So… You’re thinking of living in a van full-time, but are beginning to question, “is van life legal?”. Trust me, you’re not the only one. This is something that made me think twice as my wife and I are preparing for our journey of living on the road full-time. Well, you can rest easy because it turns out that all those young couples you see on Instagram parked atop mountains and deep in forests are indeed law-abiding citizens.
That being said, there are things you need to look out for to ensure you dodge tickets and avoid patriotic flashing lights waking you at 3 am. Don’t worry though. There’s no need to stress over getting a law degree or fishing through hundreds of pages of public regulations. I’ve done that for you and will cover everything you need to consider when living in a van.
Stealth / Urban Camping
This is often the most important thing to consider when thinking of whether van life is legal. Most cities around the United States do have laws stating that it is not legal to sleep in a vehicle on city streets. Of course, the best way to avoid getting wrung up for this is to avoid parking in cities.
For some, this is mostly unavoidable depending on their current work or life situations. My word of advice for these folks is to keep your van as clean as possible. It is also important to have a stealthy build if you plan on urban camping. Things like solar panels, off-road tires, roof ladders, and nature or social media decals/wraps SCREAM “I live in my van”. These are all fine if you plan to park in the wilderness or at campsites, but city law enforcement and building owners don’t take too kindly to these kinds of things.
Certain businesses around the country have been known to be more open to travelers parking overnight in their lots. Companies like Walmart, Sams Club, and even Cabellas respond pretty well to nomads and truckers sleeping in their lots. We will dive deeper into this in a later post. For now, Fallon and Justin over at BeMyVan have a great post on where to park your van for free!
Don’t I need a home or permanent address?
For many things, including banking, auto/health/life insurance, driver’s licenses, passports, and others, it is required to have a legal permanent address. Unless you plan on docking your rig on a piece of land forever (which could come with its own legal issues), you probably won’t have a permanent address. The goal of this lifestyle, of course, is to be nomadic.
One great option here is to set your permanent address to that of a family member. You should obtain consent from a family member or friend before doing this and ensure that they are ok with receiving your mail. Going this route will allow you to avoid many obstacles that come with residence laws.
Establish a Domicile State
Another fantastic option is to establish a domicile in either your home state or another state. John Serbell over at GnomadHome has an awesome write-up that dives into exactly what this looks like. He even goes over the 3 most popular states for nomads to domicile and why!
Use a PO Box or UPS Rental Box
Before I get into this, recognize that it should only be a last resort. Your mileage going this route will vary pretty heavily. Different banks, DMVs, and other businesses may or may not accept these as permanent residences. Some will require a residential address. Also, different Post Offices and UPS stores have different hours and different procedures which may affect how this works for you.
If you decide on opening a box as your address, instead of listing it as PO box #341… List your address as the physical address of the post office or UPS. Something more like this: 1345 w. East st. Unit #341 Town, State. This will fool certain businesses into believing it is a residential address. Like I said before, be cautious and do your research about this particular tactic.
Do I need to register my rig as an RV?
This is another area that can vary heavily from state to state or country to country. Depending on your specific vehicle, and where you plan to park it, the type of title you have can be important. For example, it is illegal for RV-titled vehicles to park in most cities. A passenger van, however, is allowed to park in cities but may run into issues when parking overnight. In some places, an RV title will allow you to legally drink in the back of your vehicle. With a passenger vehicle license, this is usually illegal.
Oftentimes, your registration and insurance costs will be lower when your vehicle is registered as an RV. Something you need to consider here is that RVs are intended to be used for recreation, not driving 7 days a week. If you plan to use your vehicle to drive to and from work, an RV title might be out of the question. Again, do your research on your specific state, country, and vehicle to ensure you make the best decision regarding registration!
Am I going to get in tax trouble?
One topic that comes up all the time when discussing whether van life is legal is taxes. Many people look at van lifers as avoiding paying taxes because they aren’t living in one place. This is entirely incorrect.
In most cases, those living on the road are indeed avoiding paying property tax, but there is no law stating that every citizen must pay property tax. If you own land or a home, property tax must be paid. In most cases, if you rent a home or apartment, the property tax is passed through to you. If you are living on the road, you need not pay property taxes.
This does not mean that you are avoiding paying taxes though. If you make any money at all, you are required to pay taxes on that money (to whichever state your permanent address is in). Even those who are self-employed or run online businesses are required to pay both the employee and employer side of income taxes and social security. Everyone living on the road is also subject to sales tax wherever they are. Keep these in mind the next time someone accuses you of tax avoidance
Conclusion
That’s pretty much it! These are all the most important things to consider regarding the legality of van life. It is most important to take into account where you plan to sleep, how you are going to keep a permanent address, how you plan to register your rig, and what your tax situation will look like. If you’ve got a plan for all of these, you shouldn’t run into any legal issues while living in your vehicle!
Next time someone asks you, “Is van life legal?”, refer them to this post! If there’s anything I missed, or you still have questions, leave them in the comments below! Don’t forget to subscribe to our mailing list for more awesome content! For now, take a look at our post on how to afford van life!
As always, look out for a new post next Sunday, and feel free to check out our socials in the meantime!
Have a wonderful week 🙂
