Colorado's kei vehicle class, and the two dates that matter

Colorado has passed a law that makes kei vehicles a legal road class, and it has not started yet. House Bill 25-1281, chapter 176 of the 2025 Session Laws, takes effect on 1 July 2027 ¹. It applies to applications submitted on or after 1 January 2028, so title, registration and road use for a kei vehicle open on that day ².

Until then the Department of Revenue says kei vehicles are not legal to title or register for the road ³. A kei truck works on private land, farms and ranches in the meantime. The DMV has said it will publish the registration process before 1 January 2028 ⁴.

The class has size and power limits. A kei vehicle is an imported vehicle with an enclosed cab on four or more tires, 67 inches wide or less and 140 inches long or less, with a top speed of at least 50 miles per hour ⁵. Its power is a combustion engine of 1,000 cc or less or an electric motor of 56 kW or less ⁶. It must have been 25 years old or older when imported, or be 25 years old or older with a prior US title ⁷.

Where it may go is limited. A kei vehicle may be driven on roads with a speed limit of 55 miles per hour or less, may cross a faster road only at an at-grade intersection, and may never be driven on a limited-access highway ⁸. The act bars the state from requiring an inspection because a vehicle is a kei vehicle ⁹.

A newer truck that does not meet the age test falls into a separate class, the kei off-road vehicle, which the law lists as an off-highway vehicle ¹⁰. Whether Colorado Parks and Wildlife will register a governed kei truck is unsettled, and the Mini Truck Roadbook chapter marks that point as unsure.

This post reports the public record as read on 28 October 2026. It is general information and not legal advice.