Moving to Alabama: 30 Days for Your License and Registration, Insurance Minimums and Voting

Moving to Alabama starts two 30-day clocks: one for your driver’s license, and one for registering your car [1][2]. The car steps happen at your county, not a state office, and there’s no emissions test to worry about [3][4].

1. Insure the car

You can’t register or keep registering a vehicle in Alabama without liability coverage [6]. The minimums are [5]:

• $25,000 for injury or death of one person,
• $50,000 for injury or death of two or more people in one accident,
• $25,000 for damage to property.

The policy has to be in place before you register. Your insurance card is the usual proof [3].

2. Title and register within 30 days

If your car has a valid registration from another state, you have 30 days from the date it enters Alabama to register it [2]. If you buy a car after you arrive, the deadline is 20 calendar days from the purchase [3].

Here’s the order [3]:

1. Title first. If your vehicle needs a title, apply for an Alabama certificate of title through a designated agent of the Department of Revenue. Registration can’t be processed until the title application is done.
2. Go to your county. Vehicles are registered at the license plate issuing office in the county where you live, not where you work.
3. Pay the fees. The county official collects registration fees and the ad valorem (property) tax on the vehicle, then issues your plate.

3. Get your Alabama driver’s license within 30 days

State law says “every new resident” must get an Alabama driver’s license within 30 days of establishing residence [1]. Licenses are handled by the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency [1].

4. Claim your homestead exemption

If you buy a home to live in, apply for the homestead exemption at your county by December 31. It cuts the property tax on your home, and owners 65 and older or disabled can get much larger breaks. Our guide to the Alabama homestead exemption explains the H-1 to H-4 types.

5. Register to vote

You can register online through the Secretary of State, or print the form and mail it to the Board of Registrars in your county [8]. The application is for Alabama residents only, and the state may check it against federal records to confirm citizenship [8].

Watch the cutoff. County registrars can’t register anyone during the 14 days before an election, though their offices stay open in that period [7]. Register well before that window opens.

Quick checklist

• Get Alabama car insurance that meets the $25,000 / $50,000 / $25,000 minimums.
• Apply for an Alabama title, if your vehicle needs one.
• Register the car at your county license plate office within 30 days.
• Get your Alabama driver’s license within 30 days.
• If you bought a home, apply for the homestead exemption by December 31.
• Register to vote more than 14 days before the next election.