If you've got a clean title from another state, then it should be able to be registered as a normal passenger vehicle (if under 26K-lbs) and your registration fees are based on weight. If the Ely DMV office is telling you that it can only be registered as an OHV, then they don't know a HMMWV from a hole in the ground. Sounds like your local DMV office is unclear as to how to interepret the existing law (no surprise, as stated briefly in my above post with Las Vegas area DMV directors).
Go to Elko DMV, just present your paperwork and tell them that it's a truck for personal use (after VIN inspection). Many DMV employees are easily confused by military acronyms, and saying "FMTV" probably raises the specter of someone trying to sneak in an off-road titled HMMWV for road registration.... Just remember the folks you deal with on a daily basis, and
keep it simple!
There are many Deuces and 5-tons legally registered on the road in Nevada, as well as a few FMTVs/LMTVs I've seen. In 2015 the Legislature amended the laws regarding Classic Vehicles and Classic Rods, to limit the "carrying capacity" to NOT exceed "1 ton." We have several club members whose attempts to register Deuces and 5-tons as Classics were rejected and they had to go with standard passenger vehicle registrations based on weight (for them, over 14,001-lbs to avoid annual smog check requirements, but annual registration fees in excess of $400). In another older thread, a member asked about his friends' M939 registrations being cancelled/revoked; if they were registered as Classics, the DMV will cancel/revoke your registration if it does not meet the current legal standard; there is NO "Grandfather" clause for the 2015 legal changes. I've heard 2 different accounts from DMV sources regarding this: that the DMV is doing audits at random, and if a registration is found to not be in compliance with current legal requirements then it is cancelled/revoked then & there; and that the DMV is not doing audits due to staffing budget shortages, but simply relying on alert DMV employees catching the faults at time of registration renewal or upon a person's visit to a DMV branch. As we have no more details for those issues, I can't say one way or the other regarding the M939 trucks' registration revocations/cancellations.
I do know that since Governor Sandoval signed legislation relaxing the requirements of Classic Vehicle/Classic Rod (CV/CR) registrations, these types of registrations have increased 400%. There have been a significant number of violations, such as using this type of registration for business purposes, and the air quality in the Las Vegas valley has supposedly seen a dramatic rise in emissions levels as well due to the emissions-testing exemption of CV/CR registrations. This led to the amendment in the 2015 Legislature session to require a "carrying capacity of 1 ton or less" for these CV/CR registrations. Emissions is an important concern, as the Las Vegas valley & Reno metro area require smog testing of passenger vehicles, and the air quality folks want to eliminate CV/CR classifications altogether. There is growing momentum to require annual or bi-annual physical inspections of CV/CR vehicles to ensure that the 5K annual mileage limitations haven't been exceeded, as well as to ensure that any visible smoke seen can pass an Opacity Test.
Regarding Nevada Classic Vehicles & Classic Rods registrations: legal requirements & definitions can be found online at the
Nevada Legislature's website.
NRS 482.3816 Classic Vehicles. [Effective until the date on which the Director of the Department of Motor Vehicles notifies the Governor and the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau that sufficient resources are available to enable the Department to carry out the provisions of chapter 82,
Statutes of Nevada 2015, at page 324.] 1. Except as otherwise provided in
NRS 482.2655, the Department may issue special license plates and registration certificates to residents of Nevada for any passenger car or light commercial vehicle:
(a) Having a manufacturer’s rated carrying capacity of 1 ton or less;
(b) Manufactured at least 25 years before the application is submitted to the Department; and
(c) Containing only the original parts which were used to manufacture the vehicle or replacement parts that duplicate those original parts.
2. License plates issued pursuant to this section must be inscribed with the words “CLASSIC VEHICLE” and a number of characters, including numbers and letters, as determined necessary by the Director.
3. If, during a registration period, the holder of special plates issued pursuant to this section disposes of the vehicle to which the plates are affixed, the holder shall retain the plates and:
(a) Affix them to another vehicle which meets the requirements of this section and report the change to the Department in accordance with the procedure set forth for other transfers; or
(b) Within 30 days after removing the plates from the vehicle, return them to the Department.
4. The fee for the special license plates is $35, in addition to all other applicable registration and license fees and governmental services taxes. The fee for an annual renewal sticker is $10.
5. In addition to the fees required pursuant to subsection 4, the Department shall charge and collect a fee for the first issuance of the special license plates for those motor vehicles exempted pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 1 of
NRS 445B.760 from the provisions of
NRS 445B.770 to
445B.815, inclusive. The amount of the fee must be equal to the amount of the fee for a form certifying emission control compliance set forth in paragraph (c) of subsection 1 of
NRS 445B.830.
6. Fees paid to the Department pursuant to subsection 5 must be accounted for in the Pollution Control Account created by
NRS 445B.830.
(Added to NRS by
1995, 788; A
2001, 332;
2011, 1529;
2013, 2558,
2860;
2015, 1758)
NRS 482.3814 Classic Rods. [Effective until the date on which the Director of the Department of Motor Vehicles notifies the Governor and the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau that sufficient resources are available to enable the Department to carry out the provisions of chapter 82,
Statutes of Nevada 2015, at page 324.] 1. Except as otherwise provided in
NRS 482.2655, the Department may issue special license plates and registration certificates to residents of Nevada for any passenger car or light commercial vehicle:
(a) Having a manufacturer’s rated carrying capacity of 1 ton or less; and
(b) Manufactured not earlier than 1949, but at least 20 years before the application is submitted to the Department.
2. License plates issued pursuant to this section must be inscribed with the words “CLASSIC ROD” and a number of characters, including numbers and letters, as determined necessary by the Director.
3. If, during a registration year, the holder of special plates issued pursuant to this section disposes of the vehicle to which the plates are affixed, the holder shall retain the plates and:
(a) Affix them to another vehicle which meets the requirements of this section and report the change to the Department in accordance with the procedure set forth for other transfers; or
(b) Within 30 days after removing the plates from the vehicle, return them to the Department.
4. The fee for the special license plates is $35, in addition to all other applicable registration and license fees and governmental services taxes. The fee for an annual renewal sticker is $10.
5. In addition to the fees required pursuant to subsection 4, the Department shall charge and collect a fee for the first issuance of the special license plates for those motor vehicles exempted pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 1 of
NRS 445B.760 from the provisions of
NRS 445B.770 to
445B.815, inclusive. The amount of the fee must be equal to the amount of the fee for a form certifying emission control compliance set forth in paragraph (c) of subsection 1 of
NRS 445B.830.
6. Fees paid to the Department pursuant to subsection 5 must be accounted for in the Pollution Control Account created by
NRS 445B.830.
(Added to NRS by
1989, 1732; A
1991, 2321;
1997, 3002;
2001, 331;
2011, 1528;
2013, 2557;
2015, 1758)
For owners of older MVs, NV DMV provides several different registration options, such as "Old Timer" and "Antique Truck." The Antique Truck requirements are very specific, one of them requiring that the truck be inspected prior to registration...I've never been able to get a consistent answer on what inspection requirements are necessary, as they aren't outlined anywhere I've been able to find, but the general consensus among DMV directors is that a current DOT safety inspection would suffice. The details of these can be found by clicking on the links for CV/CR above.
This Saturday will see if our member & his state senator friend are interested in trying to get the impetus to create a separate registration category for Former Military Vehicles (which by & large by their ownership & use fit into the Antique & Classic registration requirements outlined in NRS 482).
