It’s Saturday afternoon – you and the boys are washing bikes after a week's trip to the dunes, but no one remembered to grab drinks on the way to the shop. You whip the pitter down the road to grab some necessities from the gas station. A million trips and not once has a cop messed with you until now. Today the streak ended.
Not even 500 feet from the parking lot you hear sirens cruising behind the bike. As you look back the cop is pointing to pull over. You can pick 1 of 2 options… Either stop and attempt to explain why you’re breaking the law, or risk it for the biscuit and enter a low speed chase.
The choice is yours, but there’s a third option available that most aren’t even aware of. An option that makes you wonder why you should even have to take the first two into consideration.
Does California Street Legalize Pit Bikes?
I know you’re thinking *California doesn’t allow offroad bikes on the street, of course, you can’t make a pit bike street legal.* You would be correct. Thanks to strict regulations in California it’s nearly impossible to legally drive a minimoto on the road with a California registration and license plate.
In fact, according to emissions standards in California, any bike over 50cc manufactured for offroad use isn’t eligible to register for street use. Even bikes 50cc or less, newer than 2006, may have difficulty operating on the road legally unless they have an EPA sticker.
Honestly though, who wants a 50cc when you can mob a 110cc that’s the same size with double the power? Buying a 50 seems pointless unless you truly want a bike just for the sake of riding without having to register it. While the tiny bike has its advantages, the size of a 50cc is the main reason most people aren’t interested. A 110 is already small enough but comes with sufficient power and suspension to handle more abuse.
Can I Work Around This?
Honestly, it’s nearly impossible to get past California laws and regulations if you attempt to register the bike in their state. With a plethora of boxes to check and inspections to pass you’re almost better off buying a street legal pit bike from the jump if you want California plates, and registration.
Making a true pit bike street legal in California is far from a walk in the park, especially if you don’t have any emissions equipment or street legal parts (lights, mirrors, etc.) installed. While most people prefer finding a solution to register their mini dirt bike, some prefer getting an already street legal version. If you’d rather skip the build… here’s a link to a list of Factory Street Legal Pit Bikes that can hit the road immediately.
If you’re still reading, you probably refuse to take “no” for an answer. Fortunately, there’s a solution you may not be aware of that will help you avoid trading for a factory street legal pit bike. If you’re asking “How is this possible in California?” you are in for a surprise.
How to Know if You Qualify to Register Out of State
When you’re looking at options to register your bike, the main deciding factor is whether or not you can register in your own state easily – or at all. In California, the choice is made simple since the odds of street legalizing an offroad pit bike are lower than the ground clearance on one.
Does this mean your bike immediately fits the criteria to register it outside of California? In short… yes. The only way you wouldn’t be able to register it is if there’s a lien on the bike through Synchrony Bank/Yamaha Financial, or in someone else's name, there’s an active theft on the bike, or it doesn’t have a VIN/serial number on the frame. In any of these cases, the issue would need to be resolved before registering it.
As long as you have a bill of sale, title, or Manufacturers's Certificate of Origin (MCO) you’ll be able to escape the regulations in Cali and enjoy the benefits of another state's lack thereof. See, the states that allow you to register a pit bike for the streets aren’t concerned about whether it passes emissions or even if the street legal parts are installed. They care about 1 thing… The money that’s generated from registering in their state.
Related Article: Best Pit Bikes to Make Street Legal
Ensure You Keep Your Bike Registered Legally
Certain measures must be taken in order to be able to operate on California roads. Some are obvious, but others may seem unrelated or unimportant until knowing the “why” behind them.
Renew Registration Yearly
This is key to avoiding giving law enforcement a reason to pull you over. I can’t think of a more easily avoidable ticket than one over an out of date tag. Of course, this can be fought in court by renewing the sticker, but why would anyone want to deal with that? Preventative maintenance is the most effective.
Pay Off Your Bike
If your pit bike is financed, now is the time to think about eliminating that loan so you can take full ownership of the bike. This will play a key role in being able to keep the bike street legal to drive in California. When the bike is paid off, it opens the opportunity for registering in Montana.
