How To Have an Address When Full Time RVing
Posted in How To's on September 15, 2018 Last Updated on September 15, 2018
One of the first things new full time RVers need is an address. Your insurance will ask where your RV is “located” most of the year, your driver’s license needs your physical address, and if you want to register to vote, it all requires a physical address.
You first step is to choose what state you are going to call your new home. There a several states to choose from, including Texas, Florida, South Dakota, and a few others. You’ll want to research states that work for full time RVers and choose the one that best fits your needs.
When it was time for us to go full time, we chose Florida because it’s where we planned to spend our first few winters as full timers, there is no yearly state inspection, no state income tax, and a few other things that made it more convenient for our situation.
Once you have your state chosen, you will need to create an account with one of the mail forwarding services for that state. Your options include Escapees in several of the full timer states and, our chosen service, St. Brendan’s Isle in Florida.
Once you have your account and address set up, it is simply a matter of visiting the state’s DMV website, and determining what you need to start transfering your license. Many times, you can also find a “How to become a resident” page that is great for full time RVers. For example, St. Brendan’s Isle has a guide to becoming a Florida resident.
With your state residency changed and your mail forwarding account created, you are now ready to start handing out your shiny new address to any organization that needs it.
Not sure how to get all the mail that your mail forwarding will be accumulating? Need to just get a few items, without the need to change residence?
We have a post for how to receive your mail on the road too!
Financial institutions require a verifiable physical address to open an account, voter registration, DMV, passport all require a physical address, different from a mailing address. How does one handle this if you live in your RV, travel, and do not have a permanent physical address? Please & Thank you.
Hello, and thanks for commenting! I have only had one financial institution have an issue with my St Brendan’s Isle mailing address; it was an online only business bank account. My vehicle registrations, drivers license, passport, credit cards, and bank accounts all utilize the address. I have also read that St Brendan’s Isle has an additional workaround if anyone has an issue with voter registration, although I have not seen or used it first hand.
The address they provide is in a format of (where XXXXX is your unique number):
Your Name
411 Walnut Street # XXXXX
Green Cove Springs, Florida, 32043
I hope that helps answer your question 🙂
Thank you. It is likely an Oregon issue. Although Experien, Equifax, DMV all require proof of residency.