Establishing Your Airstream RV Residency State

When you make the switch from part-time to full-time travel in your Airstream RV, you have to give up your street address and the idea that you are a resident of any one town or city. But you may not be aware of how many components of your daily life require you to have a permanent state of residency. From voting to registering vehicles to having a place to send all your mail, you’ll soon find you need to establish a residency state as a full-time RVer.

Don’t worry—you’re not alone in this! Approximately a million of the over 11 million RVs on American roads are used as permanent homes for full-timers. 

That’s a lot of people without a fixed address! You can benefit from the experiences of those who came before you when setting up your residency, and this guide by Airstream of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, serving Park City and Provo, is designed to help you do just that.

Why Do I Need To Do This?

As a full-time nomad, your Airstream trailer is now your home. But because it’s mobile and you may not be in any one place for very long, most likely, you’ll need to establish your residency somewhere, legally called maintaining a domicile. Having a residence is not the same as establishing a domicile, since the latter requires both your presence in the state as well as an intent to make it your permanent home. 

Legal Necessities

Establishing a domicile is necessary for several reasons. You need a permanent mailing address for receiving correspondence, registering to vote, obtaining and renewing driver’s licenses, registering and tagging your vehicles, paying taxes, getting health insurance and more. If you have children whom you plan to homeschool on the road, you’ll probably want to avoid as many obstacles as you can. Bank accounts necessitate a permanent mailing address that is not forwarded to reduce fraud.

Avoiding Suspicion 

In the event that legal issues arise, you won’t want to look shifty by having your mail redirect to one address while you pay taxes in another state and have bank accounts in a third location. You’ll want to choose a place that you can visit on a regular basis to make it clear that that’s your chosen domicile.

Does a P.O. Box Work? (SPOILER ALERT: No)

Even when you give up your residential home or apartment wherever you used to live, you’re going to need to choose one place to return to for updating all registrations, voting and collecting your mail. What about a post office box, you ask? Not good enough! A legal street address is required as proof of establishing a domicile. So you could send your mail to a P.O. box if you like, but you’ll still need another address for the rest of it.

Why Utah?

Utah is often named one of the best states to retire in, which can also make it the perfect state of residency for you. You’ll have access to high-quality healthcare and the state is experiencing a time of fantastic economic growth. Even if you end up traveling in and out of the state, you’ll love coming back to it time and time again, both to experience its welcoming communities and to enjoy the stunning landscapes around you. You might need someone to help you with sorting out some unique tax laws, but in general, we think Utah is a fantastic choice when it comes to establishing residency--although, we might be a little biased. 

Still in search of the perfect rig to call your permanent home? Visit Airstream of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT, to check out our Airstreams for sale. We welcome all our customers to our RV dealership from Park City and Provo.