ACalifornia vehicles are readily admitted in Baja. However, if you plan on leaving your car in Baja you need to make a few decisions. You could file a Statement of Non-Operation for their vehicles to avoid California registration fees. However, vehicles on the roads in Baja are technically required to be registered… somewhere and a vehicle with expired DMV tags is begging for harassment.

You can import your vehicle into Mexico. In fact, even the DMV agents will tell you that the regs cited below are intended to encourage people that leave their cars abroad to register them there. However, importing a vehicle has its own set of issues. Additionally, imported cars have higher insurance premiums. You need to satisfy the local regulations. You need to also pay an import tax and likely an agent’s fee. With importation you will receive local plates. However, local plates mean that all drivers are required to have a valid Mexican driver’s license.  Excluding rental cars, this requires some skill with Spanish and a blood test and you may not be able to accomplish that… ever. The DMV doesn’t seem to understand this. If you still want to import a car, find a custom’s broker, e.g., in San Diego and Tijiuana.

On the other hand, if you decide you would rather not import your car due to the various headaches mentioned above, and would simply prefer to drive with US plates, you have a dilemma. [Note: if you're a real bargain shopper, you can even avoid sales tax (by having your Baja-bound vehcile delivered to the border)]. Namely, what happens when your tags are due to expire and it’s a year in which your smog certificate is required to be renewed? Obviously, there’s no California smog certficates issued in Mexico. And, without current registration tags, the police can impound your car or, more likely, will hassle you and stick out their hand (if you’re lucky). Additionally, some insurance companies reportedly won’t honor their policies if your registration is not current (whether or not your policy contains a clear exclusion). My insurance covers me even with expired tags and yours “should” as well (God forbid you forget to renew your plates for 24 hours and get in an accident).

Fortunately, CA DMV Form 256 provides an exemption to the Smog Check requirement that will allow you to receive new tags without driving your car home if it is more than 1,000 miles from a US border. Unfortunately, most of the staff at the DMV are confused by the Form and unfamiliar with the exemption.  Here’s the form:  Statement of Facts (right click and choose “Save As”).  Complete the sections that ask for your license plate, VIN, and year/make. In Section “B. Statement for Smog Exemption”, check the box “It is located outside the State of California”.

Here’s where it gets a bit tricky as the form says “(Exception: Nevada and Mexico). This caused a lot of confusion for DMV staff. In fact, the staff agent I dealt with directly on this issue pointed to that language as evidence that Mexico is excluded from an exemption for smog certificates. However, the law states that cars that are over 1,000 miles from the border are exempt from the smog test (even if the car is in Mexico).  While not in the California Vehicle Code or in the form, in section 27.150 of an online DMV manual (couldn’t get a better name from the agent) this issue is directly addressed with the following text:

27.150 Vhicles Located Outside of California

A smog certificate is not required when a vehicle is located outside of California. The registered owner must complete a Statement of Facts (REG 256) or submit a letter explaining that the vehicle is out of state. 

The exemption for vehicles located outside of California does not apply if the residence or mailing address of the registered owner/lessee or the address where the vehicle is garaged is in any of the following cities (I did not include various Nevada cities that are also listed):

Mexico

• Tecate
• Tijijuana
• Tijijuana Baja CA

Near the “(Exception: Nevada and Mexico)” language, write “Over” or “See Next Page”.  Then on the next page under section “G. Statement of Facts”, write:

“The car is in Baja in the town of XXXX, [insert number greater than 1000 miles] below the border.  It wouldn’t make it to California for a smog check. The car will not be re-enter the U.S. without a smog certificate.”

Note: Insert the name of the town in Baja California Sur where your car is located, for example “Cabos San Lucas”, “La Paz”, or “Loreto”. Make sure you also have a copy of your Mexican auto insurance policy.  

