can declare it not a bus.

I live in GA and registered my bus with absolutely no issues at all (Barrow, *NOT* Bartow County). Now in all fairness, I did *NOT* make any changes at all to my bus, still had the seats, stop arms and everything (the wires had been cut by the selling school district, though). They simply registered it as a private passenger vehicle, no different than a 15 passenger van, at the appropriate private vehicle rate.

They did ask about commercial usage when I mentioned "bus", but I explained that it was not used for any money-making purpose, but to think along the lines of a few buddies tailgating at The Big Game. At which point I asked if it was possible to register it as a personal vehicle, since, for all intents and purposes, that's exactly what it is. The clerk tried it, and 5 minutes later I left with tag in hand.

I wouldn't even bother with titling it as an RV at this point (and in my case at least, that's not what I plan to use it for anyway). The only way I would do this is for insurance, and right now I have the "Commercial Vehicle for Private Use" coverage which is fine for my needs.

[GaryTheRock]

There is a federal requirement that buses originally designed to have more than 15 seats, including the driver, require a CDL. On top of that my 17 seat rated E450 is in that middle region where, at 14,500 pounds it exceeds (or at least the local tag office said it does) the weight for a regular plate.
Note taking out the seats does not legally make a person immune from getting a ticket. That's up to the discretion of the police that stop you unless the title says, "Motor Home", RV, or something no longer a bus, whereby they can't claim it's a passenger bus.
If the bus plate says, "School Bus", like my plate, and I leave Georgia, or maybe even if I don't, they can give me a ticket for no CDL and no school bus endorsement.
Cobb County in Georgia is noted for being harsh. The tag office said they gave a ticket to one lady who put her temporary, paper tag in the window instead of where the plate goes. That's unnecessary but you have to know it's for the MONEY, not the infraction.
The manager in the Bartow County Tag office, if it isn't already obvious, was not cooperative. I don't even understand how a white bus, that never took school children anywhere, and the primary purpose was a county handicap transport, could have a school bus plate. In my mind it doesn't qualify since it has no stop sign nor the optional 8 way lights. I looked it up, the requirements in Georgia for a school bus require yellow paint but not the 8 way lights. A school bus does require the stop sign. They say that's just what the private bus plates here say ...

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by GaryTheRock

There is a federal requirement that buses originally designed to have more than 15 seats, including the driver, require a CDL. On top of that my 17 seat rated E450 is in that middle region where, at 14,500 pounds it exceeds (or at least the local tag office said it does) the weight for a regular plate.
Note taking out the seats does not legally make a person immune from getting a ticket. That's up to the discretion of the police that stop you unless the title says, "Motor Home", RV, or something no longer a bus, whereby they can't claim it's a passenger bus.
If the bus plate says, "School Bus", like my plate, and I leave Georgia, or maybe even if I don't, they can give me a ticket for no CDL and no school bus endorsement.
Cobb County in Georgia is noted for being harsh. The tag office said they gave a ticket to one lady who put her temporary, paper tag in the window instead of where the plate goes. That's unnecessary but you have to know it's for the MONEY, not the infraction.
The manager in the Bartow County Tag office, if it isn't already obvious, was not cooperative. I don't even understand how a white bus, that never took school children anywhere, and the primary purpose was a county handicap transport, could have a school bus plate. In my mind it doesn't qualify since it has no stop sign nor the optional 8 way lights. I looked it up, the requirements in Georgia for a school bus require yellow paint but not the 8 way lights. A school bus does require the stop sign. They say that's just what the private bus plates here say ...

Not all school buses are required to have either the Stop Sign or the Hazard Light system.

They are required only on buses used to transport student from home to school. Same applies to the National School Bus Yellow.

Trip and Activity buses are still school buses, but they don't have to be yellow, nor have the warning equipment.

My bus has both, but the school district didn't use the Stop Sign and they fitted a bracket to prevent it from deploying.

