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Success! Street Legal in Nevada

117K views 151 replies 44 participants last post by  Dunerocket 
#1 ·
Street Legal in Nevada

The summary, for those not into reading the whole thing:

It took a lot of patience, but I have been successful in making my RZR street legal in Nevada, when driven (sic) according to NRS 490.105. :)



The “street legal” OHV sticker. The date is surrounded by stars; this denotes a “Large All-Terrain Vehicle” which has proof of insurance. Ordinary OHV stickers do not have the stars.


The whole process took me 6 days. I filled out the forms and mailed them with a $20 check on Friday. The sticker arrived in the mail the following Thursday.



The Process

As we all know, we’ve been trying to gain use of the privileges granted in Senate Bill 343 since it was signed into law in May of 2013. This placed NRS 490.105 into the books, which allows street legal use.

The stickler, over the last year, has been getting the Nevada OHV / Department of Transportation to actually complete the registration process.

Since I’ve become kind of obsessed with this, I’ve been keeping track of everything that has changed. During a recent Google search for “Nevada Large All Terrain Vehicle” one of the hits was for the registration forms. This perked up my ears, so I downloaded the pdf.



The new option(s) on the registration forms



Step 1
So, I started with the requirements in NRS 490.120. It says your SxS needs the following:
  • At least one headlamp
  • At least one tail lamp
  • At least one red reflector on the rear of the vehicle
  • A stop lamp on the rear of the vehicle
  • A muffler

Our RZR 570 is stock, so no problems there.



Step 2
You need to have insurance. This is referenced in NRS 490.0825 and specifically in NRS 485.185. Basically, it says you need insurance that is:

  • An insurance company licensed in this state.
  • $15,000 for bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident
  • $30,000 for bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident
  • $10,000 for destruction of property

Our insurance from State Farm waaaay exceeds this, so, another check mark.



Step 3
Is yours a new registration? Ours has been previously registered (and titled) as an OHV in the State of Nevada, so we didn’t need to get it re-inspected for the VIN number and all that nonsense. Whew.



Step 4
Pick the registration form. We had purchased our RZR in June 2012, so we used the form for

APPLICATION FOR OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLE REGISTRATION DECAL
FOR AN OHV PURCHASED PRIOR TO JULY 1, 2012


(If you purchased your RZR after July 2012, there is a different form. It’s essentially the same. APPLICATION FOR OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLE REGISTRATION DECAL
FOR AN OHV PURCHASED FROM A NEVADA DEALER AFTER 7/1/2012
. Note there are different forms for out of state dealers, private party sales, etc. - scroll to the bottom of the page)


Anyway, you should fill this form out, just check the box for “Large All Terrain Vehicle”.



Then, take this form down to a Notary Public – I went to my local bank, where they have a Notary and don’t charge for their services – and sign the bottom in the Notary’s presence.



Step 5
Next up is this form: LARGE ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE INSURANCE DECLARATION. Pull out your insurance card and transfer the insurance details, as well as your Driver’s License information, to this form and sign it (no Notary this time).



Step 6
I paid by check. That and both forms went into an envelope, and I mailed it to the Wright Way address. Six days later, voila – a new registration sticker!





What does this get us?

This makes your RZR street legal under NRS 490.105. Please note this is NOT carte blanche to ride (oops, drive) your RZR willy-nilly on any paved road you want.

Quite literally, you are given permission to drive on only two types of roadways:

  1. County “General roads”
  2. County “Minor roads”

That’s it. If you are inside an incorporated city, those are no longer county roads. If it’s a Nevada State Highway, that, too, isn’t a county road.

However, the vast majority of rural Nevada roads DO fall into something we can drive on. Generally, if it’s two-lane blacktop with a speed limit of 45 mph or less, it’s fair game. Don’t be silly and try to drive on I-80, or down the Vegas strip, or something.

This opens up a lot of territory – for example, we can ride the Black Rock desert, and drive our RZR right into downtown Gerlach and get dinner at Bruno’s.

Each county can pass laws restricting NRS 490. For example, here in Washoe County, you are limited to roads with a speed limit of 35 mph or less. As far as I know, that’s the only example in Nevada so far.



Summary
So there it is. Took some doing, but it’s available at last!


All the best, james
 
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#2 ·
BTW, I should point out that my previous registration expired in June 2014. So, this was a registration renewal that was 4 months early.

The NV OHV web site does list a way to renew your registration on-line, but has nothing about "Large All Terrain Vehicle", or, the insurance declaration. So it you want to do this as a renewal, it has to be through the mail.

So I lost out on 4 months, big deal. The results were worth it.


All the best, James
 
#3 ·
Thanks for ALL the work, links, etc. Somehow in the last 2 weeks of receiving my 2014 renewal sticker my son lost it in the shop getting ready for our last ride. I think I will just resubmit a new one for Large OHV then. I have all the insurance, so why not.
 
