# EXHIBIT 31.1

# CERTIFICATION

I, John E. Sztykiel, certify that:

| | 1. | I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Spartan Motors, Inc.;
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| | 2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a
               material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements
               made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not
               misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
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| | 3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information
               included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial
               condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and
               for, the periods presented in this report;
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| | 4. | The registrants other certifying officer and I are responsible for
               establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in
               Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over
               financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and
               15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:
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| | a) | Designed
such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and
procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information
relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us
by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is
being prepared;
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| | b) | Designed
such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over
financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial
statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles;
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| | c) | Evaluated
the effectiveness of the registrants disclosure controls and procedures and
presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure
controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such
evaluation; and
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| | d) | Disclosed
in this report any change in the registrants internal control over financial
reporting that occurred during the registrants most recent fiscal quarter (the
registrants fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has
materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrants
internal control over financial reporting; and
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| | 5. | The registrants other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on
               our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the
               registrants auditors and the audit committee of registrants board of
               directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
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| | a) | All
significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal
control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the
registrants ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information;
and
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| | b) | Any
fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a
significant role in the registrants internal control over financial reporting.
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Date:  November
6, 2009

| |  | /s/ John E. Sztykiel
John E. Sztykiel
President and Chief Executive Officer
Spartan Motors, Inc.
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