On Tuesday, La Plata County began issuing titles to off-highway vehicles, or OHVs, – a move required by 2013 legislation.
Senate Bill 13-280 applies to snowmobiles, dirt bikes and four-wheelers. Dealers must send title information to their county Department of Motor Vehicles. The data required is VIN, make, model, year and name of owner.
Off-road vehicle owners may voluntarily alert the DMV about ownership for a fee of $7.20, but they are required to register them with Colorado Parks and Wildlife at a cost of $25.
“Owners have wanted this for a long time,” said Tiffany Lee Parker, the La Plata County clerk and recorder. “It offers proof of ownership, is an anti-theft measure and it’s easier to sell the vehicle out of state.”
Jon Carmack, operations manager of Durango-based Handlebar Motorsports, said the titling requirement is a good idea.
“Dealers like the new regulations for security, finance companies like them for the same reason and owners should like them unless they’re shortsighted,” Carmack said.
As long as registration fees continue to go to an OHV fund used to maintain and groom trails and provide other amenities for OHV users, the new requirements should meet no objections, Carmack said.
The DMV titles vehicles to show ownership, Parker said. Colorado Parks and Wildlife registers them because there are taxes due, she said.
OHVs carry an ID sticker about 3 inches by 3 inches, Parker said. The number can be reported to authorities if the OHV violates regulations such as entering wilderness, she said.
Four people walked in to register vehicles, and four dealer sales also were received Tuesday, Parker said.
daler@durangoherald.com
