Yes, if your son moves to Oregon to work and live he will be considered a resident and thus will need to register, title and insure his car in Oregon as well as obtain a driver's' license there.
Residency is establish in various ways but a few are listed in Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS 803.200) where it states that a person is a resident of this state for purposes of titling and registering vehicles if the person engages in any gainful employment in this state. A second way in which to be considered a resident is by remaining in this state for a consecutive period of six months or more regardless of the domicile of the person.
Within 60 days of moving to Oregon you must title and register your vehicle, including obtaining Oregon license plates according to the Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division (DMV).
Once you have become a resident of Oregon, you are required by Oregon law to obtain Oregon vehicle title and registration and to obtain an Oregon Driver License or Instruction Permit. Failure to register a vehicle once residency has been established is a Class D traffic violation. Failure to obtain an Oregon Driver License or Instruction Permit once residency has been established is a Class B traffic violation.
From what we have read an Oregon Class D violation can come with a fine of up to $75 and a Class B violation with a fine of up to $300. However there could be court costs, etc added to these fine amounts to make them much higher if he was stopped in Oregon and cited for not changing over his registration and license from his previous state once becoming a resident in the eyes of OR law.
Oregon has a mandatory insurance law (ORS 806.010) which requires that every driver insure their vehicle. The basic minimum liability insurance a motorist must have is:
- Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability of 25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident for injury to others and $10,000 per crash for damage to the property of others.
- Personal Injury Protection (PIP) of $15,000 per person.
- Uninsured Motorist Coverage of $25,000 per person / $50,000 per occurrence for bodily injury.
You must certify that you have this insurance each time you register a motor vehicle in Oregon and you must also certify that you will comply with Oregon's motor vehicle insurance requirements as long as a vehicle is registered in your name. So your son will need to abide by Oregon's insurance laws when he registers his car there. He can start shopping for OR auto insurance here with us.