Submitted by quintonb5 t3_1174pp8 in Washington
Hey folks, I'm moving to Washington at the end of the month. I'm staying in Airbnb for the first 3 months I'm there, and I'm getting a UPS mailbox with a street address. Does anyone know if I can use that address for proof of residency? Thanks in advance!
Got it, thank you for the confirmation on this matter!
Depends. If you are trying to register to vote or get an id they need a physical address not a PO box.
Got it. Thank you! The UPS box comes with a street address, do you think that would work?
That would be fraud to attempt it. I would also add the technology will know which addresses serve as PO boxes and likely not allow a user to enter it.
Awesome, thank you for the helpful information!!
Where you moving from? Missouri?
I'll be moving from Albuquerque, New Mexico. It should be a fun 1400 mi trip, super excited to make it up there.
you got a raincoat boy!?
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I'm happy here in Washington State and I went Down to California and I wasn't very happy... but when i was back home by i-84 i was happy to be home. I hope you'll enjoy the frigid temperatures(like -10°F and below for the low) we have here in the winter.
Is there a mailbox for the airbnb? I'm staying at one for 4 months while I'm looking for a house and the owner gave me permission to use it for receiving mail.
That's a good idea, thanks for the suggestion! Our host has been fantastic so far, so I think it's worth asking at least. Thanks again!
I was actually on the same situation, AirBnB and all, and what I did to get my driver's license and car registered was to use the airBnB address as my residence address, but have the PO Box set up as my mailing address. Then when I moved into an apartment, I updated all my addresses.
Never had a problem with anything
If you're living in the Airbnb for 3 months, that very well could be your residence. Update your address with a bank and your employer, and you'll have evidence for an enhanced license too. Yeah, changing your address twice sucks, but there's no minimum stay requirement. It's about intent -- and intent not to return to where you came from.
I appreciate your input, thank you for the advice!
https://wa.gov/how-to-guides/become-resident
Right here on the state website.
I did this last year and it was a real pita. Some things would not take a PO box and some things would not take an Airbnb address. (Somehow they knew.) I can't remember how it worked right now, but I believe the DMV still sent something to the PO Box a year after we moved out of the airbnb and long after we'd updated our address in the DMV website.
Thank you for the information, sounds like an iffy system. I appreciate your contribution!
The real important question is for what purpose are you seeking residency? You haven’t answered but it could affect the answer. WA state attorney here. Why?
I currently work for Lyft, and they require your state ID to be registered in the same state you're working in. I was hoping to continue working for Lyft, while I looked for a new job.
To get a standard license (not REAL ID, not commercial class, just regular personal license) in WA you merely self-attest to your address. No paperwork/ proof required.
PO Boxes are generally known, if they don’t stand out by being address number, STE number, PMB number, etc or PO BOX number etc and if the licensing agent doesn’t catch it or doesn’t care, it is still fraud - the problem being if you get caught by the licensing fraud dept, whose job it is to catch it and care even more, then you need to extra prove your physical residence (and potentially have legal issues, but unsure if those get pursued).
Like others have said if the Air B and B doesn’t mind, use their address. The license comes in the mail in 2 weeks generally. And you can change address later (online, by phone or in office with WA licensing) once you’re more established. Best!
Thank you for all the information, this helps me so much. You are a lifesaver!!
I have no clue how I got away with it, but I was able to get my WA license without any proof of residency. I had a bill ready to prove it, but they never asked for it. Obviously, I wouldn’t go this route; I’m just sharing my experience. They seemed very lax.
There are two tiers of WA licenses, regular and enhanced. The enhanced meets US Real ID requirements and can be used to get into Canada.
To get the enhanced 4 years ago, we had to show proof of who we were (think passport or birth certificate) as well as residency. Because the utility bill was in one of our names and not both, we also had to show a marriage certificate.
I don't remember the requirements for the non-enhanced version but it cost less.
When my daughter was trying to get a drivers permit, she had a birth certificate, a passport, her school id & me. They wouldn’t let her get it because she didn’t have a bill with her address on it. This was west Seattle.
That’s ridiculous; children don’t get bills. My kids were both able to do this without bills. You obviously got someone who didn’t know what they were doing.
I agree it was ridiculous. I think she just didn’t like us for some reason. It was a pretty busy day though, but still.
School ID is very rarely used as an identification document by state/federal agencies. Especially if it’s a high school ID. Also, a permit doesn’t need residency documents to be issued. Something was misunderstood
She might have been trying to get enhanced license, so she wouldn’t need to bring her passport when she went to Vancouver. It has been over ten yrs and I haven’t got my memory back from my tbi.
Understood, thank you for your story. I appreciate you sharing!
Spokenfortruth t1_j9ahvjx wrote
You'll need a bill in your name. Not a POBox or UPS box