Open an LLC Out of State
When your bike is paid off it becomes eligible to register out of state under an LLC. Registering through an LLC is simple – all that’s needed to complete the process is the bike title. One of the biggest benefits of registering through your out of state LLC is that, in the majority of states, you won’t have to transfer ownership into the state you reside since the bike is registered and titled in your LLCs name. The only greater benefit is that any motorcycle, no matter the year, receives a permanent license plate and registration allowing you to ride anywhere.
Mob The Streets
Once the registration is complete, the only thing you need is a valid motorcycle license, but that’s a simple task compared to registration. If you already have the M endorsement – the world awaits you to explore the city from alleyway to the highest parking garage. Go explore!
What if You Don’t Want an LLC?
If the bike is financed or you prefer to register the bike in your name for another reason, it’s still readily accessible to title and register the pit bike with your name as the titled owner. A key difference between registering directly in your name or registering in your LLC's name is the location of the owning entity. When the pit bike is registered in your name, but you live in a different state than where the registration/license plate is from then the state you live in could make you transfer ownership after a certain period of time if they pull you over.
The need to transfer ownership into your state after a certain period of time disappears by registering through an LLC you own out of state. The pit bike is technically owned by your LLC, you still have ownership of the bike, but it’s indirectly through ownership of the LLC. With the LLC owning your bike on paper, this will allow you to keep the bike registered out of state with permanent plates.
For a second, let’s assume you don’t want the LLC for any reason, no matter how big or small.
Impound Pending
Assuming your pit bike is paid off, and you want it to be street legal, there can be risks involved if you don’t register the pit bike through an out of state LLC. Of course, it’s possible to register without an LLC, and even can seem more lucrative, but the biggest perk of registering through an LLC is that the LLC is the owner of the pit bike on paper. You still own the LLC and in turn own the pit bike, but since your LLC owns the pit bike California isn’t able to make you transfer ownership into their state since your pit bike is not owned directly by you, or anyone else who resides in their state.
Bye Bye, Time
Registering your pit bike seems like a good idea, and you may even be considering an attempt to register it for street use in California. Trying to register in CA isn’t a bad thing necessarily, but it’s almost guaranteed they won’t street legalize your bike – especially if it was originally manufactured for offroad use.
Peace Out, Money
When you attempt registering an offroad bike in Cali, there are a lot of fees and inspection costs likely to occur. Even after you put out potentially hundreds of dollars into DMV fees, inspections, and gas transporting yourself and the bike around the state trying to meet all the standards in place. This likely will result in money wasted and leave you full of regret wishing there was an easier, more reliable option to street legalize.
Hello Court Fees
When you tire from the runaround given by your state, many people will resort to riding their bike on roadways without a license plate or street legal registration. This is a lot of fun, but also very risky since the only option you have of getting away is running. Pushing the limits can be an addictive adrenaline rush, but if playing with fire on a regular basis, the question isn’t “if” it’s “when” will that catch up to you?
Protect Yourself With the Professionals
When the only options are to go full send and risk it all running from the police in California or register the pit bike out of state, I’d bet most people prefer the second choice mainly because it tends to be the safer choice to pull over, especially if you’re only on a pit bike.
Registering out of state is hard though! Yes, it’s a pain to do it yourself – I agree, but, when there’s a reliable business providing out of state registration and titling as a service it’s hard to pass on when the process is made simple.
Dirt Legal has been in business since 2016 gaining the reputation we have now, which is being known for our ability to get you the required documents (title, license plate, and registration) in a timely manner without any hassle for you. I mean, you don’t even have to leave your house. It’s that simple. Use the button below; that’s the best way to register your pit bike out of state.
We are not attorneys. This article is not legal advice.
Dirt biking remains a vibrant and evolving culture as we head into 2025. Gas-powered bikes continue to see steady, incremental improvements, while electric dirt bikes are rapidly advancing with lighter components, longer battery life, and impressive torque. Legislative efforts like House Resolution 906 aim to empower riders with the right to repair their own vehicles, fostering independence within the community. Despite restrictive state regulations, dirt biking culture thrives, with growing sales and creative solutions like Montana LLC registration ensuring riders can hit the trails legally. The future of dirt biking is a blend of tradition, innovation, and resilience.