 

Now the DMV is making a big push and trying to esnure all registered cars comply with 33.040 Evidence of Financial Responsibility (Vehicle Code Section 16020). This section establishes what documentation will be adequate to ensure you are adequately insured in an accident. Again, this is anothr landmine where many of the DMV staff gets confused, primarily because of bullet point 3 which is not relevant for most of us (more below). Here are the types of documents that “should” satisfy the DMV per this section:

 

• “A document or insurance card from an insurance company indicating the vehicle is insured.” Note: this should be all you need but the third bullet confuses the staff and typically starts an endless dialogue on this issue.
• “An insurance document or ID card from Canada.”
• “A Mexico resident insurance policy may be accepted when the vehicle record shows a resident address in Mexico or the owner changes his/her address to show a residence in Mexico and completes a Statement of Facts (REG 256) that certifies he/she is a resident of Mexico and gives his/her Mexican resident address. Attach the REG 256 to the DMV file copy.” NOTE: this does not apply to most people reading this as they are not residents of Mexico and they do not hold a Mexican resident insurance policy — which, as far as I can tell, is typically only available for cars registered in Mexico! So, when they try to tell you that you need to file a change of address and to indicate you are a Mexican resident, they are wrong. Presumably your “travel” policy is only valid for NON-RESIDENTS and is, by its terms, NOT a Mexico resident policy! In fact, even the language of this section tries to clarify. The text continues by saying, ” A Mexican resident policy will be labeled as such or will indicate that it is only valid for coverage of Mexican residents; it is not valid if the insured is not a Mexican resident. Do not confuse a Mexican resident insurance policy with a “travel” policy which does not contain such residency exceptions. ” Query whether this means that a long term, e.g., one year travel policy is adequate but why wouldn’t it satisfy the first bullet since it is insured?
• There are 4 other approaches that don’t apply to most people but, at a high level, include:
  • A DMV letter for self-insurers
  • A surety bond
  • A CA Proof of Insurance Certificate
  • Evidence that the vehicle is owned or leased by a public entity
  • Motor Carriers with insurance on file under the PUC or DMV.

 

In short, a travel policy should suffice, especially if it’s issued for a term of 6-12 months; however, I have been advised that the DMV may frown on short term travel policies. They also seem to want it to have a Mexican address on it, but that opens a whole can of worms. Again, you are probably not trying to submit a Mexican resident policy so a California address should be fine (I had the carrier add a Mexican address but left the US address on the form as a mailing address).

Why the DMV would care if you are insured in Mexico is beyond me, especially given the insurance doesn’t apply in the US by its terms. So you could technically get a smog exemption, have no US insurance and drive over the border from Mexico into the US… without insurance here. LOL. To give the legislators the benefit of the doubt, maybe it is driven by a reciprocity clause under a treaty with Mexico or some other countries, e.g., we’ll let your cars on our roads and vice-versa… if they are insured. But you can go to jail here and in Mexico withou insurance and cancel the next day if you want to so it seems somewhat silly. Mexico will enforce their own laws re insurance and the US is in no position to police this anyway. 

When you show up at the DMV and provide the above documentation (2 docs, insurance and statement of facts), you “should” receive a smog exemption and be able to register your car.  ”Should” because not all the agents, in fact very few agents are readily familiar with this regulation, in which case you will need to ask to send the case to Sacramento.

The junior agent I spoke to said I could only do this one time. I asked why and she said that’s just the way things were working now. Not sure what you do when your tags expire in Mexico and you can’t get the car back to the US, 1,000 miles away, for a $40 smog check.  She had no answer other than register it there (which is not only impractical but impossible for me).

Update: walked through this all myself and succeeded; however, it took 2 hours and the senior agent surrendered only after being put on hold by Sacramento for 20 minutes and giving up. So, although I am confident in most of this analysis, I have not yet received any senior staff sign-off in Sacramento. Please comments if you have been successful, especially after April of 2009, at that level.

I suppose I should mention that Bob Jankovics, a retired NY police officer living in Cabo, has allegedly identified a way to get you South Dakota plates with current tags within a week for $338. The good news is that, thereafter, annual renewals are $38 and can be accomplished by mail. I have no insight into this potential solution. The cost of driving with SD plates could be deemed too hefty for some:) Bob can be reached in Cabo at 624-129-9232 when I last checked. Mention you heard about him from here but expect nothing for doing so for either of us. Good luck!

-jim

Possibly Related Posts:

• Real Estate Development and the Dunes of Todos Santos, BCS
• Can I Renew My California Car Registration and Avoid the Smog Check?
• The Wall of Saints, Todos Santos, Baja California Sur
• The Grand Finale – The Humpbacks
• Cal y Canto Casitas

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Tags: Baja, Car Registration, Importing, Insurance