How to become a resident of south dakota? There are a few different ways that full-time RVers, nomads and other travelers can claim South Dakota residency. Most choose to use a service like America’s Mailbox, Escapees, or Siouz Falls Postal Annex that provides a personal mailbox (PMB) in SD. This allows them to avoid having to rent a physical SD address and save on mail forwarding fees. They then bring the PMB receipt, a copy of their drivers license and a piece of mail (cannot be handwritten) with their new SD address to the DMV. The process is quick, easy and inexpensive.
What are the benefits of being a resident of South Dakota?
If they’re applying for a driver license or ID card, they must visit the DMV office in person. To speed things up they can schedule an appointment ahead of time or they can simply walk in and wait for their turn. They must also submit the residency affidavit and pay the required fees. Those fees include the $50 fee for the initial application plus the $90 renewal fee or $27 replacement fee.
In addition to establishing domicile/residency, it’s a good idea for nomads and RVers to register to vote, get health insurance in South Dakota and open a free bank account there. Those things make it much harder to lose residency status if a state audit ever occurs. They also help prevent people from maintaining ties to other states that could cause them to lose residency in the future, such as homeowner’s exemptions or conflicting voter registrations.
