I've lived in Georgia as a student for a long time, but I never bothered to switch my driver's license until recently. After taking a defensive driving class in an attempt to lower my car insurance because I was told I could get points off my license, I was informed by Florida that Florida licenses aren't eligible for points reductions. Only Georgia licenses. Fine. So, I'd just apply for my Georgia license, and get my $95 points reduction that way.
So, two weeks ago, after obtaining way more information that I needed to - proof of residency, lease from the past 3 years, a dozen pieces of mail, bank statements, etc. (I like to over-prepare), I finally gave up my residency to the sunshine state and traded it in for a Georgia Driver's License. It was, surprisingly, super easy: way easier than I thought it would be. The up side? I can purchase a firearm here now. The downside? The circus that ensued.
First, I called my car insurance company to let them know I had changed my state. They forwarded me to a new agent and gave me a quote for a new Georgia policy. I told the agent that I would need to make sure that it was ok to switch my insurance (since I didn't have a Georgia tag yet), and she told me it was fine to call the tag office and check first.
Instead of telling me to switch my insurance to a new company as soon as possible, they (without telling me) automatically changed my policy to a $1000/month policy (an "out of state" fee). After receiving this bill in the mail and freaking out, I called them and told them I had been in touch with the tag office but would have been much faster with changing insurance companies if they had told me that suddenly my insurance was going to jump several hundred dollars up per month. I switched my insurance right away that day and spent countless hours on the phone trying to ensure that I received a refund for this lack of oversight on their part.
Then, that brings me to the tag office. After nearly 2 hours of waiting on the phone, I was informed that I would need a slew of paperwork to receive my Georgia tag. Georgia insurance - my vehicle title and loan information - but not just that. Since my car title also had my mother's name on it, that meant we had to get a signed power of attorney stating that I could go to the GA tag office alone, without her, to obtain my new tag. As well as a copy of her driver's license... as well as a copy of my Florida registration, which just so happened to be lost. After searching my entire apartment and the black hole that is my glove box, my mom just sent me a picture from online and I prayed that would suffice.
We haven't even gotten to the emissions test part yet. Florida doesn't require emissions tests - I have never had an emissions test - for years, I wondered my on Earth these shady little emissions test stations nestled away in creepy parts of the city even existed. Apparently, Fulton County (Atlanta) requires yearly emissions tests to renew (and get) a tag. No problem, right?
Except a few months earlier, my cars "check engine" light went on. Freaked out about what could possibly be wrong with my 2012 car, Kris took it to get the code read and the technician said "oh, man, that's a bad code. You're catalytic converter's gone bad."
Well, that's an expensive $1000-$2000 fix. But it's not a problem, because Florida doesn't do emissions tests and only one side of the cat was bad, so the fix could wait, right?
No... by changing my driver's license, I now had 30 days to get my Georgia tag, and pass my emissions test. I took it by a repair shop and just got the code reset. I didn't know that emissions tests will fail you if you get your computer reset and take it in for testing too soon after. So that didn't work. Thankfully, Kris's family happens to have the hookup with car repairs, so after purchasing a catalytic converter online and Kris spending an afternoon down in Albany, my catalytic converter was thankfully fixed for a lot cheaper than $2000, for which I am endlessly thankful.
After running around the entire city of Atlanta to get paperwork notarized, tracking down pieces of paper that I haven't seen in years, and having to do it all on the one day of the week I have off from school, everything was finally ready to take to the tag office. Luckily, I had no trouble with my paperwork - I again brought way too much - and 7% of my car's value later (ouch), I finally received my new Georgia tag.
These past few weeks have been a goose chase: Atlanta's way of telling me "welcome to adulthood, Lacy!"
But hey - at least I can buy firearms here, right?
I'm sure it's going to be equally as much a joy to change my name in just a few short months - though, I can't really complain. A few afternoons of trouble to spend forever with the man of my dreams? It will be a pain, but the trade off is totally worth it!
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