Has Anybody Here Ever Registered Their UTV In Montana Or Other Places To Be Street Legal?

[Jim1348]

My wife and I have a 2023 Jayco Redhawk, I have a Can Am Maverick UTV and I have a 14 foot Aluma 8114SR trailer. I have been thinking about a sub-compact car. I ran across this and it makes me wonder if registering in Montana would be a good idea. I will likely get a Mitsubishi Mirage or a similar sub-compact to tow. However, the idea of getting my Can Am UTV registered in Montana might solve some problems.

Has anybody here ever register their UTV to be street legal? If so, how well has that worked out?

How to Make a UTV Street Legal in Montana

Montana is one of few states where a UTV can be made street legal through an official state process. UTVs can be registered as street legal in Montana can also be driven in other states!

www.dirtlegal.com

 

[craigav]

I would check all of the laws for the States you plan to visit as for an example, UTV/ATV's etc are not street legal in Texas even though other States may be different in this regard. There are a couple of exceptions (that works for me) which are that Public (Local, county, state) are exempted and can use them as needed as well as Ranchers which I fall under, but to be legal if I go on the road, I have to have a ranching related reason to do so if stopped and asked, such as checking the property lines (fences). ~CA

 

[craigav]

I read through the link you shared and it is interesting for sure and while it seems to be a legal way for driving a UTV in states other than MT due to the repeated statements on the website regarding "Registration Reciprocity" and while I am not even close to being a lawyer, I know that when someone gets a ticket in TX for driving a UTV/ATV or similar on a public road, the ticket isn't regarding the registration, it is issued directly to the operator (driver) for operating a non-street legal vehicle on a public road. Texas law specifically states that UTV's (and similar vehicles) are not street legal so I suppose one could take the ticket to court and argue that the UTV is actually street legal in Texas because it was registered in Montana and argue that reciprocity takes precedence over Texas law that specifically states UTV's are not street legal in Texas. I wouldn't count on that defense holding up in court though, not to mention the hassle of it all.

Anyway, just fyi and for sure I would check the laws of each state I intended to drive the UTV in, not just the registration laws but also each State's driving and transportation laws as I doubt even in Texas that the ticket would be for not having a valid registration. ~CA

 

[stinger608]

I'm not sure in Montana, however, Wyoming has many many UTV's that are legal and driving on the streets.

However, in order to be legal in Wyoming, one must have headlights, tail lights, brake lights, horn, and windshield to receive a license plate. A person also has to have an actual Wyoming title to said UTV.

With a Wyoming issued license plate, the person does not have to get the ORV (off road vehicle) sticker to run on the public lands such as National Forest or BLM. But, you have to stay on the designated roads and not drive across the fields in public lands. That law is the same if you just have the ORV sticker or plates.

 

[Old and soft]

Texas has something going on with its politicians /dmv. They stopped registering fiberglass and tube frame buggies a while back

TheSamba.com :: Kit Car/Fiberglass Buggy/356 Replica - View topic - No more NEW Registrations in Texas?

Classified ads, photos, shows, links, forums, and technical information for the Volkswagen automobile

www.thesamba.com

 

[Kevin Cooper]

They are only legal on streets/highways in Missouri with 3 very specific conditions. Two you will not qualify (your not government, and not a farmer within 3 miles). and the third is you have to get special permit from city or county.

 

[Grumpy]

Has anybody here ever register their UTV to be street legal? If so, how well has that worked out?

Just because it's registered and "Street legal" doesn't always mean you can drive on any street. In FL you can have a "Street legal" Golf Cart or Low speed electric vehicle, but you can only drive on streets that are posted at 35 MPH or less. I think the same would apply to an UTV.

 

[Don Featherstone]

My wife and I have a 2023 Jayco Redhawk, I have a Can Am Maverick UTV and I have a 14 foot Aluma 8114SR trailer. I have been thinking about a sub-compact car. I ran across this and it makes me wonder if registering in Montana would be a good idea. I will likely get a Mitsubishi Mirage or a similar sub-compact to tow. However, the idea of getting my Can Am UTV registered in Montana might solve some problems.

Has anybody here ever register their UTV to be street legal? If so, how well has that worked out?