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Originally Posted by GaryTheRock

There is a federal requirement that buses originally designed to have more than 15 seats, including the driver, require a CDL. On top of that my 17 seat rated E450 is in that middle region where, at 14,500 pounds it exceeds (or at least the local tag office said it does) the weight for a regular plate.
Note taking out the seats does not legally make a person immune from getting a ticket. That's up to the discretion of the police that stop you unless the title says, "Motor Home", RV, or something no longer a bus, whereby they can't claim it's a passenger bus.
If the bus plate says, "School Bus", like my plate, and I leave Georgia, or maybe even if I don't, they can give me a ticket for no CDL and no school bus endorsement.
Cobb County in Georgia is noted for being harsh. The tag office said they gave a ticket to one lady who put her temporary, paper tag in the window instead of where the plate goes. That's unnecessary but you have to know it's for the MONEY, not the infraction.
The manager in the Bartow County Tag office, if it isn't already obvious, was not cooperative. I don't even understand how a white bus, that never took school children anywhere, and the primary purpose was a county handicap transport, could have a school bus plate. In my mind it doesn't qualify since it has no stop sign nor the optional 8 way lights. I looked it up, the requirements in Georgia for a school bus require yellow paint but not the 8 way lights. A school bus does require the stop sign. They say that's just what the private bus plates here say ...

If they forced a "School Bus" plate on you, despite claims to the contrary ... that seems weird. I would think "School Bus" tags would require some sort of proof it was actually being used for that purpose ... proof of public/municipal use, or even private daycare or such.

My bus is has a GVWR of 25,500 and they gave me a regular private vehicle tag. They did ask about color, but only for the purpose of putting it on the title/registration. They didn't seem to care if it was yellow, white, orange, or rainbow polka dots. They didn't ask about the lights, stop bar/sign. They only asked about my intended use.

The CDL rule *ONLY* applies if you are hauling for money. If you are hauling your buddies "To The Big Game" then it's exempt, just as a minivan or even a full size RV would be. And by the same coin, if you are using an RV to haul passengers for money, then that would put you in CDL territory (as appropriate). Now, convincing a cop of that on the side of the road, that's another matter. But if you know everyone on board by name, and can tell the cops how long you've known them, that goes a long way toward supporting your claim.

I never let tag offices (at least in GA, since they operate independently of Drivers License offices) tell me if I need a CDL or whatever. I just go in, tell 'em I want my plate/sticker, and be on my way. They generally are *NOT* experts in CDL matters, and in some cases, not terribly knowledgeable (or at least cooperative) with complex registration matters.

[WanderWoman]

Originally Posted by GaryTheRock

There is no salvage issue on the title. The bus is perfectly fine. Never wrecked, never salvaged, that's just not the problem. It's a 2012 in great condition.
The salvage part comes in where the Bartow County Tag office said that's the only way to have it changed from a bus to an RV. That sounds like a totally insane suggestion to me.
The second visit sounded like I might be able to get the Sheriff to declare it's an RV. The requirements are vague or at least I don't know what they are.
I'm not the only one in Georgia to have trouble with registering my bus as an RV. Those posts are all over the place. The core of the problem is each county does, or doesn't do, what ever it pleases. If there are regulations in Georgia that specify what is supposed to happen I don't know what they are. Some suggest going to another county tag office and I think I can but don't know if there is some residence in the county requirement.

This is from a different forum... maybe call the main DMV in Atlanta:
"When I bought my(mci) bus from the bus lines as a seated coach here in Georgia i had the bus lines hook me up with motor home insurance, and a motor home title before i handed them a check.What we did was call the local dmv,and like your situation they did not know what to do, so we contacted Atlanta(head of Georgia dmv)and told them what i wanted to do,and they said that there were alot of other people converting buses, and that they were going to make a standard way of doing this so the smaller dmv offices would know what to do.After about 2 hours the dmv issued me a (Mci house coach private motor home title)and i havent even taken the seats out yet.If you would like i will try to find the name and contact number of the dmv officer in Atlanta that knew how to handle this situation(i think its in the bus),so when you contact YOUR main dmv and they say that they dont know what to do,or give you the runaround you will have a name and contact number of Georgia head dmv officer to give to them and hope they will call and do the same as Georgia does,and new bus conversion owners in Tennessee wont have to go through this......George"

