WV Code Chapter §17A-3-1a. Registration of vehicles of new residents.
(a) Every owner of a motor vehicle, trailer, or other vehicle, shall, within 30 days after taking up residence in the state, apply to the division and obtain registration and title for the vehicle.
(b) For the purposes of this chapter there is a rebuttable presumption that a natural person is a resident of this state if ANY of the following elements exist including, but not limited to:
(1) The person is registered to vote in this state.
(2) The person enrolls the persons child to be educated in a public elementary or secondary school in this state.
(3) The person is receiving public assistance from this state.
(4) The person resides or has continuously remained in this state for a period exceeding thirty days except for infrequent or brief absences.
(5) The person has accepted employment or engages in any trade, profession, or occupation within this state, except that this does not include a person who is commuting from the person’s residence in another state or whose employment is seasonal or temporary, not exceeding ninety days.
(6) The person has filed for a homestead tax exemption on property in this state.
Any person violating the provisions of WV Code Chapter §17A-3-1 is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $500; and upon a second or subsequent conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $500, or confined in the county or regional jail not more than six months, or both.
For any questions regarding unregistered vehicles, please call the Berkeley County Assessor's Office at (304) 264-1904.