Where Are You From Man?

Ok, This may have been asked here before, but I inquired to a recruiter this scenario: I have an Oregon issued Drivers License, an Ohio mailing address (the Oregon DMV mailed me a sticker (Ohio Mailing address) to overlay the original issue address) and I have been living in PA with my GF for the last 6 months.

I have not "officially" changed my address, so what training facility will I go to and what state issue DL will I get? Her answer was, "When will you be changing your DL to OH?" What if I want to relocate back to Oregon after I get a CDL and am hired? Then I'll have to go through that process all over again?

I want to make this process as seamless as possible. I Own a Motorcycle, and have that current endorsement. so if I switch DL from OR to OH, I'll have to re-take the written exams for passenger and motorcycle, AND the test for CDL. That's a lot of testing and I'm virtually out of time and money for exams. Any Advice please?

And just another fyi, the recruiter I spoke to was somewhat curt. She didn't seem to want to "be" there or anywhere for that matter.

Often, the amount of time recruiters take with a prospect is determined by how easy they think it will be to get you hired on to their company. Too many issues = they don't want to spend a lot of time with you. Kinda like a finance guy at a dealership wanting to spend a lot of time trying to get someone with a 450 credit score a loan on a 427 Corvette.

I'm not saying you have too many issues, but maybe for her the license/residency/mailing address thing is a lot for her to wrap her brain around.

I have not "officially" changed my address,

To PA that is... So, Essentially, I still "live" in OH.

In my opinion, your best bet is to get your ID and everything to show your current address because it's going to be less time wasted down the road when you could be studying for your CDL

When you get your license in OH transfer everything there..Motorcycle, regular license. If you have a mailing address there that should be all you need. Then if you decide to move to where ever you can transfer your class A and everything else there.

You do have a lot for most people to deal with, but if you don't want to have to re-test my advise is to transfer everything to where you are training. You will have to transfer again when you get settled into where you are going to be, but at least you wouldn't have to re-test.

Does a company have a preference as to where your license is issued? As far as I know, your driver's license establishes your residency in a state which means that is where you pay your state income tax and vote. So why would a company want your residency to be in a particular state? Since I presently live in Germany, I will have to choose which state I will "reside" in when I relocate. In the military, they always called that your "home of record." I am seriously thinking of becoming a TX resident and obtaining a DL there since they do not have a state income tax. If I work for a company out of PA for instance, can they require me to become a PA resident?

Steven, the only way they can make you become a resident of Pa is if you decide to move to Pa. as a permanent resident for six months or more. just b because you work in a state other then your home state dosent mean you have to become a resident of that state. as is in my case I'm a resident of west virginia and have worked in Maryland for the past 25 years.

Steven, Doc is right. I live in Texas (a no income tax state) and work for a trucking company in Tennessee, a thousand miles away from my home. It makes no difference where your residency is. Now each company has what is called it's hiring area, and if you are interested in a certain company you may want to check out their hiring area on their web-site to make sure they hire out of the state where you want your residency to be. They create those hiring areas based on where they are running freight in and out of, that way they can manage to route you home when you are ready to take a break.

Thanks, Doc and Old School. That makes a lot more sense. And that is some really good information to know about the hiring area. I imagine the dispatcher is happier with drivers that are easy to route home than drivers that take creative thinking to get them home. And the advice I read in another thread that said if your house is really close to a main route both east and west, you could possibly plan your rest stop at your house and be home for that short time as well. A lot of variables to consider but I understand the residency thing now. Thank you!

Thanks Doc and Old School,

The home time scheduling makes sense. I worked for a company for more than 20 years that was headquartered in Baltimore, MD. I lived in Cleveland, Columbus, then Portland OR as a result of transfers and branch closings.

My biggest concern now is my licensing situation. Now I know what I have to do in order to move forward with the CDL. And like I mentioned at the beginning, I am running out of time and money for all this testing. So I have to hunker down and study then pass these tests.

Fingers crossed.