I am 36, is it too late?

@Poor guy any updates?

@Chinatown never saw this until now. I actually signed up for a similar service that RVers, Merchant Marines, Expatriates etc use called St. Brendan's Isle. After they gave me my new address I was talking to them about my situation they told me for a CDL in the state of FL a residential address is required so they refunded my money. I called Escapee's next and they said their FL address should be fine for the CDL but you actually end up with a Texas address as well for mail, only items from the state of FL are allowed to be sent to your FL address and they nickel and dime you for anything else that gets sent to the FL one. But I'm glad to see you recommending it here so I guess I shouldn't have to worry about any address issues with it when I get issued my CDL.

Kind of a bummer really since the SBI people were pretty helpful, answer as soon as you call, and were about half the price of Escapee's. Both times I called Escapee's I was in a call queue on a 10-15 minute wait plus having to have a separate Texas mailing address on top of the FL address. Then you also have to pay a $50 membership fee to be in their RV club annually as well on top of the mail fees. Plus you have to do the whole signup via snail mail and wait for all of the paperwork to get processed to get your addresses vs just doing everything except the notarized USPS form online. It is what it is I guess. Still a lot cheaper than paying rent.

 

Thanks for the information on St. Brenden's Isle.
I think South Dakota is the only state that doesn't require a residence address, but will accept a mail service address in the state. I think @spindrift used South Dakota for awhile. If not, he can correct me.

 

This is on the SBI website: Guess this doesn't apply to CDL though from what was told to you.
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SBI can also help you establish Florida residency, register to vote and obtain your Florida driver’s license. All the necessary forms, instructions and consultation with our in house experts are included free as part of this service. Learn more

 

That is correct about the CDL, at least according to SBI. I'll do an update later this month once I'm set up with Escapee's and get issued my CDL whether or not it ends up working. My current UPS mailbox ends on the 16th of this month and they've changed their policies to requiring a 90 day minimum renewal now and with my lease situation and everything I just don't have time to fart around with all of this so I'm just going to use Escapee's and hope for the best based on your recommendation.

Sometime next year before my Escapee's membership/mailbox renews I will probably set up an SBI mailbox again and see if the state lets me change my address to the SBI mailbox because based on my interactions with both companies I would hands down pick SBI. I would just do the South Dakota address since there's clearly no issue there but I have a specific, personal reason I need to keep my residency in FL for the next few years.

 

Don't you have a friend or family member that will let you use their address? Much less hassle.

 

Yeah, that would be much less hassle. Of course, if I had friends or family members I probably wouldn't be starting a career where I'm never around lol.

 

Fair enough.

 

I 2nd this post. I started at Stevens back in 2010. Their training program was great and I did a year with them before leaving for a smaller company. It's a good starting point. Not sure about their cdl school though as I did a 3rd party and came in with my license.