Moving to PA, used bike purchase, titling/registration

Submitted by YourFriendlyFarmasis t3_11xiftu in Pennsylvania

Hello PA residents,

I am currently in state of VA. Planning to move to PA within a month or so. I will be purchasing a used motorcycle here in VA via private owner. WOuld it be better to register it currently with my current state then transfer titles or, easier to just register it with PA once I move in a month?

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THank you!

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googlyiiiiiiii t1_jd37gnn wrote

Im not 100% sure if this is the case with motorcycles, but in PA vehicles are not subject to property taxes, while in VA they are. I moved from VA to PA in 2020, and I had to pay taxes on my vehicle for the few months out of 2020 it was still registered in VA. Again, not certain if it applies to motorcycles, but you might want to wait and register in PA just to avoid the taxes.

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HomicidalHushPuppy t1_jd3b3vz wrote

Why pay fees twice? I'd hold off and just title it in PA. Might be worth a call to a local auto tags place or PennDOT just to make sure there aren't any issues with that, but otherwise I'd wait a month and save the fees and extra paperwork.

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YourFriendlyFarmasis OP t1_jd3b9sr wrote

I saw on PennDOT that they need seller and owner to sign title @ PennDOT. Is that true for private sales?

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ho_merjpimpson t1_jd4wv90 wrote

Title stuff in PA doesn't happen at the dot. It happens at a notary and gets sent to Harrisburg for processing. If you are buying something registered in PA you have to have the person selling and the person buying go to the notary together and things have to be signed in front of the notary. As for out of state, things vary... I know for NJ, the owner just needs to sign a portion original bill of sale/title(from the dealer, not a random one). You then take that title into a notary in PA and they do the paperwork, you pay the sales tax and viola. I know MD and NY are similar, but might have titles...

That said... I would very much recommend calling a PA notary about this. The laws can be confusing sometimes, and they know them well. Its a very simple way to get the right answer.

Call a place near where you will be moving. Give them your situation.... Ask them what to do. They will assume that you are going to use them for the transfers, and you honestly should because they are giving you some knowledge for free.

Seriously. Don't listen to anyone on reddit, including myself. Just give them a call and you will have your definitive answer.

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HomicidalHushPuppy t1_jd3bmwp wrote

Sorry, I don't know the answer to that. You'd be best served by just calling them: 717-412-5300. I'd ask if notarized signatures qualify since it's coming from out of state. The few times I've called, they've been very helpful.

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Joe18067 t1_jd7i4zv wrote

There are a couple of things to consider here.

If VA requires the signature to be notarized then it will be required when you register it in PA. If not then only the signature is required.

Make sure you get a bill of sale from the previous owner because they will collect sales tax when you register it.

You need to get your PA drivers license before registering your vehicles.

We have a lot of stupid laws here.

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