Moving to California with a leased car
You can keep your lease when moving to California with a leased car, but the car must be registered here within 20 days of becoming a resident or bringing it into the state. The leasing company owns the car and holds the title, so it has to sign the California application; call it before you go to the DMV.
Moving here with a leased car
You can keep the lease. Register within 20 days.
Right awaybefore the DMV
Call the leasing company
- It owns the car and holds the title, so it has to sign
- Ask how it sends its signature and the title to the DMV
- Call your insurer too
20 daysof becoming a resident or bringing it in
Register the car in California
- A smog certificate, unless the car is electric
- A VIN verification and California registration fees
- Submit the application and fees on time, even if something is missing
Alsoif you will drive here
Your driver's license
- Apply for a California driver's license as well
- The DMV's New to California page lists the steps
Afterthe car is registered here
California tax on the payments
- Charged on the lease payments that remain
- The leasing company collects it
- Your monthly payment can change
The DMV considers you a resident once you intend to live here for six months or more in a year.
Key takeaways
Expect a smog certificate (unless the car is electric), a VIN verification, California registration fees, and California tax on the lease payments that remain.
Moving to California with a leased car: the timeline
The DMV considers you a California resident once you intend to live here for six months or more in a year. Signs of that include working here, renting or owning your main home here, enrolling your kids in school here, registering to vote here or paying resident tuition. From that point:
Right away: call your leasing company and your insurer. Toyota Financial Services, for example, advises lessees moving to another state to contact both their insurer and their new DMV, and points out that a change in local tax rate can change a lease payment.
Within 20 days: register the car in California. The DMV's advice is to submit the application and fees on time even if you're still missing something, such as the title or the smog certificate, to avoid penalties.
Your license: if you're becoming a resident and will drive here, apply for a California driver's license as well. The DMV's New to California page lists the steps.
What the leasing company has to do
On a lease, the leasing company owns the car, so the DMV needs it involved:
Its signature. The Application for Title or Registration (REG 343) has to be signed by the registered owners shown on the out-of-state paperwork, and for leased vehicles the DMV requires the lessor's signature.
The title. The DMV asks for the last out-of-state title. If it isn't surrendered, California will still register the car, but the registration card is marked "Nontransferable" and no California title is issued.
Your address and tax. The account needs your new address, and from then on expect California tax on your payments, collected by the leasing company.
Ask the leasing company how it gets its signature and the title to the California DMV, and how long that usually takes. Also check what your lease contract says about moving the car to another state and telling the lessor where it's kept.
Before your DMV visit
What to bring or arrange.
The leasing company owns the car, so the DMV needs its signature and the title.
- REG 343, completedWith the leasing company's signature, or its arrangement to sign
- Out-of-state titleSent by the leasing company, plus your last out-of-state registration
- Smog certificateUnless the car is electric
- REG 31 VIN verificationCan be done at the DMV
- REG 256FIf the car isn't California-certified
- Proof of insuranceAnd a way to pay the fees
Smog, VIN check and California emissions rules
Smog certificate. A car coming from another state needs one from a California smog station if it's gasoline-powered and a 1976 or newer model, diesel and a 1998 or newer model (under 14,001 pounds gross vehicle weight rating), or powered by natural gas or propane (under 14,001 pounds). Electric cars don't need a smog check.
VIN verification. The DMV needs a Verification of Vehicle form (REG 31), completed by a DMV employee, a law enforcement officer or a California-licensed vehicle verifier.
49-state cars. California doesn't let residents register a new car that wasn't built to California emission standards (under two years old, with fewer than 7,500 miles when acquired) unless an exemption applies. One exemption covers people who, when they acquired the car, lived in or were on active military duty in the state where it was last registered; you claim it on form REG 256F. If you leased the car while living in another state, that's the exemption to claim, so bring the form if your car isn't California-certified.
Fees and taxes after the move
Registration fees. Expect the registration fee, the California Highway Patrol fee, the vehicle license fee, the transportation improvement fee and any county or district fees. The DMV has a fee calculator for vehicles last registered outside California, and the exact amount is set when you apply.
Tax on the lease. California treats a lease as a continuing purchase for as long as the car is in the state, and taxes it based on the lease payments, which the leasing company collects. Your monthly payment can change once the car is registered here. See California sales tax on a car lease.
Electric cars. Zero-emission vehicles from model year 2020 on pay California's Road Improvement Fee when the registration renews.
Insurance. California requires liability coverage and proof of it in the car, and your lease requires coverage that meets the leasing company's standards. Move your policy to your California address.
Moving to California with a leased car: keep it or end it?
Keeping the lease and registering the car is the usual choice when plenty of months remain. The other options each have their own costs:
Buy it out. You'd register the car as its owner, and a buyout is taxable in California; if the leasing company doesn't collect the tax, you pay it at the DMV when you register. See buying out your lease.
Sell or trade it. Whether a dealer or another buyer can pay off your lease depends on the leasing company. See third-party lease buyouts.
Transfer it, if the lender allows transfers. See transferring a car lease.
End it early, usually the most expensive exit. See getting out of a car lease early.
If the lease ends soon after you arrive, ask the leasing company whether you can turn the car in at a dealer here. The My lease is ending tool lays out the options for your brand. And if you plan to replace the car with an EV, note that California's MyFirstEV incentive excludes anyone who has had an EV before, even in another state.
Before your DMV visit
Bring or arrange:
REG 343, completed, with the leasing company's signature or its arrangement to sign;
the out-of-state title, sent by the leasing company, and your last out-of-state registration;
a smog certificate, unless the car is electric;
the REG 31 VIN verification, which can be done at the DMV;
REG 256F, if the car isn't California-certified;
proof of insurance and a way to pay the fees.
Ask the leasing company:
How do you send the title and your signature to the California DMV, and how long does it take?
When will you start charging California tax, and what will my new payment be?
Does my contract require anything else when the car moves states?
Can I return the car at a California dealer when the lease ends?
How 021 helps
021 Auto Leasing works in California only, with cars delivered to your door or picked up at the nearest dealership. If you'd rather replace the car once you've moved, we find it, get several dealers to quote the same car, negotiate the whole deal and deliver it, and you pay only once you have the keys. In-stock cars can go from inquiry to keys in under 48 hours.
Smog check and emissions rules
Does the car need a California smog certificate?
Needs a certificate from a California smog station.
If it is under 14,001 pounds gross vehicle weight rating.
If it is under 14,001 pounds.
Electric cars don't need a smog check.
Under two years old, fewer than 7,500 miles when acquired. Can't be registered unless an exemption applies.
If you leased the car while living in another state, claim the exemption on form REG 256F. The DMV also needs a VIN verification (REG 31).
Common questions
How long do I have to register my car after moving to California?
Can I move to California with a leased car?
Will my lease payment change after I move to California?
Does an out-of-state car need a smog check in California?
What if my leased car isn't California-certified?
021 Auto Leasing is a licensed California autobroker (license #82402). All new cars arranged for sale are subject to price and availability from the selling franchised new car dealer.