
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, August 14, 1994                   TAG: 9408160015
SECTION: DISCOVER                    PAGE: 47   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

READY TO HIT THE ROAD? HERE'S HELP

Your car isn't running right. You've taken it to the shop, gotten the oil changed, and you know the mechanic so well you've taken him home to meet the family. Now, you've got to deal with registration, license plates and stickers that you're told are supposed to go somewhere on your car.

You don't need the hassle.

So quit worrying. This potpourri of information will help you deal with the sometimes complicated world of vehicle registration.

Newcomers have 30 days to get tags and registration for their automobiles and to transfer their driver's license once they move to Virginia.

In the Roanoke area, the Department of Motor Vehicles office is located at Crossroads Mall. If you are relocating here from another state or buying a new vehicle, the titling fee is $10, and the registration fee is $26.50 or $31.50 depending on the weight of your vehicle; for motorcycles the fee is $24.50.

There also is a 3 percent sales tax to be paid when registering the title.

Drivers' licenses are issued for three to seven years, depending on the number of years required to make the reissuing date fall at an age ending with a five or zero. After getting into the system, the license must be renewed every five years.

An 18-year-old driver, for example, would receive a seven-year license to expire when he or she is 25. A 42-year-old driver would receive a three-year license, with the license expiring when he or she is 45.

The cost of a regular operator's license varies according to the number of years for which it is issued ($2.40 per year). There also are a variety of endorsement fees for special licensing such as a motorcycle or a commercial license.

To get a Virginia driver's license, a driver with a license from another state must take the vision portion of the Virginia test. Virginia also requires license candidates to take a road test, but that requirement is waived for those holding a valid license from another state.

A driver under the age of 16 may not be issued an instruction permit or driver's license unless the applicant is attending high school. An applicant who is not attending high school must have received counseling on the benefits of school attendance before being issued a license.

Many Virginia localities require a vehicle sticker or local registration. When moving from another Virginia municipality to Roanoke, present your sticker and obtain a new sticker free of charge. If the sticker has reached its expiration date from the previous area, there will be a charge for the new sticker.

In Roanoke County, there is a $1 transfer fee to obtain a new sticker if your current sticker has not expired.

Drivers moving to the county from a nonpro-rating locality must present their filing forms before transferring the sticker. Drivers moving from a pro-rating locality must pay pro-rated county taxes before transferring.

If the sticker has expired, the cost is $20 or it is pro-rated based on when the car was purchased.

In Vinton and Salem, the cost of stickers is $10 for passenger vehicles purchased before Dec. 1, $5 after Dec. 1; $3 for motorcycles; trucks are charged based on gross weight (either $10 or $15). For more information on local stickers, contact the local commissioner of revenue's office or the local treasurer's office.

by CNB