Counties Under Thirty-Seven Thousand People
You live out in the country along the Red River, your neighbor swears the county “opened the roads” to side-by-sides, and your cousin two counties over says that is impossible in Texas. Both have half the story. Texas lets only a narrow set of small counties open some public roads to off-highway vehicles. This guide explains the population cap of under thirty-seven thousand, which counties it reaches, and what riders there can and cannot do.
Why Texas Ties Road Riding to County Population
Texas is famously generous about land and famously strict about ATVs on pavement. The starting point for every conversation is that an off-highway vehicle in Texas cannot be registered for road use. You can title it, and you can buy an off-highway vehicle plate for it, but neither of those turns a quad or a UTV into a road vehicle. Everything else in this article is an exception carved out of that ban.
The General Rule Riders Start From
Under Texas Transportation Code Chapter 551A, which replaced the old Chapter 663 in 2019, ATVs, UTVs, ROVs and sand rails are all treated as off-highway vehicles. They are meant for trails, ranches, private land and designated riding areas, not public roads. Why Texas Will Not Register an OHV for the Road explains the reasoning in full, but in short, these machines were never built to the federal safety standards that cars and trucks meet.
Because of that, the exceptions are written narrowly. There is the agricultural exception for farm and ranch work within 25 miles, the golf course exception for short daylight trips, the master planned community exception, rules for crossing a road at a right angle, beach rules and a small number of provisions that let local governments open roads under specific conditions. The Two Exceptions to the Texas Road Ban is a good place to see how the main carve-outs relate to each other.
The county opt-in is one of those local provisions. It does not create a statewide right to ride on county roads. It gives a commissioners court in a qualifying county the power to say yes, within limits, for roads in that county.
What the Population Cap Does
Lawmakers in Austin did not want every county commissioners court in Texas deciding to open roads to quads. Harris County, Dallas County and Bexar County have millions of residents and some of the busiest roads in the nation. The idea of a side-by-side merging onto a county road in those places alarmed plenty of legislators.
So the opt-in is drafted with tight filters. Geography is the first, and for the Red River branch of the rule, population is the second. A county needs to sit in the right place and have fewer than thirty-seven thousand residents before its commissioners court can consider opening roads at all. That threshold keeps the provision focused on genuinely rural counties where the county road network is mostly farm-to-market style traffic, cattle trucks and neighbors who know each other.
Population caps like this are a common Texas drafting technique. Rather than naming a specific county in a statute, lawmakers describe it with a set of characteristics. The effect is similar, but the language looks general. For riders, it means you cannot simply ask whether your county “allows ATVs”. You have to ask whether your county qualifies, whether its commissioners court has acted and what its order says.
Why the Red River Is Part of the Test
The opt-in is tied to counties along the Red River, the boundary between Texas and Oklahoma. That stretch of North Texas is overwhelmingly rural, full of farms, ranches, hunting leases and river bottoms where side-by-sides are working tools. Riders there often need to move short distances between properties, and the nearest alternative to a county road can be miles of fence.
Why Only Red River Counties May Opt In covers the background to that geographic choice. There is also a separate, narrower category tied to counties along the Guadalupe River and a barrier island test, explained in Guadalupe River Counties and the Barrier Island Test. The two categories have different filters, so a Guadalupe River county should not assume the Red River population rule is the one that applies to it.
Which Red River Counties Fall Under the Line
If you live along the Red River, the obvious question is whether your county is under the cap. The answer comes from the population figures used in the statute, which are tied to the federal census. The table below uses the 2020 census, rounded, to show how the Red River counties line up. Treat it as a guide, not a ruling, because the figure the law uses and how it is updated can matter for counties near the line.
Counties Along the Red River and Their Populations
| County | Approximate 2020 Census Population | Under 37,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Hardeman | about 3,500 | Yes |
| Clay | about 10,200 | Yes |
| Red River | about 11,600 | Yes |
| Wilbarger | about 12,900 | Yes |
| Montague | about 20,000 | Yes |
| Fannin | about 35,700 | Yes, but close to the line |
| Cooke | about 41,700 | No |
| Lamar | about 50,100 | No |
| Bowie | about 92,900 | No |
| Wichita | about 129,400 | No |
| Grayson | about 135,500 | No |
The pattern is clear. The small ranching counties of the western Red River, such as Hardeman, Wilbarger and Clay, sit far under the cap, along with Red River County itself in the northeast. Montague County, home to plenty of hunting land and cattle country, is comfortably under. Fannin County, east of Bonham, is close enough to the line that growth spilling out of the Dallas area makes it worth watching.
