OHRV News

Starting May 1 2018, New Hampshire registration fees for ATV's, side-by-sides and trail bikes will rise by $30.

At the same time, a new club incentive bill will take effect allowing riders to get a $30 discount on the ATV, side-by-side or trail bike registration of they join a qualified ATV club.  If you only register one machine, then the effect of this discount program is minimal since the cost to join a club and the cost to additional cost to register your machine is nearly the same. 

However if you are registering multiple machines, then the savings can really add up.  For example, if you are registering 4 machines, then you can save $30 for EACH machine or a total of $120 in discounts.  To qualify for this discount, you need to belong to a qualified NH ATV club.  We are a qualified club and the cost for joining ranges from $25 for a single and $35 for a family membership.

Here are some questions and answers about the New Hampshire ATV membership incentive program and the New Hampshire registration discount program.  To make it easier, we will refer to ATV's, side-by-sides and trail bikes as OHRV's (Off Highway Recreational Vehicles):

1) Why did New Hampshire raise their OHRV fees?

Of the over 25,000 OHRV riders in the New Hampshire, only about 2,500 riders became club members.  The goal of the membership incentive program is to raise the number of members from 10% to over 90%.

2) Why does joining a NH ATV club matter?

In New Hampshire, all OHRV registration fees go into a dedicated fund to be used for trail administration, enforcement, trail development and trail maintenance.  By New Hampshire law, funds for trail development and trail maintenance can only be given out to NH ATV clubs  through the state grant-in-aid program.  Clubs are expected to provide matching funds and volunteer labor for these grants so the membership incentive program was created to help provide these matching resources.

3) What if I don't want to join a NH ATV club?

You can simply pay the addition $30 per OHRV.  That extra $30 goes right into the NH grant-in-aid program so it will be used for building new OHRV trails and maintaining existing trails.

4) What is a qualified NH ATV club?

A qualified NH ATV club is a member club of NHOHVA.

5) What is NHOHVA and what do they do?

NHOHVA stand for New Hampshire Off Highway Vehicle Association and it is the state level organization that got the membership incentive bill passed.  They also have worked hard at the state and local level to get state and local roads opened up for OHRV traffic.

6) When I joined my ATV club, why did they ask if I wanted to be a member of NHOHVA?

There is power in numbers.  If we can get all ATV club members to join NHOHVA, then we can increase our presence in the NH State House whenever bills that affect ATV riding come up.  Most clubs offer NHOHVA membership at no charge so there is no additional cost to join.

7) Why should I join your club versus another ATV club?

Every club has a slightly different focus.  Some clubs do not have extensive trail systems but actively host riding events. 
Our club has two main goals: 
1) We are actively developing new trails between the 3 largest riding areas in the state of New Hampshire. 
2) We are committed to providing our members with the most up-to-date local and statewide ATV related news through the use of Facebook, website forums and public news postings.
If our club's focus fits in with your riding agenda, then we would love to have you as one of our club members.

8) How do I get the discount?
When  you join our club, we will email you a voucher that authorizes the registration agent to give you the discount.  This voucher normally arrives within a few minutes of you joining but we recommend you earlier than you register in case there are delivery problems. 

Here is a link that you can follow any and all current bills that are in the New Hampshire State Legislation. Check back for more updates.

 https://nhohva.org/legislation