Oregon DMV Headquarters

Leading up to our move to Oregon, we researched neighborhoods, apartment buildings and I researched the process to get an Oregon driver’s license and register my car here. I downloaded all the required forms, read all the steps, and laid out my ‘plan’ for making it all happen. I knew it would be a lot of work, but I had no idea what a clusterfu*ck it would be. Just FYI, I started the process around ⁷⁄₁₅. It’s now ¹¹⁄₉ when I started this post, and I have yet to receive my Oregon plates and registration.
Called the Oregon DMV to confirm all the fees and paperwork required, just to be safe. Visited DEQ testing station on ⁷⁄₁₅ and got the needed form from them.
Completed all the DMV forms, wrote a check, and mailed everything to my lienholder with a pre-​stamped envelope for them to place everything in to send to the Oregon DMV. I did this, made copies of everything, sent it all out via UPS on ⁷⁄₁₆ and hoped for the best. The Oregon DMV even provides you with a pre-​created cover letter to send along to the lienholder with all your stuff. Great!
Lienholder received the packet from me, and was supposed to then send my California title and all the paperwork and my check to the Oregon DMV. I got a letter from the lienholder dated ⁸⁄₆ that it will take them 30 days to get my paperless title from California. Ugh.
Lienholder finally got my title from the California DMV and mailed my packet to the Oregon DMV via FedEx on ⁸⁄₂₄. I’m thinking, ‘wow, how cool of them to do that for me because of the 30 day delay.’ Oregon DMV received my packet on ⁸⁄₂₅ and cashed my check on 9/​4, which I saw in my online banking statement.
A week later, I called the Oregon DMV to check on the status of things, and was transferred to their Titling Dept. They claimed they only received my check and two of the many forms I sent to my lienholder. I lost it. The poor gal was kind enough to talk me down from the ledge, but says I have to go back to the DEQ testing station for (another) VIN form, which she says I should bring to a local DMV office, along with the other forms I had to re-​complete. I should also point out that during this call, the DMV gal stated that she didnt need all those forms anyway-​only some of them. This means the info on the Oregon DMV website isn’t completely accurate.
I contacted my lienholder to confirm the form issue, and they claim they only received two forms from me. Considering I made copies of all the documents and mailed it myself, this leads me to the conclusion that the lienholder lost several of the forms. It was a that point that I vowed to never use an auto finance company again.
On 9/​18, I went to the NE DMV office to straighten out the registration mess and get my driver’s license. The latter was a piece of cake. For the registration, the clerk calls down to the DMV HQ in Salem to confirm I paid all registration fees (including custom plate fees), he filled out a notice of transaction form for me, and said all is good – they don’t need anything else from me. He also provided me with a temporary tag for my car. It should also be noted that during my DMV visit, the guy who helped with my registration also disputed the accuracy of the info and forms on their website. After all was said and done at the DMV, I thought all was good to go at this point.
I called the DMV in late October to check on the status of my vehicle registration and plates. I was transferred to the custom plates division to check on the status of my request, and the gal there told me everything was fine and that I should soon be receiving a letter confirming that I secured the custom plates I requested.
On 10/​30, I received a letter from the Oregon DMV stating that my custom plates will be ordered on ¹⁰⁄₂₉ (yes, you’re reading these dates correctly), and that if the custom plate configuration shown is incorrect, to notify them by ¹⁰⁄₂₉. The letter also stated that I would receive my Oregon registration paperwork soon. Luckily, the custom plate configuration was correct because I don’t own a time travelling DeLorean. I was excited – I thought all was finally being processed and I could soon expect my Oregon plates and registration.
On 11/​6, I received a letter from the Oregon DMV stating «Missing Requirement Request,» that my fees were ‘miscalculated’ and I owe them an additional $ 17. However, it doesn’t state what the $ 17 is for and it says «Please accept our apologies.» I paid $ 332 and they instead need $ 349. WTF? Mailing my check to them today via UPS so I can track receipt.
So we’re now at almost four months to get my car registered in Oregon. Really want to get this process completed so I can a.) be done with the DMV for 2 years, and b.) refinance my car through a local credit union.
Way too much paperwork, too many steps and too many hands in the pot to register an out of state vehicle in Oregon. Also sounds like the DMV website needs to be updated.
We love everything about Oregon, except the vehicle registration process.