As many of you are aware, dune buggies in Wisconsin have had registration problems for many years. For the most part, this effected dune buggies that still had an original Volkswagen (WV) title. In many cases, they were not able to pass the equipment inspection that DMV required, and were then parked or sold.

Following a rather protracted “discussion”, DMV has created a policy that allows lifetime Hobbyist registration of fiberglass-bodied dune buggies for on-road use.

Effective immediately, the owner of a fiberglass-bodied dune buggy with a valid title indicating VW can apply for Hobbyist Reconstructed registration (must include title, but photos are not needed) and will receive an inspection authorization letter indicating that the equipment inspection is for the model-year of the base VW. Once inspected (& passed), the vehicle qualifies for Hobbyist plates and will be titled as “RECON” with the year first titled for a model-year, and be title-branded with both “RECONSTRUCTED” plus the base vehicle ID info.

This doesn’t mean you can run an illegal vehicle, it still needs to meet all Wisconsin equipment requirements in Ch. 347 and TRANS-305 that would apply to another VW of that same year. But you’ll no longer be expected to meet current-year equipment requirements such as air-bags, etc. (Please note: This does not apply to “sand rails” nor “dune buggy amusement rides”.)

Any questions, lemme know. Additional documentation is available on request.