An ATV, a side-by-side, or a dirt bike that stays off public roads uses California OHV identification, not ordinary license plates. The DMV calls the ID a green sticker or a red sticker. How long it lasts, where it mounts, and whether liability insurance is required depend on the machine and on where it is ridden. Call 209-670-1556. Se habla español.
A green sticker is the DMV identification for an off-highway vehicle that meets California Air Resources Board emissions standards, and for older and specialty machines the department lists with it. A red sticker identifies a machine manufactured after 2003 that does not meet those standards. Neither color is a street license plate. The color follows the emissions record.
The DMV off-highway registration page says a green ID covers CARB-compliant vehicles, snowmobiles, amphibious vehicles, dune buggies, and OHVs manufactured before 2002. A red ID covers vehicles manufactured after 2003 that miss CARB standards. A 3 or a C in the eighth VIN position marks a vehicle that is not certified. Source: that page.
Vehicle Code section 38010 requires an identification plate on a section 38012 vehicle operated only off highway, unless an exemption applies. Section 38020 makes it an infraction to operate that vehicle unless it is identified or registered.
An ATV, a trail dirt bike, and a side-by-side that never enters a public road are the machines people bring in. The DMV page names all-terrain vehicles, trail bikes, racing motorcycles, dune buggies, and snowmobiles. A side-by-side has no sentence of its own. Off highway only, it uses the same OHV filing.
Street motorcycle registration is on the motorcycle registration guide. This page does not repeat it.
The DMV page draws two hard lines. An ATV cannot be converted for on-highway use, and a red ID cannot be registered on-highway. Closed-course race bikes cannot be OHV-registered. A transportation permit may exist. We do not promise it.
The identification expires on June 30 of the second calendar year after it was first issued, and the department issues a new ID plate every two years when the renewal is paid. The DMV page says the renewal must be received or postmarked by that June 30 to avoid a late penalty of 50 percent. Fees are not prorated. This page does not print the fee dollars.
According to the same page, an owner who will not ride files planned non-operation on REG 102 by June 30. Coming off that status is on the PNO revival page.
A transfer is not a renewal. The DMV page still wants the California title or a REG 227, a transfer fee, a renewal fee if the ID is expired or the transfer falls after May 30 of the expiration year, and use tax if due. We do not set the tax.
Green means the OHV identification the DMV ties to CARB compliance or to the older and specialty list. Red means the noncomplying identification the public DMV page ties to manufacture after 2003. Street-legal plates are ordinary on-highway registration, not an OHV sticker in another color. The table is the split. It is not a riding-season calendar.
| Green sticker | Red sticker | Street-legal plates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | OHV ID for a complying machine, or for pre-2002 and specialty machines | OHV ID the DMV page ties to manufacture after 2003, short of CARB | Ordinary on-highway registration and metal plates |
| On a public road | Not a street plate | A red ID cannot be registered for on-highway use | The plate is what lets a qualifying machine use the road |
| How long | Biennial OHV ID, June 30 of the second calendar year | Handbook: noncomplying registration renews every two years | The ordinary registration year |
| Can it become the other | A complying motorcycle built for both uses may move on-highway if the label matches | Handbook 15.120: a noncomplying OHV cannot be dual-registered | On-highway to OHV ID means turning in the plates |
DMV handbook 15.120 issues a tan sticker for noncomplying OHVs of model year 2022 and newer, and red stickers for model years 2003 through 2021. A 3 or C in the eighth VIN position is the noncomplying mark.
The Air Resources Board says the red-sticker program concluded in 2025 and that seasonal riding limits on existing red-sticker vehicles ended. The DMV handbook still describes a red sticker as limited operation during designated months, and it still issues red stickers for model years 2003 through 2021. Those pages do not tell the same calendar. Confirm the park rule before a trip.
The CARB red-sticker program page says the program concluded in 2025 and that a tan sticker for noncompliant model year 2022 and newer is competition-only. CARB's rider guidance says seasonal limits ended January 1, 2025 for red-sticker model year 2021 and prior, with no automatic new color. Handbook 15.120 still prints designated months. We do not promise the color.
