[dmorse]

A quick update on my registration process in case it may help someone else. I filed the paperwork to both departments at the same time and received a phone call from Mark at Technical Services a week later. He told me he needed a picture of the padded dash and visors and also told me the number off the backup light I had on the car wasn't acceptable as it had a P in the code (meaning it is a parking light) instead of an R (meaning it is a reverse light). He also asked about the license plate light. I told him the license plate light was under the chrome piece on the trunk and he said O.K. I also explained that I took the visors off to pass inspection since they weren't padded. He said they needed a picture of the padded visors and padded dash (although they only request pictures of the sides and front and back of the car) and also explained they don't look for anything at the inspection other than to check for stolen parts. I also explained the light was wired to the tranny and does work when the car is in reverse. Didn't matter. No problem. I padded the visors and took a picture of the dash and visors and emailed to him. I also changed the backup light to one with an R code and sent him a picture of it along with the part number with the magic R. I called a couple hours later and he said he received the emailed pictures and that I was all set and would be hearing from someone for the inspection. He also told me that I could fax the inspection approval back to them to speed up the registration process.

I have talked to Tom and Mark at DMV several times and they were both nice guys and very helpful. As Jim Kellogg noted, the anticipation of dealing with DMV was much worse than actually dealing with them.