A snowmobile shall not be operated unless the owner first obtains a certificate of registration and a registration decal.
Before operating:

• If owned by a nonresident, before operation in Michigan, a snowmobile must display a valid registration from the operator's home state or province, or be registered in Michigan.
• The registration certificate expires on September 30 of the year indicated on the decal.
• Any time a registered snowmobile is sold to another person, the registration must also be transferred. Contact the secretary of state for transfer information.
• State Law requires that you affix the registration decals issued to the snowmobile to each side of the forward half of the cowl above the footwell. Beginning July 1, 1999 the registration decals will include the registration numbers assigned to the snowmobile.
• A person who desires to operate a snowmobile in this state shall obtain a snowmobile trail permit sticker. the snowmobile trail permit sticker shall be valid for a period of one (1) year which begins October 1 and ends September 30 of the following year.
• The trail permit sticker shall be permanently affixed to the forward half of the snowmobile directly above or below the headlight.
• Snowmobile trail permits are available from snowmobile dealers, Department of Natural Resources and license agents.

Snowmobiles are exempt from registration and trail permit if they are: operated exclusively on lands owned or under the control of the owner; used entirely in a safety education program conducted by a certified snowmobile safety instructor; or exclusively operated in a special event of limited duration which is conducted according to a prearranged schedule under a permit from the governmental unit having proper jurisdiction. In addition, a snowmobile used solely for transportation on the frozen surface of public waters for ice fishing is exempt from the trail sticker requirement, but must still be registered.