How to Make a UTV Street Legal in Montana

Montana is one of few states where a UTV can be made street legal through an official state process. UTVs can be registered as street legal in Montana can also be driven in other states!

www.dirtlegal.com

Its very easy to do
Mine is registered in Flathead county
In Many ntana you get a permanent plate so jus register once

 

[stinger608]

Nice @Don Featherstone!!!! I spent many years in Kalispell, Whitefish, and Sommers.

Bigfork is a nice area.

 

[JimDebMT]

Its very easy to do
Mine is registered in Flathead county
In Many ntana you get a permanent plate so jus register once

ATVs and UTVs are used all over Montana on public roads. As Don F said, easy to register and the plate is permanent like trailer plates.

 

[mtbowhunter]

My wife and I have a 2023 Jayco Redhawk, I have a Can Am Maverick UTV and I have a 14 foot Aluma 8114SR trailer. I have been thinking about a sub-compact car. I ran across this and it makes me wonder if registering in Montana would be a good idea. I will likely get a Mitsubishi Mirage or a similar sub-compact to tow. However, the idea of getting my Can Am UTV registered in Montana might solve some problems.

Has anybody here ever register their UTV to be street legal? If so, how well has that worked out?

How to Make a UTV Street Legal in Montana

Montana is one of few states where a UTV can be made street legal through an official state process. UTVs can be registered as street legal in Montana can also be driven in other states!

www.dirtlegal.com

In order to register a vehicle or a UTV in Montana, you need a physical address here in MT. It is also not legal to use the physical address of another person as your own in order to register a vehicle here. I am not saying it doesn’t happen, but it isn’t legal.

 

[Jbinramona]

I double dog dare to drive a utv past a cop on the street in Commiefonia! The lights will be on faster than Hunter can snort an ounce of coke!!! Lol

 

[stinger608]

I double dog dare to drive a utv past a cop on the street in Commiefonia! The lights will be on faster than Hunter can snort an ounce of coke!!! Lol

Dang, from Livingston?

I am from Harlowton originally.

Not far away. LOL.

Still go up to Harlow every couple of years to see friends and family.

 

[Jim1348]

Its very easy to do
Mine is registered in Flathead county
In Many ntana you get a permanent plate so jus register once

Great to know and thank you for the reply. I may end up doing two things:

1) Registering the ATV/UTV in Montana.

2) Buying a sub-compact car.

That way when we travel we can take whichever we think will be more useful.

 

[Jim1348]

In order to register a vehicle or a UTV in Montana, you need a physical address here in MT. It is also not legal to use the physical address of another person as your own in order to register a vehicle here. I am not saying it doesn’t happen, but it isn’t legal.

Are you saying that forming an LLC in Montana is not a proper way to register a vehicle for an out-of-state resident?

 

[mtbowhunter]

Are you saying that forming an LLC in Montana is not a proper way to register a vehicle for an out-of-state resident?

I was speaking to an individual who wants to register a vehicle here. As for creating an LLC solely to register a UTV in Montana, it can be done, but there are initial and annual expenses involved that seem to make it impractical just to be able to occasionally drive a UTV on the streets in your home state. There is also a growing movement by other states to pursue owners of vehicles who create an LLC here just to register vehicles where the LLC has no legitimate business purpose and the owner lives out of state. Here is an article discussing the issue:

The Montana License Plate Loophole, Explained - Hagerty Media

The Montana license plate loophole has allowed some car owners to lessen their tax burden. Now, states are cracking down.

www.hagerty.com

 

[craigav]

Back to my earlier comment but more succinct here, I highly suspect that any state where it is illegal to drive a UTV on the public roads, will not care about what state the UTV is registered in. ~CA

 

[Grumpy]

Back to my earlier comment but more succinct here, I highly suspect that any state where it is illegal to drive a UTV on the public roads, will not care about what state the UTV is registered in. ~CA

Exactly! Yes, there is reciprocity between all 50 states, but that only applies to vehicles that can be legally driven in all 50 states. Just like the KEI truck, they are only legal in 19 states.

 

[Edutron]

Yes, every State we 4 wheel in. Cost is usually $30 annual each State typically. Apply online, they send the sticker (out of State resident) to you. Grand Canyon in AZ never asked for it but we had it for example.
Ours is street legal, but most States will not allow operation on U.S. highways and never on interstates.