#6 ·
Two questions for you.

1. The registration form OHV001B asks for "Enter the control number from the OHV Report of Sale supplied by the dealer. The control number is located in the upper right corner of the OHV Report of Sale"... Did you bother with this, being a renewal registration? Not sure I can find mine, but mine is a renewal as well.

2. Why did you get it Notarized? I can't seem to find anything on the form that would indicate it is necessary to do so.
 
#9 ·
Mine was purchased pre-July 2012, so I had to use form OHV001A. This form has to be notarized.

Just speculating, maybe your form doesn't need a notary because of the Report of Sale Control Number? (see below)

Since mine was the first as far as I could tell (actually, this morning the gal at the OHV department said it was the third one) I dotted every i and crossed every t. In that vein, if I'd had your form to fill out, I would have filled out the control number. <shrugs> Makes sense that you wouldn't need the control number to renew, but who knows? Maybe they need it to re-classify it.

If you leave it blank, it would be nice if you could report your results, good or bad, back here for other folks trying the same thing.

All the best, James
 
#10 · (Edited)
Yes, the registration sheet has a line "May operate on a highway designated under NRS 403.170 if insured in accordance with NRS 485.185"


Not the best quality, sorry, when I get home tomorrow I'll scan it instead of a cell phone photo

I will continue to carry a copy of NRS 490 with us, I am sure it will take a while for the education to trickle down through the law enforcement community.


All the best, James
 
#15 ·
You guys that have done this and seen the forms... Do you think there is any way a non-resident could register and obtain it without being phusically located in the state? Would there be any other vin number verification method besides an in-person police inspection? Thanks.
 
#19 ·
You are correct regarding general and minor county roads. Can't drive on major county roads. Not much info on what or where these roads are. I guess one has to contact the county road department where you plan to ride to get an answer.

Streets of incorporated cities are not addressed so this law should not be thought of as 'street legal' like a motorcycle plate.

Sort of a half-assed, half-way law that leaves everyone guessing...but it's a start :)
 
#20 ·
Like any law looks like what is legal is subject to how you read it and interpret the law. I read no major highway and any paved road except for possibly 2 miles on paved road. Also cities of less than 100,000 ok unless they pass an ordinance to restrict. Again all in how you read into what is there which would leave plenty of room to get a ticket but still a huge step in the right direction. Hopefully in the future it will be clarified. Looks like pretty much written to increase gov't revenue lol.No surprise there.
 
#23 ·
Like any law looks like what is legal is subject to how you read it and interpret the law. I read no major highway and any paved road except for possibly 2 miles on paved road. Also cities of less than 100,000 ok unless they pass an ordinance to restrict. Again all in how you read into what is there which would leave plenty of room to get a ticket but still a huge step in the right direction. Hopefully in the future it will be clarified. Looks like pretty much written to increase gov't revenue lol.No surprise there.
It's worth pointing out that there is no extra charge for the street legal endorsement. The only charge is for registration, the amount is the same as someone would pay for a non-street legal registration.


All the best, James
 
#21 ·
I could certainly be wrong regarding riding in a city with a population of less than 100,000. I interpret this as any 'county road' within the city but I'm not a lawyer.
As far as paved roads are concerned see NRS 490.110 2. (d) exception for large ATV's. I read this allows unrestricted mileage on paved highways.

Ain't it fun!!!
 
#31 ·
With what we have now for so called street legal UTV. Do you think we would be legal in AZ on the same level?

Here is what I found one the OHV website.




Out-of-State Residents

NON-RESIDENT VEHICLE REGISTRATION and OHV DECAL: Whether an off-highway vehicle (OHV) operator is legal to operate an OHV in Arizona depends on their home state. If the machine follows the OHV registration/insurance and sticker requirements of the operator’s home state, it may be operated in Arizona for 30 consecutive days. The operator does not need an Arizona title plate, Arizona registration plate or OHV decal to ride on unmaintained, existing, open, authorized routes on public lands in Arizona. You must abide by Arizona laws, rules, and regulations of course. For example, if you ride on State Trust Land you will need a permit from the Arizona State Land Department. External Link

NON-RESIDENT CROSSING MAINTAINED ROADS: If you ride/drive on a “graded dirt road” (such as a maintained county road) and you and your vehicle are not properly registered for street and highway use, you will be subject to a citation. Arizona residents are also subject to citation with an Arizona MVD Title Plate (RV – Recreation Vehicle plate). This is because a title plate is only an indication that the vehicle has been titled in Arizona, NOT a registration plate (MC). There are exceptions for incidental travel on roads requiring registration. In general, incidental use would be crossing a street or conducting very limited travel on it for the purpose of access to OHV area/trails.
 
#34 ·
Our street legal is kind of a joke, and i don't see Utah or AZ looking at it as the same as their registration. I still submitted mine though.
 
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