Michael What hardly anyone knows: Newcomers from other states must register a car they bring with them at the Department of Motor Vehicles in California within two weeks and exchange the license plate for one with the pretty red inscription "California."
It usually comes with seven letters and numbers which do not provide any indication of the city where the car was registered. This is different in Germany, and I always get annoyed when I have to drive around Munich in a rental car with an "HH-" license plate and no one lets me merge. In the USA, many people mount their license plates on plastic or chrome frames, which either indicate the car dealer ("Peter Pan BMW San Mateo") or place of work ("Yahoo!"). Some states do not require a front license plate, but in California, the authorities issue two plates, and Section 5200 of the Traffic Code states that one plate must be mounted on the front and the other on the rear of the car. Although many people drive around with only one plate, this just gives the police an opportunity to stop the car, snoop around, and potentially find other issues.
If someone moves to California, from, let's say, Idaho, they must exchange their Idaho license plate for a California one and pay the required registration fee. Because many people don't do this out of laziness or cunning, causing the state of California to lose millions of dollars in fees, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) is running a snitching website on the internet. There, the vigilant block warden can properly report the license plate and the location of the fee offender, and then presumably a mobile task force with sledgehammers will appear, to make a statement for financially-strapped California. It's all in good fun.
In addition to the California license plate, newcomers need to obtain a California driver's license after no more than 14 days if they are settling permanently in our sunny state. The vehicle registration office "DMV" (Department of Motor Vehicles) is operated by the respective state. For a small fee ($31), it will administer the written and practical driving tests, and issue a brand new driver's license and license plates after rather generously allotted processing times.
A newcomer in San Francisco might, of course, get the idea to apply for their driver's license at the city's only DMV location, located on Fell Street. Fatal beginner's mistake! As every local knows, the most demotivated state employees in all of California work there, and if you don't want to age prematurely, I strongly advise against entering this branch. Also, never call there! If you don't give up in the automated phone maze and finally manage to get one of the few clerks on the line after endless waiting times, you can expect them to either monotonously be reciting phrases like a robot, or hang up the phone unexpectedly.
This is confirmed by the almost consistently catastrophic reviews on Google Maps, where the ratings range from "pathetic" to "disgraceful." However, this doesn't seem to concern the authorities in Sacramento, even though people have been complaining about this shoddy operation for more than ten years. The acute financial problem has worsened the situation, and throughout California, the DMV now won't open its doors on three out of four Fridays each month, to cut costs. It used to be open even on Saturdays!
I'm speculating here that the DMV location in the city of San Francisco is the gathering place for their worst employees, who have been forcibly transferred there and whom they want to force to resign. Also, the recommendation page on Yelp highlights what locals have long known: If you value your time, you simply drive to suburban San Mateo, located 15 miles to the south, or 7 miles over to the East Bay side, to the otherwise not particularly exemplary city of Oakland, and suddenly the bureaucratic process works like a charm. Personally, I took my driving test in San Jose back then, and handle any new vehicle paperwork in Santa Clara (also a very well-organized DMV). The annual vehicle registration renewal is working perfectly online. I actually only pass by the DMV in San Francisco during the Bay-to-Breakers city run, whose route runs along a stretch of Fell Street, and otherwise avoid this location.