You will loose any argument stating that " The DMV has to explain, " The DMV does not have to explain to anyone in most cases. They make an interpretation of the law, if you feel otherwise then it is up to you to explain not vice versa. Here is some additional information on the Federal Law that governs this situation. 1.) Military Vehicles in most cases were not submitted for testing by the manufactures as complying with the FMVSS, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The did not need to do this to fulfill a contract for the Military 2.) The Military has its own safety standards that follow the FMVSS, or exceed, but are different 3.) This is a state issue as the states own the vehicle registration process and interpretation/enforcement of the laws Additional clarification below: Key words are as follows: Certify Compliance, if the manufacturer did not go through the process to certify then according to the current law it is not compliant. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a legislative mandate under Title 49 of the United States Code, Chapter 301, Motor Vehicle Safety, to issue Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and Regulations to which manufacturers of motor vehicle and equipment items must conform and certify compliance. FMVSS 209 was the first standard to become effective on March 1, 1967. A number of FMVSS became effective for vehicles manufactured on and after January 1, 1968. Subsequently, other FMVSS have been issued. New standards and amendments to existing standards are published in the Federal Register.In order to sell a motor vehicle in the U.S. market, a vehicle manufacturer must certify that the vehicle meets performance requirements specified in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, or FMVSS. The FMVSS are codified at 49 C.F.R. Part 571, and encompass 73 separate standards that generally focus on crash avoidance, crash worthiness, and post-crash survivability. Various safety standards apply to different vehicle types, including motorcycles, low-speed vehicles,passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles (such as vans and sport-utility vehicles), trucks, trailers, and buses (including schoolbuses).