How to Make a Mini Bike Street Legal

Dumb and Dumber ride to Aspen.

Have you ever watched Dumb and Dumber and thought to yourself a mini bike road trip sounds like an epic adventure? Well, before you hit the road for your legendary journey, you want to make sure your mini bike is street legal.

Mini bikes must be modified with the required safety equipment, inspected, registered with the state and insured to be legally driven on public roads. It takes a little work, but you can turn a mini bike into your legal daily driver or epic adventure-mobile.

Equipment

Each state has slightly different rules when it comes to the equipment they require to consider a vehicle street legal. So, it is very important that you check the motor vehicle code for your state. This is pretty easy as each state has their motor vehicle code posted online, so all you need to do is Google it.

In most states, mini bikes need to be equipped with a headlight, taillight, brake light, turn signals, mirrors, horn, fenders, brakes, reflectors and Department of Transportation (DOT) approved tires to be allowed on public roadways.

It will take some mechanical know-how to outfit your mini bike with this additional equipment, but aftermarket parts are pretty easy to come by. Just be sure the parts you buy meet the state safety standards. For example, some states require a multibeam headlight with a low beam setting and a high beam setting.

One part that might prove to be difficult to find for your mini bike is DOT approved tires. This is not a common item manufacturers produce for mini bikes, so you might have to look into some alternatives. DOT approved ATV or golf cart tires might work. You should also double check that this is something your state requires (most do) before spending the money and going through the trouble.

Making these modifications will more than likely require adding a battery for powering the additional lights. You will need to think through where you want to place it and how to run your wiring. You may also want to consider some sort of charging system to recharge the battery as you ride.

Inspection

Some states require a full inspection and some don’t. Again, you want to check your state’s motor vehicle code to find out. If an inspection is necessary, the motor vehicle code will tell you exactly what is required so you know what they are going to check.

The process for inspecting a vehicle is different depending on where you live. The inspection could be completed by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), another state agency such as the State Patrol, or even private repair shops licensed by the state. Either way, make sure your mini bike is 100% ready to go before you get it inspected or you will be wasting your time.

Once the inspections is complete, you need to keep the report showing you passed the inspection for registering the mini bike.

Registration

As with every step of the process in this article, the process for registering the mini bike may vary a little from state to state, but basically you need to provide the documentation that proves your mini bike is street legal, your the one that owns it and you have insurance for it.

In most cases this means you will need to provide the inspection report showing your vehicle passed and a receipt showing you paid for the inspection (if an inspection was required) and your title. If an inspection was not necessary, they may require a picture of the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to show it matches the title.

One slight problem with this process is usually you are not issued a title when you purchase a mini bike. If you find yourself in this situation, you need to obtain a Certificate of Ownership. You can get a Certificate of Ownership from the store you bought it from.

If you contact the store or website you bought your mini bike from and they can’t provide a Certificate of Ownership, you will need to reach out to the manufacturer. This is often the case with Coleman mini bikes. They might charge you a small fee for it too.

The Certificate of Ownership does not take the place of a title, it is used to obtain one. Once you have the Certificate of Ownership in hand, you will need to take it to the DMV and they will issue you a title. Make sure the Certificate of Ownership is completely filled out.

Insurance

Yep, you guessed it, you need insurance too. Vehicle insurance is a requirement in pretty much every state. The good news is that motorcycle insurance is very inexpensive and easy to get. Just call your local insurance agent and provide them with the information on the title. They can probably email you the proof of insurance that day.

Motorcycle permit

Now that you have jumped through all the hoops to make your mini bike street legal, you have to jump through one more so you can legally ride it. You need to get your motorcycle permit or endorsement.

A motorcycle permit or endorsement is an additional credential that is added to your driver license that states you are legally allowed to operate a motorcycle. To obtain one, you must complete an online safety course and complete a drivers test to show you can safely operate a motorcycle. And of course, pay a fee.

Once you have your motorcycle permit and your mini bike is register and insured, you are free to saddle up with your best bud and hit the open road.