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We have been getting many questions lately from the fine inhabitants of California, wondering about our services. And frankly, we don’t blame them at all. California is notorious for its difficult registration requirements, particularly concerning smog and emissions compliance requirements.
This isn’t just a car and truck thing; restrictions about off-highway vehicles (OHVs) are off the rails. You may want to register your vehicle(s) out of state if you’re a California resident, but how does that work, and how does Dirt Legal make it happen? Let’s look at the situation and help you decide what is right for you.
Dirt Legal Services for Cars, Trucks, and More
There are conflicting reports on the exact numbers, but there are between ~13-14 million registered automobiles in California and about the same number of trucks. So the total number of registered vehicles is around 30 million, but that is just a wag.
Wouldn’t it be awesome to roll around the Cascades legally in this?
The point is that California, with some ~40 million residents, is full of vehicles. And they sure make it a point to make it no easier than possible for you to get them legally on the road. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) rules the roost in determining rules for vehicles to follow regarding smog & emissions. These rules determine the frequency of smog checks and everything else about smog checks. Do they work? Who knows. But if you don’t have a valid smog check and your vehicle requires one, you ain’t driving it legally.
If you are tired of jumping through hoops for these bureaucrats (and who isn’t), then let’s talk. Dirt Legal is your one-stop shop for a bunch of services that can get your car out of the garage and onto the road.
Along the same lines, if you're having trouble titling or registering your vehicle in Cali for any reason, there may be other options at your disposal that could get you on the road.
We have a couple of particularly popular services:
Vehicle titling services, which come with registration & tags
Our Montana LLC program is highly popular for a couple of reasons. For one, there is no sales tax. This should appeal to our friends in LA and the Bay Area. Also, if you get pulled over, you should be fine explaining that even though you are a resident of California, the vehicle is owned by the LLC in another state, not by you.
If you need a paper title or your digital paperwork has lapsed, then switching to a Vermont title might be a good idea and work out well for you. Don’t worry; Vermont has no problem issuing titles and corresponding registration to residents from any state.
If you don’t feel like going through the LLC process, our standard out-of-state registration program works great and will reduce your sales tax burden to a manageable four percent through South Dakota.
Dirt Legal Services for Dirt Bikes (regular dirt bikes, electric bikes)
One thing we know about off-roading in California is that it is confusing. Red stickers, green stickers, you can ride here but not there, or there.
But it really all comes down to this. If your 2022 or later model year bikes do not have a green sticker from CARB, you're gonna have a bad time, and even then, getting street legal in California is off the table.
This is exactly why we suggest our dirt bike street legal service. See, if you legally tagged your bike for on-road use, even though it is tagged in another state, reciprocity laws take precedence, at least in California.
Your best bet for a dirt bike you can take anywhere in Cali is to make it street-legal. And yes, we can do it – two strokes, vintage race bikes, it doesn't matter.
We have three different state options for out-of-state tags and registration: Montana, Arizona, or South Dakota. Each one has different strengths for different circumstances.
Montana requires you to have an LLC, but there are some real advantages of doing this: for one, you can put more than one asset in the LLC. You can nest your RV, cars & trucks, UTVs, and even boats in an LLC. We can do airplanes, too – contact us for that service.
The Montana LLC options could be your best bet if you already have a vehicle in an LLC, and you can add the dirt bike to it. Or, if you are concerned that the local constables won’t respect reciprocity, then the LLC is a great option. See, in this case, the vehicle's owner is the LLC, not YOU. Montana LLC registration for your dirt bike is cheaper if you have not yet paid sales tax and your purchase price exceeds $5,000. Oh, and did we mention the license plate is permanent? Yes! Combine the one-time registration and the LLC ownership, and all those California rules about moving your plate or title no longer apply to you. It is definitely the best option for pricier dirt bikes.
South Dakota is simpler to register your dirt bike in without all the LLC stuff, and for a vehicle that may only cost ~$5,000 or less, paying 4% sales tax versus zero may be a small deal. We make it easy between Arizona and South Dakota; your proof of ownership determines the state you will receive.
Here’s the deal: if it is through Arizona, they will label your title as ‘Motorcycle,’ making it a lot easier to transfer to your home state if you want to do that. If it’s in South Dakota, the registration will be street legal, but the title will remain off-road branded, making it much harder to transfer. That's why we say going through Montana and never having to worry about transferring the title is the best way to go.
What About Pit Bikes, Trials Bikes, and Others?
Absolutely. We have talked about pit bikes and trials bikes recently! As far as the registration process goes, there is no difference between a pit bike, trials bike, or even electric dirt bikes! In the eyes of the DMVs we work with, they are just another bike.
Oh, and I have to talk about mini-bikes. Yes, we can get your mini-bike tagged and street-legal! I had a mini-bike when I was a kid, so this speaks to me.
Dirt Legal Services for UTVs
Think again if you own a UTV and have considered getting your UTV tagged. Yes, we can put a Montana tag and registration on your UTV, but California takes a hard line on UTVs. You will play with fire if you try to drive a UTV on the roads there, even with the tag.
