(Arnolds Park)– With Winter Games upon us, DNR officials are again reminding snowmobile and ATV operators of registration requirements. Conservation Officer Jeff Morrison tells KUOO news there’s been some changes this year in the law that have been causing some confusion…(click here for comment.) “Registrations, both for ATVs and snowmobiles have to be purchased at the Recorder’s Office. So if you need to register your machine you need to go visit the County Recorder’s Office in your county. Or if it’s a renewal, then you can renew it at any County Recorder’s Office. So if you’re a lakes area temporary resident and you’re up here and you’re here on Friday you can go ahead and get your snowmobile registered at the Dickinson County Recorder as long as it was registered the first time back in your home county. So registrations all have to go through the County Recorder’s Office for both ATVs and snowmobiles.”
Morrison says another area of confusion is over who’s required to have use permit stickers…(click here for comment.) “That’s for both residents and non-residents. Those can be purchased at the County Recorder’s Office when you purchase your registration or they can be purchased at any of the vendors…fishing or hunting license vendors. So that tag can be purchased at Wal-Mart, Kabel’s bait shop, Shuck’s bait shop, any of those. But that’s only the use permit. And that’s required on every snowmobile that’s operated on all public lands or ice. Now the ATVs are not required to have a use permit for the residents. Residents are not required to have a use permit on ATVs, but all ATVs must be registered before they can operate on the ice. Non-residents, in addition to the registration, are required to have a use permit. So, now, there’s a little bit of a change with some of the ATVs in that most of the ATVs, most states require registration on ATVs but there are a couple that don’t and they border Iowa. Illinois and Nebraska are two that come to mind. If you’re coming from those two states your ATV has to be registered even though your state doesn’t register it. The easiest way to do that is go to a, if you’re coming up here for Winter Games or whatever, go to a county closest to you in Iowa, register your ATV and then you’re good to go. But they do have to be registered and they can be registered in the state of Iowa under this new law.”
Morrison says both registration and permit stickers, for those required to have them, must be placed on the center of the hood or windshield on snowmobiles and the rear fenders of ATVs.
Morrison adds DNR officers will be out in force this weekend keeping an eye out for impaired operators and to make sure snowmobiles and ATVs have the proper registration and stickers.
