I appreciate all the advice - really! - but I will point out that my last DMV thread was filled with dire warnings about many things - mileage, VIN plates, etc. - that ended up being irrelevant to the simple process of walking into DMV and starting the registration process.
I now have the started reg (which needs to be corrected to match the CHP's better opinion about how to identify the vehicle), the brake and lamp certs, the CHP VIN cert, and should have only to walk into DMV on 1/4/10 and ask pretty-please and right-quick for an SPCNS.
I was going to ask the Folsom crowd, and those who went to the Folsom DMV recently for their SB-100 (and reported it knows what it's doing in this respect), if there's a particular name to ask for in case of ignorance, and for the *VERY SPECIFIC* steps a DMV clerk has to do to get that number ASAP - that is, who do they call, what's the number and what exactly do they ask for?
In my experience, the Carmichael office was very efficient and easy to deal with, while Folsom was more typical. The inspector they sent out to check cars was about 5'1" tall, about that wide, unable to reach the VIN plate of the pickup next to me or bend and read my under-dash plate, and filled out the inspection with such complete nonsense that the DMV manager said they would have to re-do it. (I said I was still headed to CHP and she looked relieved and said that form would be fine for them.) So I'm hoping the several good reports about the Folsom DMV hold up on Day 1 of next year.
I might have made an appointment for the Carmichael office, but they don't show any availability that day... possibly a glitch.