We do not recommend doing this, but you can do whatever you want. However, if you live in a rural and remote part of California with low population density, talk to the local sheriff and see what they think. They may not care and give you a free pass. Who knows? But generally speaking, California is unfriendly toward UTVs and ATVs on designated roadways.
What I'm saying is even if you have a street-legal plate and registration for your UTV, driving through downtown L.A. is almost certainly going to get you a ticket – or worse. That's just California for you. But up north, down in the valley, or out in the desert? Odds are nobody's gonna care what you do.
What About Mahindra Roxors & LSVs?
Roxors are in the same camp as other UTVs, but LSVs can be driven in California if they stay on roads marked 35 mph or less. However, LSV tags are generally different than what we serve, and you can get in hot water for driving a vehicle tagged as an LSV when it actually goes above the restricted 25 mph threshold. You are better off trailering your OHVs to the trails than testing your luck with an out-of-state tag on a vehicle California does not recognize as street-legal. They will probably give you a ticket and even instruct you to cease and desist and force you to have your rig towed or hauled home. This has happened in other states, namely Colorado, which takes a hard line on ATV and UTV use on public roads.
"File:Red 2018 Mahindra Roxor with after market hard cab.jpeg" by Abiez is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
But again, it's up to you. Roxors look so much like Jeeps that Mahindra got sued over it, so the odds of anyone knowing or caring about a street-legal Roxor in California are low. Just know that you could face all kinds of issues if someone does.
Dirt Legal Services for Military Vehicles
Here is another tricky one. California will not title a surplus military vehicle with an on-road title. They just won’t do it. It has to do with emissions since tactical vehicles do not meet state or federal emissions requirements. It’s odd since California is home to thousands of military members and vehicles, especially with the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, but what do I know?
However, if you tag and title your military vehicles in another state, and they are abiding by all DOT speed limits, lights, and so on, you should be fine. Surplus military trucks should definitely fall under reciprocity, so we don’t anticipate the same fallouts as we see in the UTV community.
We can title and register just about any surplus Army truck, along with foreign military trucks, if you have one, like the Mercedes Unimog.
What About LMTVs, Bugout Rigs, and Trailers?
Make sure to check out our entire series of articles focusing on LMTV surplus Army trucks.
And we have touched on bugout rigs, too.
And Overlanding trailers.
And using surplus Army trucks as badass Overlanding rigs.
Yes, we can title and register these things so you can enjoy the finer things of California without being hassled by the DMV.
Dirt Legal Services for RVs, Boats, and Other Toys
Look, we understand the pain point of registering your RV in California. The state sales tax may only be six percent, but that does not apply to most of the state, especially the areas with most of the people; those areas are routinely over ten percent. Ouch.
Take a nice new motorhome. These can easily be over $300,000, but let’s call it $250,000. If you live in San Bernardino, with a sales tax rate of 10.25%, you are in the hole for $25,625 in sales tax.
Instead, you can register your motorhome in Montana with zero sales tax. Not only do you save on the sales tax, but once the RV is eleven years old or older, the tag is permanent, and you don’t have to register it ever again. The only catch is that ithe vehicle cannot be financed.
If you have financed your RV, you have two options. You can register it through South Dakota where there is only a four percent sales tax, so your tax savings on that same $250k RV would be $15,625 less than registering it in San Bernardino. Or, you can refinance it through LightStream, which will act as a cash payoff and allow you to hold the title. There are many similar services, but we prefer LightStream for its ease of use, especially in situations like these since they offer a cash loan instead of taking ownership of the vehicle, thereby eliminating the need to wait for another title transfer.
As a LightStream affiliate, we may be compensated if you use their services through the links on this page. LightStream did not commission, sponsor, or fund this post.
Be aware that instead of sales tax, there is an $800 luxury vehicle fee assessed in Montana for RVs valued over $300,000 (at the time of publication). This is still a far cry from California's sales taxes, but we want you to be aware of it.
And yes, we can help out with your boats, too. Especially if you still need your proof of ownership. If you need help replacing your boat's paperwork or have never had it, check out our vessel/boat titling service to see if it fits your needs.
We can even work with airplanes – contact us to see what we can do for you.
Parting Thoughts
This is intended to be a partial breakdown of our services; that would take far too long. But it is instead a primer on how Californians can catch a break and save some cash and in some cases, register vehicles that California simply will not register or would give you a lot of hassle over.
If you have questions about a service we haven’t covered here or that you can’t quite figure out on our website, check out our FAQs or give us a call! We’d love to talk about your situation and lend a hand.
John McCoy is a lifelong car and truck enthusiast and has a strong mechanical background off the road. He spent over 13 years in the U.S. Air Force as a crew chief, assigned to the B-1B Lancer, affectionately known as the Bone to those in the community, and the KC-135R Stratotanker. He resides on a small farm in Eastern Kansas where he (sometimes) enjoys fixing ancient farm equipment.