Garden County Nebraska

GardenCoNe.com

Oshkosh, Lewellen, Lisco

Office Personnel

Susan C. Hattendorf - County Treasurer
Cheryle K. Moffat - Deputy Treasurer
Vicki Cochran - Part-Time Office Clerk

Services of this office

Titling of Motor Vehicles, Trailers, ATV's, and Boats
Registration of Motor Vehicles, Trailers, Snowmobiles, and Boats
Collection of Sales Tax on Motor Vehicles, Trailers, ATV's (if applicable), and Boats
Collection of Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes
Collection of Special Assessments
Collection of Miscellaneous Receipts
Issuing duplicate and replacement Driver Licenses, ID Cards, and Permits: Until further notice, we are unable to process new or renewal licenses, ID cards, and permits as we do not have an examiner coming to Garden County.
Issuing Grain Hauling Permits
Distribution of Revenue
Issuing Distress Warrants
Conducting Annual Public Tax Sale on the first Monday of March
Unclaimed Property Listing and Claim Forms
Notary Service

Drivers Licenses:

We have operator license manuals in English and Spanish. Also available are CDL and Motorcycle license manuals.

Nebraska residents moving within the state have sixty (60) days to obtain a replacement license with the new address.

Any new resident with a valid license from another state must obtain a Nebraska license n thirty (30) days.

Until further notice, this courthouse cannot issue new or renewal licenses, ID cards, or permits. The following exam stations are open for your assistance:

• Lincoln County (North Platte) Monday through Friday
  111 W 3rd St, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Central Time).

• Keith County (Ogallala) Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
  Courthouse, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

• Cheyenne County (Sidney) Wednesday and Friday
  Courthouse, 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

• Morrill County (Bridgeport), Monday
  Courthouse, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

• Scotts Bluff County (Gering), Monday through Friday
  Courthouse, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Box Butte County (Alliance), Thursday and Friday
  Courthouse, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

• Hooker County (Mullen) Tuesday
  Courthouse, 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Mountain Time).

Information for CDL operators with a hazmat endorsement.
Once the required written tests are passed for a new CDL, a form entitled "Transportation Security Administration Threat Assessment Process" will be printed by the examiner along with the Examiner Refusal. The applicant should follow the instructions on that form to begin the TSA security threat assessment process. Applicants must also take the Examiner Refusal with them to the TSA third party agent. The cost of this is $94.00.

Renewal applicants must start this process on May 31, 2005 if their licenses are about to expire. For later renewals, the process will begin when they receive their renewal notice.

For more information regarding this U.S. Patriot Act - TSA Security Threat Assessment, call our office at (308) 772-3633. Applicants should call the toll free number (1-877-429-7746) or access the website: http://www.hazprints.com for more information regarding fingerprinting, proof of identification, etc. You can also contact the DMV main examining office at (402) 471-3861.

Sample tests can be accessed through http://www.www.dmv.state.ne.us/examining.

Titles and Registration

Estimate of Costs: For those interested in getting an estimate of the cost of titling and registering a vehicle before purchasing one or coming in to register a newly purchased vehicle, please contact our office. For a more accurate estimate, we need a VIN number, but we can do a calculation without one.

An estimate can also be obtained from www.dmv.state.ne.us. Under Services, choose 'Vehicle Titles & Registration' and then 'Vehicle Tax Estimator'.

Registered Weight on Pickup Trucks: On January 18, 2008, Betty Johnson with Ne-braska DMV sent all county treasurers a reminder regarding licensing farm-plated pickup trucks. Many of those pickup trucks have a registered weight of 16T due to the fact that the cost is the same from six to sixteen tons. Below are highlights from her email.

Trucks that are registered in excess of 13T and crossing state lines are required to register with the State for the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) program. The IFTA auditors are reporting, once again, that they have run across several carriers who operate, in addition to their bigger trucks, farm-plated pickups registered at 16T when a registra-tion issued at a lower tonnage would satisfy their actual operating practice."

"IFTA defines a 'qualified vehicle' as a vehicle that travels out-of-state with a gross ve-hicle weight exceeding 13T. The carrier would then have to license this vehicle with IFTA or purchase fuel permits each time it is taken out-of-state. If the pickup goes out-of-state without either the IFTA credentials or fuel permits, it is subject to citation by law enforcement.

It would also be subject to audit, which would most likely result in fuel tax, interest, and penalties due. This is especially a problem for carriers that are close to a state border, since it is highly likely that their pickups would travel out-of-state."

Garden County Treasurer's Office asks that farmers and ranchers with 16T on their pick-ups consider lowering the tonnage to 13T. This can only be done at renewal time. If you have questions or need more information, please contact our office.

Refunds on registered vehicles: If you move to another state, you will need to register your vehicles in that state. Once you have done the title and registration, please send the pink registrations to our office with the date the vehicles were registered outside Nebraska. Refunds must be processed within sixty (60) days of date vehicle was registered.

When selling a vehicle privately, a refund can be requested within sixty (60) days of sell-ing the vehicle. Return the pink registration to our office with the date the title was signed over to the purchaser. The refund amount is based on registration time left, less the current month and last month of registration.

New Residents / Vehicles with Liens

For new Garden County residents who have an existing lien on their vehicles and need to license their vehicles here, we have a form needed to be filled out by the new resident and mailed to the lien company so that they can send the title to us. When we recieve it, the customer will need to bring in the vehicle for a VIN inspection. Afterwards, we will issue a Nebraska title with the lien on it, and return it to the lienholder. Since this takes some time, please contact our office for details as soon as possible after your move to our county.

New Vehicle Sales Tax

Residents of Nebraska have only thirty (30) days to pay sales tax without paying a penalty and interest, and also to register newly purchased vehicles, trailers, and boats. If you make a purchase outside of Nebraska and that state allows forty-five (45) days or ninety (90) days, Nebraska residents still must register the vehicle within thirty days to be legal.

Tax Statements

In December 2006, the Treasurer's Office mailed out the 2006 Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Statements. For people who have irrigation, statements for that were also enclosed. Special Assessment Tax Statements were sent to property owners having liens attached by the City of Oshkosh and Village of Lewellen for delinquent sewer & trash, weed mowing, and solid waste.

For some people, the statements are confusing. Even though the due date for 2006 taxes is December 31, 2006, the first half of the taxes does not become delinquent until May 1, 2007. The second half tax amount becomes delinquent on September 1, 2007. In order not to have interest charged, please make payment in person or through the mail by April 30, 2007 and August 31, 2007. The interest accrues at 14% per annum on delinquent payments.

On the right side of the statement is a column where the 'Prior Year's Tax' is usually listed. On last year's and this year's statements, many people find that column blank due to changing district numbers brought about by school consolidations. Last year some school districts merged to become Garden County Elementary School, District #10. This year Garden County Elementary School and others merged with the high school to become Garden County High District #1. If no other changes are made this year, in December 2007 when the 2007 tax statements are mailed, the prior year's taxes should once again be printed on the statements.

Frequently Asked Questions

Driver Licenses, Permits and State Identification Cards
Driver Records
Motorboats
Handicapped Parking Permit
Plates
Vehicle Registration
Vehicle Titles
Miscellaneous Questions
Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes
Public Tax Sales
Snowmobile Registration