The larger counties are out. Wichita County, with Wichita Falls, and Grayson County, with Sherman and Denison, are far above the line, as are Bowie County around Texarkana, Lamar County around Paris and Cooke County around Gainesville.
Why Counties Near the Line Need a Second Look
A county just under the threshold is in a different position from one far below it. If a county’s population crosses the line after a new census, it may no longer qualify, and an existing order could be called into question. That is a legal point for the county attorney and commissioners court, not for riders on a Saturday morning, but it is a good reason to confirm the current status before relying on an order you heard about years ago.
North Texas is growing quickly. Communities on the edge of the Dallas and Fort Worth commuter belt, along U.S. 82 and U.S. 75, are adding residents every year. A county that was rural ranch land a generation ago may now have subdivisions, school traffic and commuters on the same roads where a side-by-side would be driving.
What Qualifying Does Not Mean
Being under the cap does not mean roads are open. It means the commissioners court has the option to open them. Many qualifying counties have never adopted an order, and some have considered the idea and decided against it. Others have opened only specific roads, or attached conditions about time of day and equipment.
Which Texas Counties May Open Roads walks through the process from a county’s side, and Riding Roads in a Red River County covers what riders should check before heading out. The key point is that a rider in Clay County and a rider in Hardeman County may face completely different rules, even though both counties are well under the cap.
How a Commissioners Court Opens Roads
When a qualifying county does decide to act, it does so through its commissioners court, the four commissioners and county judge who run county government in Texas. The process looks a lot like any other county decision, with public notice, discussion and a vote.
The Order and Its Conditions
A county that opens roads does so by order. The order typically identifies which roads are covered, whether the permission is countywide or limited to certain precincts, and what conditions apply. Conditions often address daylight hours, equipment, speed and the type of road. Counties are generally cautious about state highways and busier farm-to-market roads, which are maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation rather than the county.
For riders, the order is the document that matters. If you cannot find it, call the county judge’s office or the county clerk and ask for a copy. Many rural Texas counties post commissioners court agendas and minutes online, but not all of them do, and a phone call to the courthouse in a town like Clarksville, Henrietta or Quanah is often the fastest way to an answer.
Plates, Licenses and Equipment
Even when a county opens roads, riders still need to meet the state’s general conditions for road use by an off-highway vehicle. That typically means a valid driver’s license for the operator, the off-highway vehicle plate displayed on the machine, and equipment such as working headlights and taillights. The off-highway vehicle plate is issued on request and is inexpensive, as The $10 Cap on a Texas Plate explains, but you have to actually apply for it.
Equipment is where many riders spend money unnecessarily. Accessory suppliers like SuperATV sell lighting kits, mirrors, horns and turn signal kits that make a machine more visible and safer on a county road. Those are sensible additions, but they do not make an off-highway vehicle street legal in Texas, and they do not replace the county order. Why Adding Lights and Mirrors Changes Nothing covers that misconception in detail. If your county’s order lists specific equipment, buy what the order requires and keep the receipts.
Insurance is also worth thinking about. Texas exempts off-highway vehicles from the usual motor vehicle insurance requirement in many situations, but riding on a public road with traffic raises the stakes considerably. Many owners in opt-in counties choose to carry liability coverage regardless, and some county orders may expect it.
Steps Riders Should Follow Before Using a County Road
- Confirm that your county borders the Red River and falls under the population cap.
- Call the county judge or county clerk and ask whether the commissioners court has adopted an order.
- Get a copy of the order and read which roads, hours and conditions it covers.
- Title the machine and apply for the off-highway vehicle plate at your county tax assessor-collector’s office.
- Fit any equipment the order requires and check that lights and brakes work.
- Carry your driver’s license and keep a copy of the order with the machine.
- Stay off any state highway or road the order does not list.
What Still Applies Everywhere in Texas
A county opt-in is a local exception, not a reset of state law. Several rules continue to apply to every rider, in every county, whatever the commissioners court decides.
State Highways and the Crossing Rules
Roads maintained by the state are a different matter from county roads. A county order cannot authorize riding on a state highway. If your route requires getting across one, the state’s crossing rules apply: cross at a right angle, come to a complete stop first, yield to traffic and take the shortest safe path. Ninety Degrees and a Full Stop in Texas explains those rules, and divided highways have their own restrictions.
