Q: What constitutes a person becoming a resident in Oregon? What is the time limit for a person who has taken up residence in Oregon to change driver's and vehicle licenses?

A: According to Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles spokesman David House, there are no hard and fast rules for establishing residency in Oregon. Residency is established when a person chooses a place to live, registers to vote and pays taxes in the state.

He said drivers with out-of-state licenses who move to Oregon are required to get Oregon licenses or identification cards, but Oregon statutes put no time limit on when someone has to do that. However, the statutes do require drivers to get their vehicle license plates within 30 days of establishing residency.

It is possible to be penalized for not changing licenses and plates over from another state.

“If you are found by law enforcement driving around with an out-of-state plate, they're going to cite you,” he said. “Not having a driver's license would be operating a vehicle without driving privileges.”

But, House said, drivers rarely are cited for having an out-of-state license and most people get driver's licenses and plates at the same time.

He added that there is a penalty for transferring a vehicle's title after 30 days. According to Oregon statute 803.090, the late fee for transferring a vehicle title after 30 days is $25. The penalty increases to $50 after 60 days.