Registering your Off-highway Vehicle

You are required to have your OHV registered with Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations (Registry of Motor Vehicles) except in circumstances where owners use their OHVs exclusively on their own property.

You can register at any Registry of Motor Vehicles or Access Nova Scotia Centre with Registry of Motor Vehicles services. Registry of Motor Vehicles

For new OHVs purchased from a Dealer you will need a New Vehicle Information Statement (NVIS) and an application for Ownership, Permits and Plates (Form 2) from your Dealer.

For previously owned OHVs, you will need to bring;

1. The “Certificate of Ownership” signed over to you from the previous owner, or
2. If you are unable to obtain the certificate of ownership or documents from a dealer, you must obtain and complete a declaration stating from whom you bought the vehicle, purchase date and price, and whether any tax was paid.
3. Next you must take your OHV to a police station or a Department of Natural Resources Office where a Peace Officer will verify the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and also verify that the vehicle is not stolen.  A form has been created for this purpose and you will be required to present it to the Peace Officer.  Both forms are available at any Registry of Motor Vehicles or Access Nova Scotia Centre where there are Registry of Motor Vehicles services.
4. Please call ahead to set an appointment with a Peace Officer.
5. After you have completed both forms, you can register your vehicle at any Registry of Motor Vehicles or Access Nova Scotia Centre with Registry of Motor Vehicle services.
6. The fine/penalty for failing to register an OHV is a minimum of $250.00 to a maximum of $2000.

OHV registration is a one-time payment of $34.10. In addition, at the time you register your vehicle you must obtain an annual (renewable) “Vehicle Permit”.  Also, you will be required to pay the tax that would have been due at the time of the vehicle purchase. There will be no interest charged on the tax payable and no fines associated with the non-payment of the tax.

If you have already paid the tax as part of the purchase transaction, you will have to provide proof of such payment.

As of July 2008,

You are not required to register your Off-highway Vehicle if you are:

• an operator who rides solely on your own property,
• a Status Indian who operates an OHV on communal Reserve land, or
• a person related to a landowner by blood or marriage or a common-law or registered domestic relationship and who ride solely on the related landowner’s property.

Off-highway Vehicle Infrastructure Fund

As of April 1, 2006 all OHV users who ride recreationally off their own land will be required to pay the Off-highway Vehicle Infrastructure Fund fee. This new 'user pay fee' of $40 per year will help support the development of trails and other projects.

The establishment of this fund was one of the 39 recommendations that came from Voluntary Planning's final report to Government on OHVs in the province. Certain classes of riders do not have to pay this (see below), including people who ride their machines solely on their own property, persons related by blood or marriage, common-law or registered domestic relationship to a landowner and who ride solely on the related landowner’s property, and riders who use their machines for work or business (except guides).

The Fund is a special fund that is used entirely for OHV programs and users. Some of the things that the fund will be used for are: the funding of provincial OHV groups, education programs like environmental education programs, safety training programs and trail development. The Off-highway Vehicle Ministerial Advisory Committee will make recommendations to the Minister of Natural Resources regarding expenditures from the fund. They are also tasked with developing the criteria for assessing funding proposals.

Many people think that the trails exist now and the fund is for them to access these trails. It will take time to develop trails and riding areas but in the next few years users will see the development of a provincial network of trails and riding areas. The Advisory Committee is overseeing the planning of this network of trails.

Who is exempt from the $40 annual fee for the Fund?

• Riders who operate an off-highway vehicle solely on private land they own or occupy;
• Persons related by blood or marriage, common-law or registered domestic relationship to a landowner and who ride solely on the related landowner’s property;
• Farmers, fishers and forest workers who use off-highway vehicles only for activities related to their work;
• Employees and self-employed persons (as defined in the Occupational Health and Safety Act) who use their vehicles for work-related activities (not guides);
• Government employees who use vehicles for work-related duties;
• Peace officers;
• Status Indians who operated vehicles solely on communal reserve land.