Boston LTC Proof of Residence

[patsfan]

If you are like me then you get most or all of your bills as ebills now. I assumed BPD wouldn't accept my print out of ebills. So I went to City Hall Plaza to get a certificate of residency. I've got some tips for anyone who needs to do this:

(1) You head to the Elections Department which is two floors below where you enter. You'll go to the left after security and go down two escalators. Take a left when you reach the bottom and follow the right hand wall all the way to the end (Don't go down another flight of stairs.) It's room 241 I believe.

(2) The cost is $4, but the only method of payment they accept is Money Order. I was standing there cash in hand and was sent to get a money order. (Although the woman at the desk was actually very nice and very helpful.) While I was gone she had prepared the certificate.

(3) There is a Bank of America, Sovereign, and Citizens within a two minute walk of there (probably many other banks too, but I can only think of those three). If your bank will give you a money order for free then go there. Otherwise there is a CVS across the street from Government Center (In front of the complex with the John Adams Courthouse and Suffolk Superior Court.) They'll sell you the $4 money order for $1.

If I had known all this up front it would have been a five minute procedure, but it ended up taking me 20+ minutes because I first went to Bank of America for the money order and they wanted to charge me $5 for a $4 money order (aka costing me $9 instead of $5)! The teller told me to go to CVS.

 

[Amazon]

Thanks for the info but...um...cash is no good? What's written right on it?

 

[Riverside]

Are you a new applicant? Or a renewal? I suspect BPD would accept an e printout of your utility bill as long as it is a "legitimate" bill with your name on it and a current date. Ask the lovely clerical worker at BPD headquarters when you submit your paper work.
Other posters have called their utility company and asked for a one time hard copy.
Best regards.

 

[smokey-seven]

Hmmm... How does City Hall know where you live and can prove it? Sure, you may be registered to vote, but if you rent, how the hell do they know where you live other than a census or election registration? A census does not prove residency any more than being a registered voter proves you are a citizen!

As far as cash being no good, that's quite common for municipalities. Many take personal checks, money orders or bank checks and that is due to the cash handling requirements of each town or city. It's not uncommon for city employees that handle cash to be required to be bonded and insured. That's a paperwork hassle in itself and needs to be frequently done at a cost. Then there is the additional responsibility of cash movement and deposits. Primarily it is just easier to take paper and no cash and once a day walk the paper to the treasurers office with little fear of theft or robbery.

 

[ChikkenNoodul]

I think merely applying in Boston as opposed to somewhere more sane would be proof enough.

 

[Mr Weebles]

Thanks for the info but...um...cash is no good? What's written right on it?

The City of Boston probably doesn't trust their employees.

 

[OCB]

Hmmm... How does City Hall know where you live and can prove it? Sure, you may be registered to vote, but if you rent, how the hell do they know where you live other than a census or election registration? A census does not prove residency any more than being a registered voter proves you are a citizen!

That was what confused me. I went to BPD with a few different documents, but they didn't take cell phone bills (and I didn't have a land line) or vehicle registration documents (all the other utilities were under the roommate's name). I went over to City Hall like the OP described, and the documents I had with me (the same ones that weren't good enough for BPD) allowed me to get a proof of residency that the BPD would accept. It boggles the mind...

 

[eric_07]

I had to do the same thing. Yet another pain in the ass step required to get a LTC in Boston.

Oops I mean a RESTRICTED LTC.

 

[smokey-seven]

I went over to City Hall like the OP described, and the documents I had with me (the same ones that weren't good enough for BPD) allowed me to get a proof of residency that the BPD would accept. It boggles the mind...

You know, this would be funny if it wasn't true!