Sandi

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Having done a little checking ... According to the OCGA 40-2-152 (e) "Each school bus operated exclusively in the transportation of pupils and teachers to and from schools or school activities or in the transportation of the owner and his or her immediate family shall be issued a restricted license plate for the sum of $5.00. A bus owned by a church or owned in common with other churches and used and operated exclusively for the church in transporting members and patrons to and from church or church activities, when no part of the proceeds of the operation of the bus inures to the benefit of any private person, shall be issued a restricted license plate for the sum of $5.00 in the same manner as school buses when the bus complies with the laws applicable to school buses."

[Brad_SwiftFur]

However, since I don't use my bus like, well, a school bus, the regular private vehicle tag fits my needs adequately.

[Yuuyia_Takahashi]

[[[[[ RVs and Motorhomes

To register, title, and tag your RV, camper, or motor home, complete a Motor Vehicle Title/Tag Application (Form MV-1) and apply at your local tag office. When applying, you will need to present the following documents along with the application:

The original title, or Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin if the vehicle is new. If you don't have these documents, you will need the registration papers from the previous owner, signed over to you.

A completed Certificate of Inspection (Form T-22B).
The inspection can be performed by a law enforcement official or tag agent before you apply.

The title fee of $18. If you apply for your title late (over 30 days from the date of purchase or acquisition), you will need to pay a penalty of $10.

If you are registering during the registration period for that vehicle, you will need to pay the ad valorem tax due at this time.

Valid driver's license or picture ID.

Proof of insurance. Georgia requires minimum-liability insurance on all motor vehicles.

Proof of residency (e.g., utility bill, lease, etc.).

NOTE: A vehicle emissions test is NOT required for recreational vehicles in the state of Georgia. ]]]]]



So after reading this thread and several other threads, (both here and on other forums) I'm thinking this is what it takes to get your skoolie properly legal in GA

A completed Form MV-1.
Bill of Sale in your Name.
Title.
Drivers License or Photo ID.
Proof of Insurance.
Proof of Residency. (Witch I think is just some lame bureaucracy since your DL/ID clearly shows your address and is a State issued item.)

According to what I've read once you have all of this documentation and you're at the Tag/Title Office, you'll show them the required credentials, state you intended use of the vehicle, and then pay all of your associated money. You'll be issued a tag on the spot and be free to proceed.

The only stipulation is pertaining to Proof of Insurance. For example if you KNOW that you'll be keeping the bus parked in ONE location while you are doing your conversion, you can tell them the vehicle is "Not currently road worthy" Now you might say "Won't that mess me up later down the line?" and the short answer is No. In Georgia (or at least in my county) it is illegal to have 'abandoned vehicles' on your property. They must have a current tag. So when you tell them that it's not road worthy due to repairs, modifications, whatever you want to tell them... They will ask for the address where the vehicle is being stored so that it can be noted in the system incase the vehicle 'Isn't where it's supposed to be' they can hold you accountable.

The reason I know about this insurance loophole is that I have neighbors who puppy-mil dogs to sell at the flea-market, we reported them for it once and they got a slap on the wrist, but the officer noticed my grungy looking Toyota parked beside the carport and asked some typical police questions and long story short told me that 'if you're not going to put a new engine in it anytime soon at least get the tags current by telling them this'

Like someone else also said, if you REALLY want to avoid any headaches, Just call the head office in Atlanta and get direction from them.

Truth be told, Here in GA as long as you have proof that you own it, proof that it is insurable, and can get an inspection from an officer and its CLEARLY no longer a passenger bus... you shouldn't have any problems

And from what I found online (I'll see if I can find it again to share here) what you need to be considered a 'HomeCoach' is power, water, toilet, food storage/prep, and sleeping.

Hope this helps.

[GaryTheRock]

Can you tell me if it's the, "body style" that changed, and if so, what exactly does it say instead of, "bus"?