A new year means it's time to renew OHV registration stickers for your trail machines

Hi all,

Well, it's that time of year again -- time to buy a new registration sticker for your trail machine for 2012. Off-highway vehicle owners are receiving reminder notices in the mail this month.

OHV registration stickers are required in the state of Idaho for ATVs, UTVs, motorbikes and specialty OHVs such as dune buggies. The stickers cost $12 per year.

The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation provides an online registration portal on its web site for straight renewals. If changes have occurred to the vehicle owner's name, or if the make and model have changed on your trail machine, then you'll need to renew your registration at an IDPR office, IDPR vendor, county DMV office or mail them in.

If you'd like to ride your trail machine on city or county roads as part of your trail ride, you'll also need to purchase a restricted vehicle license plate from a county DMV office, if you don't have one already. These license plates cost $3 and they're valid for 7 years. "It's a small price for peace of mind," says Rich Gummersall, OHV Education Coordinator for IDPR.

Basically, the OHV registration stickers are required for the use of OHVs on U.S. Forest Service, BLM and state land trails. The OHV restricted vehicle license plates are required for riding an OHV on city or county roads.

If you have any questions about the OHV vehicle registration and licensing process, please see this educational YouTube video, which details each step of the process, and explains where registration stickers and license plates should be placed on your trail machine.

If you register your OHV in another state, it's legal to ride in Idaho.

OHV registration stickers are a great investment for OHV riders because a large portion of the fees are funneled into the upkeep of motorized trail systems in Idaho and about $300,000 of the fees go toward new grant projects to create new trails, trailheads, rest rooms, bridges and more.

The IDPR Trail Rangers program, profiled in this blog last fall, typically clears about 1,500 miles of trails throughout the state on Forest Service and state lands. The Trail Rangers are funded by OHV registration sticker fees.

The sticker fees also help support the IDPR OHV Education Program. This program is even more valuable now that the Idaho Legislature passed a law last year requiring all unlicensed drivers to take an OHV education class before riding on national forest roads in Idaho. The classes are free. Have your kids taken the class yet?

Hope you have a great riding season in 2012! Be safe out there!