The Expert Podcast

So what's going on with military vehicles that are sold at surplus auctions like GovPlanet? Well, a lot of states over the last year have taken action against these vehicles being on the road. Here's an article from Colorado where the Colorado Department of Revenue, their version of the DMV, sent a letter canceling the vehicle title and told them he could no longer drive it on the highway. Many other letters were sent to Hummer owners, issuing them OHV (Off Highway Vehicle) status for their surplus military vehicles. The reason for this is over the last 18 months the federal government has sent out bulletins to Department of Motor Vehicles offices nationwide, all 50 states, advising them that these military vehicles do not meet the D.O.T. and EPA standards for highway vehicles. So, some of them are technically not road legal.

Many states initially said, "Well, it doesn't matter what you say, we allowed these vehicles on the road." But the federal government has taken action where they are withholding some highway funds and some money that the states get from the federal government unless they stop titling these vehicles. They even revoke prior vehicle titles.

What's happening is the legislation in the states is taking military vehicles and making them defined as off highway vehicles, just like ATVs and snowmobiles, which cannot be licensed for highway use. Some of these vehicles can have an exemption as a historical purpose — maintained for military configuration, meaning use them for parades or for museums but not for regular everyday use. In Colorado, the DMV stated that these vehicles had only had titles to off highway vehicles. Vehicle owners will receive new OHV titles over the next week. These are vehicles that are now only for off highway use. The way the law reads is it's a surplus vehicle because it's clearly not built for road use.

Many of these vehicles, going back to World War II, will have their titles transitioned into only off highway use in the next phase. So it's not just Humvees — it's other vehicles. Some states have actually revoked titles. Some states are just not registering new ones.

So, if you have a surplus vehicle from GovPlanet or somewhere else, be aware that you may run into difficulties now or in the future putting them on the road. Even if you somehow do jump through a bunch of hoops and get a registration and title for the vehicle, it may be revoked.

We're reading about stories in the state of Maine where they're pulling back titles for a lot of these vehicles. In Florida, we had a client that has four or five of these vehicles that they've purchased from GovPlanet in the last 12 months, and the State of Florida DMV has rejected all of their applications for road use.

So be aware that the kind of historical use of these vehicles — you see them on the road — is not a precedent to rely upon because some of the vehicles that are already on the road are going to get pulled off.

Don't use the fact that you see these vehicles on the road as the be-all, end-all determining factor if you can put one on the road if you buy it from GovPlanet. Check with your DMV, and don't take their word for it verbally — make sure you get it in writing what the status of these vehicles are. We suspect that it's not going to be allowed, and even if it is, many states are finding that even if they do want to put them on the road, the federal government is going to put pressure on them to pull them off the road in the coming years.