Virginia man visited friends in Boston – now he must register his car here or lose his license

A Virginia man tries to iron out a bureaucratic nightmare after a month-long visit to Boston ends with an ultimatum – register your car in Massachusetts or have your license suspended.

NBC Boston reported that Ben, who gave only his first name, visited friends in Jamaica Plain last fall. But someone reported his car’s out-of-state license plates to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV). Now, the Virginia resident is being told that if he doesn’t register his car in the Bay State, he will face a license suspension back home.

“It’s really frustrating. I think I made at least 100 calls and emails,” Ben said in a WBZ report. “I guess a nosy neighbor called the RMV whistleblower line to say my car was parked on the street too long.”

However, Ben’s car insurance company informed him that he could not register his car in Massachusetts because he is not a resident and therefore cannot obtain the insurance policy. required to register the vehicle.

“In this case, I don’t live in Massachusetts, I don’t have an address in Massachusetts, I don’t work in Massachusetts, and yet I have big problems with the RMV. That has no sense,” Ben told WBZ.

According to the NBC Boston report, the RMV’s Enforcement Services Unit cited Chapter 90, Section 3 of the Mass Code as the reasoning behind the registration order. The article stipulates that visitors who drive a motor vehicle for 30 days in a calendar year must register it.

He also said he heard from a Massachusetts Department of Transportation ombudsman who said “there is nothing they can do,” and that he will have to wait and see how it goes.

Ben told local media his only option was to appeal the order, but he fears his license could be suspended before the appeals process is complete.

“If my license is suspended, honestly, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he told WBZ.

The RMV said Thursday it was delaying the suspension of its license for 60 days while they investigate the matter.