Riders in rural counties often run into this on short trips. A ranch road connects to a county road, which crosses a U.S. highway or a farm-to-market road on the way to the next property. The county road may be open under the order, but the highway crossing is governed by state rules.
The Agricultural Exception Still Works
The agricultural exception is entirely separate from any county order. If you use an off-highway vehicle for farm or ranch work, you may already be able to use certain roads for short trips connected to that work, subject to the 25 mile limit and equipment rules. That includes the 6-foot orange flag and lights in daylight described in The 6-Foot Orange Flag Texas Requires.
In some Red River counties, ranchers have been relying on the agricultural exception for decades. A county order can expand road use to recreational riders, but it does not change the rules for farm work, and a ranch hand moving between pastures does not need to wait for the commissioners court.
Penalties for Getting It Wrong
Riding on a public road without a lawful exception is typically a Class C misdemeanor under Texas off-highway vehicle law. That is the same category as many traffic tickets, with a fine but no jail time. Class C Misdemeanors Under Texas OHV Law covers the details.
The bigger risk is not the ticket. It is what happens if there is a crash. Riding on a road where you were not allowed to be can complicate insurance claims and civil liability. A quick call to the courthouse before you ride is cheap protection.
| Situation | Is Road Use Allowed | Key Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Red River county under the cap, order adopted | Only on roads the order covers | Follow the order and state requirements |
| Red River county under the cap, no order | No, outside other exceptions | Commissioners court must act first |
| Red River county over the cap | No county opt-in available | Other exceptions only |
| Any county, farm or ranch work | Yes, within limits | 25 miles, orange flag, lights |
| Any county, crossing a road | Yes, at a right angle | Full stop, yield, shortest path |
| State highway in any county | No, except to cross | County orders cannot open it |
Questions Riders Ask About the Population Rule
The same handful of questions come up every time the county opt-in is discussed at a feed store or on a hunting lease. Here are straightforward answers.
Does the Cap Change When the Census Changes
The population figure that matters is tied to the federal census, so a new count can move a county across the line. The legal effect on an existing order is a question for the county attorney rather than riders, but it is a good reason not to rely on an order that was adopted many years ago without checking that it is still in force.
Counties near the line, like Fannin, are the ones to watch. A rider in Hardeman or Clay County is unlikely to see a change any time soon.
Can a Rider From Another County Use the Roads
A county order usually covers roads in that county rather than residents of that county. If you trailer your side-by-side to a friend’s ranch in a county that has opened roads, the order may apply to you on those roads, subject to its terms. Read the order carefully, because some counties may have attached conditions that make this more complicated.
Remember that the plate, license and equipment requirements travel with you. Your off-highway vehicle plate is a state plate rather than a county one, and it stays with the machine rather than needing a yearly renewal.
Does the Rule Cover UTVs, Sand Rails and Golf Carts
Texas law treats ATVs, UTVs, ROVs and sand rails together as off-highway vehicles, so a county order adopted under the Red River provision generally speaks to the whole group rather than to quads alone. That said, the order itself is what controls. A commissioners court may choose to limit permission to certain machine types, or attach conditions such as seat belts for side-by-sides, and riders should read the wording rather than assume.
Golf carts and neighborhood electric vehicles are a different story. They have their own plates and their own road rules under separate parts of the Transportation Code, and a low-speed vehicle can be titled and registered in a way an ATV never can. A rancher who owns both a side-by-side and a golf cart may find that the two machines follow completely different rules on the same county road. Keep the paperwork for each machine separate, and do not assume that permission for one carries over to the other.
Electric side-by-sides fall into the same off-highway vehicle category as gas machines. The power source does not change the classification, so an electric UTV is just as limited on public roads as a gas one, and just as able to use a county order where one exists.
Can a Large County Pass Its Own Rule
No. A county above the cap, or outside the qualifying geography, cannot use this provision. Larger counties may have other options, such as the master planned community rules or city ordinances under the golf cart and neighborhood rules, but they cannot simply vote to open county roads to off-highway vehicles under the Red River provision.
Cities have their own, separate powers and limits, which What Texas Cities Can and Cannot Allow explains. A city ordinance and a county order are different things, and riders in towns along the Red River should check both.
For most Texas riders, the county opt-in will never apply. For those who live in the small Red River counties, it can make daily life on the ranch a little easier, as long as the commissioners court has actually acted and riders follow the order to the letter.
Disclaimer
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Laws, prices and regulations vary by location and change over time. Consult a qualified professional for guidance on your specific situation.
