Mississippi Law: ATV's Conditional On-Road Use

Mississippi law allows all-terrain vehicles to be driven on public property on two conditions.
“You either have to have a valid driver’s license or you have to go to a safety course that is mandated by the state of Mississippi and federal government,” Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson said. “(It’s) taught by the county extension office as a certified course.”
Johnson said the problem is a gray area in the law. It does not specifically exclude public roads, which means it’s legal, even if the federal government considers these vehicles “off-road.”

This was brought up about ATV'S but as we have been stamped off-road only I would keep the off-road only title and forget about a tag. Now you wouldn't be able to drive it in other states but not many get driven that far anyway.

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"Does not specifically exclude public roads". That sounds like you know it means public land.

Is there a OHRV registration in Mississippi?

On the surface this seems "very interesting".

Can you please post LINKS to the actual Law(s) for us all to read and decipher, please?

Thank you.

It can not be driven on the road in Mississippi. That only refers to public land. The law actually states in subsection 6 of Mississippi Code 63-31-3 Requirements to operate Off-road vehicle on public property. The subsection states "nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the use of an offroad vehicle on a public road or highway. The law also gives a definition that is only applies to dirt bikes and ATV's which must be under 600lbs. There is a recreational offroad vehicle but a HMMWV is still too heavy to apply.

I can also site that in 2012 there was a law enacted that prevents road use of ATV's

https://codes.findlaw.com/ms/title-63-motor-vehicles-traffic-regulations/ms-code-sect-63-31-3.html

simp5782 said:

It can not be driven on the road in Mississippi. That only refers to public land. The law actually states in subsection 6 of Mississippi Code 63-31-3 Requirements to operate Off-road vehicle on public property. The subsection states "nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the use of an offroad vehicle on a public road or highway. The law also gives a definition that is only applies to dirt bikes and ATV's which must be under 600lbs. There is a recreational offroad vehicle but a HMMWV is still too heavy to apply.

I can also site that in 2012 there was a law enacted that prevents road use of ATV's

https://codes.findlaw.com/ms/title-63-motor-vehicles-traffic-regulations/ms-code-sect-63-31-3.html

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Thank you for sharing that link. It is quite clear.

For convenience, here is the content of that link....

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2013 Mississippi Code
Title 63 - MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC REGULATIONS
Chapter 31 - OPERATING ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES
§ 63-31-3 - Requirements to operate off-road vehicle on public property; off-road vehicle safety course


Universal Citation: MS Code § 63-31-3 (2013)
(1) No off-road vehicle shall be operated upon any public property by any person unless:
(a) (i) The person possesses a valid driver's license; or
(ii) The person possesses a certificate as provided under subsections (3) and (4) of this section.
(b) No person may operate any off-road vehicle upon any public property in this state unless each person under sixteen (16) years of age who is operating or riding on the off-road vehicle is wearing a crash helmet that complies with minimum guidelines established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration pursuant to the federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218 (49 CFR 571.218 ) for helmets designed for use by motorcyclists.
(2) A violation of subsection (1) of this section is punishable by a fine of not less than Twenty-five Dollars ($ 25.00) nor more than Fifty Dollars ($ 50.00).
(3) Off-road vehicle safety courses shall be held by the Cooperative Extension Service using 4-H safety course materials and curricula, and shall be taught by instructors possessing qualifications approved by the Department of Public Safety. The Cooperative Extension Service shall issue a certificate to each person who satisfactorily completes the off-road vehicle safety course.
(4) Off-road vehicle safety courses may be held by any organization approved by the Department of Public Safety. Such organization shall issue a certificate to each person who satisfactorily completes the off-road vehicle safety course.
(5) For the purposes of this section:
(a) "Off-road vehicle" means any all-terrain vehicle or dirt bike.
(b) "All-terrain vehicle" or "ATV" means any motorized vehicle manufactured and designed exclusively for off-road use that is fifty (50) inches or less in width; has an unladen dry weight of six hundred (600) pounds or less; travels on three (3), four (4) or more low-pressure tires; has a seat designed to be straddled by the operator; and uses handlebars for steering control.
(c) "Dirt bike" means a motor-powered vehicle possessing two (2) or more tires, designed to travel over any terrain and capable of travelling off of paved roads, whether or not the vehicle may be operated legally on a public street.
(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize operation of an off-road vehicle on a public road or highway of this state.
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USAFSS-ColdWarrior said:

Thank you for sharing that link. It is quite clear.

