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This entry was published on 2024-05-10
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SECTION 2222
Registration
Vehicle & Traffic (VAT) CHAPTER 71, TITLE 11, ARTICLE 47
§ 2222. Registration. 1. Except as hereinafter provided, no person
shall operate any snowmobile within the state unless: (a) such
snowmobile has been registered and numbered in accordance with the
provisions of this article, and the registration number for such
snowmobile is in full force and effect as hereinafter provided; and (b)
the registration number for such snowmobile is displayed as hereinafter
provided.

2. The commissioner is authorized to register a snowmobile, issue a
registration certificate and assign a registration number to such
snowmobile. All such registrations shall be valid until the thirty-first
day of August following the date of such registration; except that
registrations issued between the first day of April and the thirty-first
day of August, inclusive, shall be valid until the thirty-first day of
August in the following year; and unless, prior to expiration of the
period of registration, it is surrendered, cancelled, revoked or
suspended pursuant to the provisions of this article.

3. A number once assigned under this section shall remain with the
registered snowmobile until the snowmobile is destroyed, abandoned or
permanently removed from the state, or until changed or terminated by
the commissioner.

4. Fees. Fees for registration of snowmobiles, to be collected by the
commissioner under this article, are as follows:

(a) A fee of ten dollars for each individual resident registration.

(b) A fee of ten dollars for each individual nonresident registration.

(c) A fee of fifty dollars for each two-year dealer registration.

(d) A fee of five dollars for each additional dealer demonstrator
registration number.

(e) A fee of one dollar for replacement of a lost, mutilated or
destroyed certificate.

4-a. Additional fee. In addition to the other fees provided for in
paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subdivision four of this section the
commissioner shall, upon application in such cases for the registration
of a snowmobile or the renewal thereof, collect the annual one hundred
twenty-five dollar fee for residents and one hundred twenty-five dollar
fee for nonresidents or a fifty-five dollar fee for residents and
fifty-five dollar fee for nonresidents who provide proof, at the time of
registration, that such individual is a member of an organized New York
state snowmobile club that is a member of the New York state snowmobile
association or is a member of an organized New York state snowmobile
club that is a trail maintenance entity and a member of the New York
state snowmobile association which are imposed by section 21.07 of the
parks, recreation and historic preservation law. In the event that an
individual seeking snowmobile club membership is unable, for any reason,
to secure such club membership, he or she may contact the New York state
snowmobile association, who shall secure such membership for such
person. This fee shall also be collected from dealers at the time of
original registration and at the time of each renewal. The commissioner
shall effectuate regulations regarding what is required as proof of
membership in an organized New York state snowmobile club that is a
trail maintenance entity and a member of the New York state snowmobile
association for the purposes of this subdivision.

5. Application. The owner of each snowmobile requiring registration
under this section shall present an application for registration to the
commissioner, on a blank to be prepared and furnished by the
commissioner for that purpose. Such application shall contain or be
accompanied by such evidence of the ownership of the snowmobile
described in the application as may be required by the commissioner.

6. Dealers. Any person who is a dealer shall register as a dealer. The
commissioner, upon receipt of an application and the required fee, shall
assign a distinctive dealer registration number to the registrant and
issue an appropriate registration certificate to him and assign two
dealer demonstrator registration numbers and upon the payment of the
appropriate fee, such additional numbers as shall be requested. Dealer
registrations and dealer demonstrator registration numbers shall not be
transferable.

7. Renewal. After payment of the registration fees as provided in
subdivisions four and four-a of this section, every owner of a
snowmobile shall renew his or her registration annually on or before
September first of each year and every dealer shall renew his or her
registration biennially in such form and manner as the commissioner
shall prescribe. If a dealer registration is issued for a period of more
or less than two years, the fee for such registration shall be prorated
on a monthly basis.

8. The validating date tag. At the time of the original registration
and at the time of each annual renewal thereof, the commissioner shall
also issue to said registrant a date tag or tags indicating the validity
of the current registration and the expiration date thereof, which
validating date tag or tags should be affixed to the snowmobile in such
manner as the commissioner may prescribe. Notwithstanding the fact that
a snowmobile has been assigned an identifying number, it shall not be
considered as validly registered within the meaning of this section
unless a validating date tag and current registration certificate have
been issued.

9. Denial of current registration. In the event that a snowmobile
sought to be registered or re-registered does not, after inspection and
testing, comply with the provisions respecting equipment established by
section 25.17 of the parks and recreation law or by the regulations of
the commissioner promulgated pursuant to this title, the commissioner
may deny the issuance of a validating date tag and current certificate
of registration.

10. Snowmobiles owned by governmental agencies. A registration number
shall be assigned, without payment of a fee, for snowmobiles owned by
governmental agencies, or by volunteer organizations if used exclusively
for emergency purposes, provided that each such snowmobile shall display
the proper registration number assigned to it.

11. Exemption. No registrations shall be required for the following
described snowmobiles:

(a) Snowmobiles owned and used by the United States.

(b) Snowmobiles covered by a valid registration or license of another
state, province or country, as provided in subdivision twelve of this
section.

(c) Snowmobiles operated on lands owned by the owner of such
snowmobile, or on lands to which such owner has a contractual right
other than as a member of a club or association provided (i) the
snowmobile is not operated elsewhere within the state, and (ii) no
consideration, either direct or indirect, is paid to the owner of the
snowmobile with respect to such operation.

12. Out of state snowmobile registration. The registration provisions
of this article shall apply to non-resident owners of snowmobiles used
in New York state as provided for by the commissioner except when their
snowmobile is used on trails which proceed along a New York state border
and which, occasionally as dictated by the terrain, cross into another
state, in which such snowmobile is registered; such cross border trails
on which nonresident owned snowmobiles may proceed without New York
state registration shall be designated by the state commissioner of the
office of parks, recreation and historic preservation as provided in
section 25.04 of the parks, recreation and historic preservation law and
he shall publish such trail designation in the New York state register
and other publications accessible to the snowmobiling public. Such
non-resident registration applications shall be made available at the
place of business of all registered dealers and by mail from the
department. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to authorize
the operation of any snowmobile contrary to the provisions of this
article.

13. State aid. The Lake George park commission shall be entitled to
receive state aid in an amount relating to the percentage of fees
collected under this section that can be estimated to be attributed to
snowmobile use within the Lake George park. The amount of such aid shall
be annually determined by the commissioner of parks, recreation and
historic preservation and the director of the budget.

14. Registration at time of sale. Snowmobiles sold by dealers shall be
registered at the time of sale of such snowmobile. Such registration
shall be valid until the thirty-first day of August following the date
of such sale; provided however that snowmobiles sold after April first
of each year shall be issued a registration valid until the thirty-first
day of August in the year following that in which the snowmobile is
sold. Snowmobiles purchased to be used in accordance with paragraph (c)
of subdivision eleven of this section or for use exclusively outside of
the state of New York shall not require registration at the time of
purchase, and the purchaser of such snowmobile shall sign a declaration,
provided by the dealer, which shall state that such purchaser
understands the conditions under which a snowmobile must be registered
and the penalty for violation of such registration provisions; the form
of such declaration shall be provided by the commissioner to each dealer
and shall be forwarded to the commissioner.