Car Registration

Any vehicle that you take out onto the scenic mountain byways or the dusty desert highways of New Mexico needs to be registered. This doesn't necessarily mean the vehicle needs to be registered in New Mexico. No one expects a tourist vacationing in Taos or exploring the Wild West on route 66 to have New Mexico plates while in the state.

There are definitely a few exemptions as to who needs to register a vehicle in the state. But for the most part, anyone who is a resident and owns a vehicle needs to have it registered.

Residency can happen by taking a job in state or simply hanging about for 180 days out of the year. If this is you and you have a vehicle that you are driving around, you need to register it in New Mexico.

Registration Requirements and Exemptions

The following vehicles need to be registered:

• Passenger vehicles

• Trucks and SUVs

• Motorcycles (including three-wheelers}

• RVs and motor homes

• Dirt bikes

• Snowmobiles

• ATVs

• Dune buggies

• Trailers

• Boats

The following people are exempt from having to register their vehicles:

• Nonresidents in the military who are stationed at a base in New Mexico can opt to keep the registration of their home state, as long as it is current.

• Students from out of state attending a university in New Mexico and owning a vehicle can keep their home-state registration and plates. They will need to obtain a "valid nonresident" decal from the school and affix it to the vehicle.

First-time Registration

You can register a vehicle at either a Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) office or at one of the numerous companies throughout the state authorized to conduct MVD business. Bring the following:

• Application for Vehicle Title and Registration.

• Applicable fees.

• Evidence of residency, which entails proving that you live at a New Mexico address. Acceptable documents include utility or telephone bills, bank statements, checks, insurance forms, and credit card statements.

• The vehicle's certificate of title. In cases where the vehicle has been financed, you will obviously not have one. But the dealer or lending company will provide all of the proper documents to apply for registration.

• Current registration document, if a vehicle is from out of state.

• An odometer reading (if applicable) for the disclosure form, which will be completed at the MVD office.

• In some cases, especially if the auto is from out of state, you will need to have a vehicle identification number (VIN) inspection. This entails having a law enforcement officer or employee at an MVD office verify the number and sign off on the appropriate form.

• Show poof that you have the minimum insurance coverage required by the state.

• Residents of the Albuquerque metropolitan area, which includes all of Bernalillo County and a smidgen of a few other counties, need to bring confirmation that their vehicle passed an emission test.

Registration Renewal

The registration cycle in New Mexico is staggered, as it is in many states. This prevents a yearly stampede of drivers converging on the MVD offices and allows for tax dollars to be spread out over the entire year. Thus, the month that you initially register and title your vehicle in the state is generally the same month that you will pay your annual (or biannual) registration fees.

Registration will expire on the last day of the month noted on your license plates. Unfortunately, New Mexico does not offer a grace period.

If your address information in the state's database is up-to-date, then you have the option of renewing your registration online using a credit card. There is an additional $1.29 service fee for this convenience.

Non-Operational Vehicle Registration

It's your call. You can retain your registration and insurance while your vehicle is in storage. Otherwise, you'll need to contact your insurance agent If you opt to drop your vehicle's insurance and registration. Your agent will then send you a form verifying your decision.

Visit any MVD office to reinstate your non-operable vehicle's registration. Be sure to bring the insurance form your agent sent you (without it the MVD will slug you with a $30 fine), along with the old registration form, proof of current insurance and the ability to pay all applicable fees.

Fees

The MVD bases the registration fees on the vehicle's weight and age:

• Passenger cars (one year): $25.50 to $60.50

• Passenger cars (two years): $50.50 to $120.50

• Trucks weighing 26,000 pounds or less (one year): $36.50 to $205.50

• Trucks weighing 26,000 pounds or less (two years): $72.50 to $410.50

Utility and travel trailers weighing less than 6,000 pounds may be registered permanently; call your local MVD office for details.