Do I need to register an ATV or snowmobile in BC to ride on my own land?
The Act's registration, helmet and child rules bind on Crown land and on private land the Province prescribes, which it hasn't; private land needs its owner's consent, and a road needs ICBC insurance.
Opens the lot's report at this answer. If an address isn't found, try the PID, the 9-digit parcel number on the land title or assessment notice.
What the answer means
BC's Off-Road Vehicle Act covers ATVs, side-by-sides, off-road motorcycles and snowmobiles. Its registration, plate, helmet and child rules apply on Crown land, resource roads included, and on private land the Province prescribes, which it hasn't done; on private land the rule is the owner's consent. A road is a different law: there an off-road vehicle needs ICBC's insurance, a plate and a licensed driver.
- What counts
- The Act covers self-propelled vehicles in the classes its regulation names: all-terrain vehicles, off-road motorcycles, off-road side-by-side vehicles, snowmobiles, and road vehicles used off the road, each under 4,536 kg gross vehicle weight rating (Off-Road Vehicle Act s. 1; Off-Road Vehicle Regulation ss. 1, 2). Farm tractors and other agricultural or industrial vehicles aren't among them (Regulation s. 1).
- Where its rules apply
- Registration, the plate, the helmet, lights and the careless riding offence apply on Crown land or prescribed private land (Act ss. 14, 15, 17 (1), 18, 19). The regulation prescribes no private land, so on titled land, your own included, those rules don't apply (our reading). The Act doesn't apply on a highway at all, which the Motor Vehicle Act governs (Act s. 3).
- Riding on someone else's land
- No one may ride on private land without the consent of its owner, lessee or occupant, or on the tracks of an operating railway, anywhere (Act s. 17 (2)); the fine can reach $5,000 (s. 26 (2) (e)). Keeping riders off a lot: see trespassers.
- Registering one
- Registration is with ICBC, through an Autoplan broker: a one-time registration with a number plate or sticker, which stays with the vehicle while the same person owns it (Act s. 4; ICBC's off-road vehicles page). Registration costs $30 and a plate or sticker $18 (Regulation, Schedule). On Crown land, resource roads included, it is mandatory, with the plate or sticker clearly visible on the front, back or left side and the registration carried (Act ss. 14, 15; Regulation ss. 4, 15).
- Buying a used one
- When a registered off-road vehicle is sold or given away, both sign a notice of transfer and the new owner delivers it to ICBC within 10 days, with the $28 transfer fee (Act s. 8 (1); Regulation, Schedule). The seller takes the plate or sticker off first (Regulation s. 9).
- Roads
- On or across a highway, ICBC says an off-road vehicle needs a plate, Basic insurance and a driver with a valid licence, and police may issue an operation permit, free, as a condition of riding on a road; none is needed to cross at a stop sign or traffic light, or to load and unload in a parking lot (ICBC's off-road vehicles page). Ask the police detachment nearest where you'd ride.
- Forest service roads
- On a forest service road, ICBC asks for a valid driver's licence and $200,000 of third party liability insurance, from ICBC or another insurer; on other Crown land liability insurance is voluntary (ICBC's off-road vehicles page).
- Helmets, seat belts and lights
- On Crown land, riders and passengers on an ATV, off-road motorcycle or snowmobile wear an approved helmet, those in a side-by-side wear its seat belts, and lights are on from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise (Regulation ss. 21 to 24).
- Children
- A child is 15 or younger. On Crown land a child rides only a vehicle the maker's age, height and weight limits allow, and with an adult who holds a driver's licence or a recognized training certificate and can see and direct them, unless the child is 14 or 15 with a parent's or guardian's written consent and training (Regulation ss. 1, 16 to 19).
- What it means for a buyer
- A trail the seller rides across a neighbour's lot or Crown land comes with no right to keep riding it: a neighbour's consent ends when they or the land change hands, and a right to cross is a registered easement (our reading; see trespassers and a shared driveway). Noise from riding is the council's or regional district's bylaw (see noise from neighbours). A report names the land along the lot line and the trails near it.
Our summary of the Off-Road Vehicle Act (SBC 2014, c. 5, ss. 1, 3, 4, 8, 14, 15, 17 to 19, 26) and the Off-Road Vehicle Regulation (B.C. Reg. 193/2015, ss. 1 to 4, 9, 15 to 19, 21 to 24 and the Schedule) on BC Laws, and ICBC's off-road vehicles page, read 2026-10-23. Fees are the regulation's; a court decides each case on its facts.
Sources (read 2026-10-23; summarised in our own words unless noted): Off-Road Vehicle Act, SBC 2014, c. 5; Off-Road Vehicle Regulation, B.C. Reg. 193/2015; Off-road vehicles, ICBC.
Before you buy: who to ask
- The seller or their agent
- Where do you ride from the lot, and across whose land? Does any neighbour's consent, or a registered easement, cover it?
- The police detachment
- May an off-road vehicle ride on the road from the lot to the trails, and on what permit?
- The local government
- Does a bylaw limit riding or noise here?
Look up the lot above: its report shows the land along the lot line, the trails within 1 km and the road access.
See also trespassers, road access, hunting on your property, Crown land next door, a shared driveway and noise from neighbours.
Buying rural land? Before you buy rural land in BC: the nine questions that decide an offer, on one printable page.