how do i regester my car out of state?

Being on active duty military, it is best to say you are STATIONED in California instead of LIVE in California, because you ARE NOT a resident of California. For military purposes, you are a legal resident & live in what ever state is listed as your HOME OF RECORD in your 201. Your Home of Record state is the state the military withholds any state & federal taxes for and the state you list on any state tax forms & your 1040 tax form, not California. And in most states that have active duty military bases, you can maintain the registration of your home of record, not the state you are stationed in if you choose to.

Military Exemption:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d03/vc6701.htm

The building you got your DOD decal for your windshield should be able to answer this question better. Or contact SC DMV to see what needs to be done to get a set of plates mailed to you.

If you purchased this vehicle from a dealership & SC allows you to transfer the plates from your old car to a new one, you should have just placed your SC plates on the new vehicle, had the dealer issue a temp registration & then call up SC DMV to let them know the registration had been transferred, give them the VIN, and any other info so that a permanent registration card could be mailed to you.

When I was stationed in AZ, I kept my WV registration & transferred it to another car I purchased while there until it just got to be too much to keep driving back to WV every year to get a state inspection done. My parents would just mail me the sticker and registration card for the car. So I did switch over to AZ registration just to keep from adding approx 4000 additional miles to my car each year I was there.

Be careful. Remember CA is strict on smog rules.

The Bottom Line

If you are a California resident and acquire a new car, truck or motorcycle from another state, it must be certified to meet California smog laws in order to be registered here.

Aren't All Vehicles California Certified?

Not all new vehicles are manufactured to be sold to California residents or businesses. Many manufacturers make vehicles to be sold in the other 49 states. These vehicles (49-State) are made with smog equipment that meets federal emission standards, but not California standards. 50-State or California certified vehicles are made to be sold to California residents.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ff...

Also note this, same page:

Does This Apply to Someone Moving to California?

If you are moving to California from another state, you may register a new federally certified vehicle in California if it was first registered by you in your home state, or for military personnel, in your last state of military service. When applying for vehicle registration in California, you must provide evidence of your vehicle's previous registration and that you were a resident of the other state when you acquired the vehicle.