Boy do I hate going to DMV

well Mass has its bad points but when I went to the rmv to register a car that was over 15 years old all I needed was a hand written bill of sale from the owner, pay the tax, and the registration fee

Just as easy here in N.H. All I needed to do was to get the VIN verified at an inspection station (a cop could do it too) and present the (handwritten) bill of sale. N.H. does not issue nor require titles for vehicles over 25 years old.

Since my town hall didn't issue antique plates, had to go to the DMV for that.

Registering as an antique is a no-brainer here. Registration is cheap, you only need to get it inspected every other year and no restrictions on how/where you can drive. :D