For convenience, here is the content of that link....

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2013 Mississippi Code
Title 63 - MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC REGULATIONS
Chapter 31 - OPERATING ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES
§ 63-31-3 - Requirements to operate off-road vehicle on public property; off-road vehicle safety course


Universal Citation: MS Code § 63-31-3 (2013)
(1) No off-road vehicle shall be operated upon any public property by any person unless:
(a) (i) The person possesses a valid driver's license; or
(ii) The person possesses a certificate as provided under subsections (3) and (4) of this section.
(b) No person may operate any off-road vehicle upon any public property in this state unless each person under sixteen (16) years of age who is operating or riding on the off-road vehicle is wearing a crash helmet that complies with minimum guidelines established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration pursuant to the federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218 (49 CFR 571.218 ) for helmets designed for use by motorcyclists.
(2) A violation of subsection (1) of this section is punishable by a fine of not less than Twenty-five Dollars ($ 25.00) nor more than Fifty Dollars ($ 50.00).
(3) Off-road vehicle safety courses shall be held by the Cooperative Extension Service using 4-H safety course materials and curricula, and shall be taught by instructors possessing qualifications approved by the Department of Public Safety. The Cooperative Extension Service shall issue a certificate to each person who satisfactorily completes the off-road vehicle safety course.
(4) Off-road vehicle safety courses may be held by any organization approved by the Department of Public Safety. Such organization shall issue a certificate to each person who satisfactorily completes the off-road vehicle safety course.
(5) For the purposes of this section:
(a) "Off-road vehicle" means any all-terrain vehicle or dirt bike.
(b) "All-terrain vehicle" or "ATV" means any motorized vehicle manufactured and designed exclusively for off-road use that is fifty (50) inches or less in width; has an unladen dry weight of six hundred (600) pounds or less; travels on three (3), four (4) or more low-pressure tires; has a seat designed to be straddled by the operator; and uses handlebars for steering control.
(c) "Dirt bike" means a motor-powered vehicle possessing two (2) or more tires, designed to travel over any terrain and capable of travelling off of paved roads, whether or not the vehicle may be operated legally on a public street.
(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize operation of an off-road vehicle on a public road or highway of this state.
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That is the 2013 code chaplin but the 2017 code reads the same. I just didn't want to go thru the state site to find it.

As explained to me by a law enforcement officer the state of Alaska recognizes 2 types of orv' s one being light rv's like quads and snowmachines the other being large equipment like tractors. The state of ak no longer issues orv tags just rv registration on snowmobiles and atv's. seems like if it looks like a tractor you can drive with out registration like see's and snow cats but the state is dead set on keeping hmmwv's off the public roadways. I had a had a heck of a time with my lmtv till I pointed out their memo only addressed hmmwv' and see's sold as offroad only.

What the problem is with what you have posted is it doesn't prohibit any off road vehicles from being used on road, that law just says it is not giving them permission to use the roads.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize operation of an off-road vehicle on a public road or highway of this state.

Also there are many off-road side by sides that don't meet that definition. There is no prohibition of using any off-road vehicles on road.

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Also, don't ATVs and such still require a registration sticker attached to it?

ND made it pretty easy a few years ago, your ATV/SUV has to have an onroad type tire, some form of rear view mirror and it has to be licensed in the state. Pretty darned basic stuff and its legal to run on any and all roads in the state.
Karl

Karl kostman said:

ND made it pretty easy a few years ago, your ATV/SUV has to have an onroad type tire, some form of rear view mirror and it has to be licensed in the state. Pretty darned basic stuff and its legal to run on any and all roads in the state.
Karl

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Not in Mississippi

Action said:

Also, don't ATVs and such still require a registration sticker attached to it?

Click to expand...

Not in Mississippi

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