A nonresident whose OHV has no current home-state registration needs a California Nonresident OHV Use Permit before riding on public land. State Parks lists that permit fee at $30 per vehicle. A title is not registration. A visitor with current home-state OHV identification may not need the California permit, unless that state requires the mirror permit. Ask with the home-state card.
The State Parks nonresident permit page is the source for the $30 fee and for 2026 permits running January 1 through December 31, 2026. Section 38010(b)(6) and (b)(10) exempt a special permit under section 38087.5 and current out-of-state identification a sister state recognizes.
The plate has to stay fastened where an officer can read it, with no cover. For an ID issued on or after January 1, 1996, a dirt bike mounts on the left fork and an ATV mounts on the left rear quadrant. A side-by-side is not named, so that mount is a question, not a guess.
Vehicle Code section 38170 requires the plate to stay fastened, visible, and legible, with no cover. For plates issued on or after January 1, 1996, a motorcycle goes on the left fork, an all-terrain vehicle on the left rear quadrant, a dune buggy on the left rear frame, and a snowmobile on the left tunnel. Handbook 15.090 points to that section. A side-by-side is absent. Ask.
A powersports policy usually can include liability, collision, comprehensive for theft and other non-crash damage, and coverage while the machine rides on a trailer. Which pieces are on the contract is a form question. Ask us. It depends on where you ride. This page does not print a premium or name a carrier.
Definition. Liability pays others up to the declarations limit. Collision repairs the machine after an upset, subject to the deductible. Comprehensive covers non-crash damage, often including theft. Trailer transport is a grant some forms add. None of that is a statute.
Section 16020 requires financial responsibility on a public road. The DMV insurance page prints 30/60/15 and cites Insurance Code section 11580.1(b). Section 16056 sets $30,000, $60,000, and $15,000 for a policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025. Sections 38010 and 38020 require the ID and do not set a trail-only liability minimum. Ask us. It depends on where you ride.
The packet starts with ownership, a REG 343, and a vehicle verification. Via Rapida prepares that paperwork as a licensed registration service. The DMV issues the ID. We are not the DMV and we do not promise the department will accept the packet.
No riding-season promise. CARB and the DMV handbook do not print the same red-sticker calendar. The only phone number is 209-670-1556.
Powersports callback. Leave a name and a phone number. A licensed agent at Insurance City Agency, LLC, CA Lic #6003045, will call about an ATV, a side-by-side, or a dirt bike. Or call 209-670-1556.
La misma guía para quien busca registro de cuatrimoto, green sticker y placas de OHV.
If the ATV stays off public roads, it does not take ordinary registration, but it must display a DMV identification unless a Vehicle Code section 38010 exemption applies. The DMV OHV page includes all-terrain vehicles and says an ATV cannot be converted for on-highway use.
A green ID covers CARB-compliant vehicles plus snowmobiles, amphibious vehicles, dune buggies, and OHVs manufactured before 2002. A red ID covers vehicles manufactured after 2003 that miss those standards. A 3 or C in the eighth VIN character marks a vehicle that is not certified.
The DMV OHV page says the ID expires June 30 of the second calendar year, with a new plate every two years. Renewal must be in by June 30 or a late penalty applies, and fees are not prorated. A machine that will sit files REG 102 by the same date.
Section 38170 says the plate stays fastened, visible, and legible, with no cover. From January 1, 1996, a motorcycle mounts on the left fork and an ATV on the left rear quadrant. A side-by-side is not named. Ask.
Ask us. It depends on where you ride. Section 16020 is the financial-responsibility duty for a motor vehicle on a public road. Sections 38010 and 38020 require the OHV ID and do not set a trail-only liability dollar limit. The DMV checklist does not list an insurance card.
Sources checked October 18, 2026: the DMV OHV registration page; handbook 15.120; handbook 15.090; Vehicle Code §38010, §38020, §38170, §16020, and §16056; CARB red-sticker program; State Parks nonresident OHV permit; and DMV insurance requirements.
Insurance City Agency, LLC, CA Lic #6003045. The form on this page is the callback. Bring the VIN and say whether the machine stays off the highway.