Moped owners required to pay DMV registration fee beginning Nov. 1

Moped owners are required to pay a one-time registration fee beginning Nov. 1 that won’t require annual renewals, the Department of Motor Vehicles said Wednesday.

After completing a moped inspection at a DMV office, owners will pay around $60 for a registration fee that also covers the cost of a license plate. Owners will have a brief grace period, as unregistered mopeds won’t be cited by law enforcement officers until Jan. 1, DMV officials said. Mopeds will remain exempt from insurance and helmet laws.

The registration requirement was approved last year by the state Legislature as a tool to help law enforcement determine whether a moped is stolen because owners often lack proof of ownership, DMV officials said. The bill also requires businesses to obtain a license to sell, lease or rent the motor-driven scooters.

“Moped theft has been a difficult problem,” Officer Chuck Callaway of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a prepared statement. “Registration will help in both locating owners and prosecute offenders.”

Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Find @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.