DMV To
Continue
Red Sticker
Registrations
T
he plot has thickened in the
ongoing saga of California
OHV registrations following the
sundowning of the Red Sticker
program. A bulletin issued from
the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle
Recreation Division of California
State Parks on December 19,
2024 (Information Bulletin 24-3)
stated that despite the 2019
sundowning of the Red Sticker
program, "DMV (Department of
Motor Vehicles) continues to is
-
sue Red Sticker registrations for
model year 2022 and newer." The
bulletin goes on to issue updated
guidance to its law enforcement
officers, stating, "Until further no
-
tice, law enforcement shall treat
all off-highway motor vehicles
with current Red Sticker registra
-
tion as valid regardless of model
year, so long as the registration
matches the VIN."
What does this mean for us?
That's the big question.
BACKSTORY
In 2019, the California Air
Resources Board (CARB) did
away with the entire Red Sticker
program, which allowed emis-
sions non-compliant OHVs (dirt
bikes and quads) a competition
exemption to operate on public
lands. Emissions-compliant ve-
hicles received a Green Sticker,
while non-compliant vehicles,
sold as competition models
designated for use on closed
courses only (motocross tracks,
private property, sanctioned race
events) received a Red Sticker.
The expectation from CARB
was that only racers would buy
the non-emissions-compliant
vehicles, and everyone else
would ride the Green Sticker
bikes on public lands. Long story
short, they realized years later
that many enthusiasts contin
-
ued riding Red Sticker bikes on
public lands and that the Red/
Green Sticker seasonal designa-
tions did very little to encourage
people to ride Green Sticker
bikes on the trails.
In 2019, CARB made the deci-
sion to pull the plug on the entire
Red Sticker Program, effective
for model year 2022 and for-
ward, meaning that you either
got a DMV Green Sticker regis-
tration for your emissions-com-
pliant OHV, or you got nothing
at all. Red Sticker bikes, such as
motocross bikes, cross-country
bikes and even several modern
youth trail bikes, were no longer
to receive any sort of DMV title
or registration.
Click here for more backstory
on the sundowning of the Cali
-
fornia Red Sticker program.
THE GRAY AREA
The new CARB regulation took ef-
fect when model year 2022 OHVs
began to roll out in the summer
of 2021, and much confusion
ensued both at the dealer level
and the DMV itself. In subse
-
quent years, some dealerships
abided by the new rules, making
it clear to their customers that
registration was not available
for competition models, while
other dealerships continued to
title and register them the same
way they'd been doing for years.
It seemed that depending on
which dealership you went to, and
which DMV they went through,
Red Stickers were still arriving in
customers' mailboxes.
As word spread of more
people still receiving Red Stick
-
ers, customers' expectations only
increased, putting pressure on
dealers to reconsider their proce-
dures. If they couldn't or wouldn't
register a dirt bike for a customer,
that customer might leave and
find a dealership that will. Califor
-
nia OHV sales have been hovering
WIND
IN THE
P36
Despite the 2019
sundowning of
California's Red
Sticker program, the
DMV (Department of
Motor Vehicles) will
continue to issue Red
Sticker registrations
for model year
2022 and newer.
