Unregistered Farm Vehicles (Farm Use)

When am I not required to register a vehicle?

You are not required to register a vehicle (obtain license plates and decals) or pay a registration fee for any pickup truck, panel truck, sport utility vehicle, vehicle having a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 7,500 pounds, trailer, or semitrailer used exclusively for agricultural or horticultural purposes on lands owned or leased by the vehicle's owner. Although registration is not required, such vehicles must be titled. This registration exemption applies only to vehicles that are not operated on or over any public highway for any purpose other than:

crossing a highway;
operating along a highway for a distance of no more than thirty miles from one part of the owner's land to another, irrespective of whether the tracts adjoin;
taking the vehicle or attached fixtures to and from a repair shop for repairs;
taking another vehicle exempt from registration under any provision of Va. Code §§ 46.2-664 through 46.2-668 or § 46.2-672, or any part or subcomponent of such a vehicle, to or from a repair shop for repairs, including return trips;
operating along a highway to and from a refuse disposal facility for the purpose of disposing of trash and garbage generated on a farm; or
operating along a highway for a distance of no more than thirty miles for the purpose of obtaining supplies for agricultural or horticultural purposes, seeds, fertilizers, chemicals, or animal feed. (Va. Code § 46.2-665)

You are not required to register or pay a registration fee for any vehicle with a securely attached machine for spraying fruit trees and other plants cultivated by the owner or lessee of the vehicle. (Va. Code § 46.2-664)

You are not required to register or pay a registration fee for any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or fertilizer spreader drawn by a farm tractor used by a farmer, his tenant, agent or employee or a cotton ginner, peanut buyer, or fertilizer distributor to transport unginned cotton, peanuts, or fertilizer owned by the farmer, cotton ginner, peanut buyer, or fertilizer distributor from one farm to another, from farm to gin, from farm to dryer, from farm to market, or from fertilizer distributor to farm and on return to the distributor. However, this exemption does not apply to vehicles operated on a for-hire basis. (Va. Code § 46.2-672)

You are not required to register or pay a registration fee for any pickup truck, panel truck, sport utility vehicle, vehicle having a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 7,500 pounds, trailer, or semitrailer owned by the owner or lessee of a farm and used by the owner on a seasonal basis in transporting farm produce and livestock along public highways for a distance of no more than thirty miles or the distance to the nearest storage house, packing plant, or market, provided it is no more than fifty miles away. Although registration is not required, such vehicles must be titled. (Va. Code § 46.2-666)

You are not required to title, register or pay a registration fee for a farm tractor (VA Code §46.2-600).

You are not required to register or pay a registration fee for any farm machinery or tractor when operated on a highway (i) between one tract of land and another regardless of whether the land is owned by the same person or (ii) to and from a repair shop for repairs. (Va. Code § 46.2-667)

You are not required to register or pay a registration fee for any farm vehicle if the vehicle is making a return trip from any marketplace, transporting back to the farm ordinary and essential food and other products for home and farm use, or transporting farm supplies to the farm. (Va. Code § 46.2-673)

Are there exemptions for sawmill operators and farmers who transport wood products?

Tractors, trailers, log carts or similar vehicles owned by a sawmill operator are exempt from registration when the vehicle is operated along a highway from one sawmill or sawmill site to another, to or from a repair shop for repairs or across a highway from one adjoining tract of land to another. Va. Code § 46.2-669
Pickup trucks, panel trucks, sport utility vehicles, vehicles having a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 7,500 pounds, trailers and semi-trailers owned by a farm owner are exempt from registration (but must be titled) when they are used for no more than 20 miles between a sawmill or sawmill site and the farm to transport sawdust, wood shavings, slab wood, and other wood wastes. (Va. Code § 46.2-670)

What are the insurance requirements for unregistered farm vehicles?

Insurance may not be required for an unregistered vehicle; however, as the owner of the vehicle you may be held responsible for any liability. Check with your insurance agent about your insurance needs.