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Idaho
Mini trucks in Owyhee County, Idaho
In Idaho a kei truck runs in the UTV lane, never on a regular plate.
Owyhee CountyIdaho
Can I own one here
Owning one in Owyhee County.
On your own land, yes
Owning a kei truck and working it on a ranch, a farm, a mine or private property does not depend on a road title. Some states still ask for a title or an off road registration.
A 25 year truck on the road
Road use with limits, to confirm. Idaho will not register a vehicle its maker did not certify to federal motor vehicle safety standards, so a kei truck takes no ordinary plate. ITD classes a vehicle of that size that is not FMVSS certified as a UTV, which takes a restricted plate for the roads Idaho opens to off-highway vehicles.
A newer governed truck
Utility terrain vehicle. Titled at the county office as a UTV under ITD's measurement chart, which counts a vehicle not FMVSS certified for highway use.
Roads and towns
Roads and towns in Owyhee County.
Roads open. Owyhee County opens every county road to ATVs, UTVs and motorbikes except thirty four named roads, most of them paved, and holds them to 25 mph with a license and Idaho registration.
In town Open
- Open Bruneau. Roads within the Bruneau townsite are open to ATVs, utility type vehicles and motorbikes. Owyhee County Code 6-6-3, Ordinance 10-03 of 13 December 2010, read 28 October 2026
- To confirm Grand View. The city's code was not read in this pass. Idaho Code 49-426(3)(a) leaves a street that is not a state highway open to a licensed off-highway vehicle until the city closes or limits it by ordinance or resolution under 49-426(7).
- To confirm Homedale. The city's code was not read in this pass. Idaho Code 49-426(3)(a) leaves a street that is not a state highway open to a licensed off-highway vehicle until the city closes or limits it by ordinance or resolution under 49-426(7).
- To confirm Marsing. The city's code was not read in this pass. Idaho Code 49-426(3)(a) leaves a street that is not a state highway open to a licensed off-highway vehicle until the city closes or limits it by ordinance or resolution under 49-426(7).
- Open Murphy. Roads within the Murphy townsite are open to ATVs, utility type vehicles and motorbikes. Owyhee County Code 6-6-3, Ordinance 10-03 of 13 December 2010, read 28 October 2026
County roads Open
Every county road is open to ATVs, utility type vehicles and motorbikes as Idaho Code 67-7101 defines them, except thirty four roads or parts of roads named in Appendix A of the ordinance, most of them paved, among them Mud Flat Road, River Road, Silver City Road, Upper Reynolds Creek Road and Pleasant Valley Road. The Murphy and Bruneau townsites are open. A vehicle on a county road needs a license and state registration, may not exceed 25 mph and follows the state and county rules of the road. Agricultural use is exempt. The ordinance is the county's 2010 act after a public hearing under Idaho Code 49-426, and Appendix A was amended by Ordinance 2021-01 of 12 July 2021. Owyhee County Code 6-6, Ordinance 10-03 of 13 December 2010 as amended by Ordinance 2021-01 of 12 July 2021; 6-1-6, Ordinance 05-03 of 1 August 2005, read 28 October 2026
State highways Closed
Closed to OHVs.
Getting one here
From Japan to Owyhee County.
The nearest ports with a sailing from Japan on record
- The Port of Tacoma, The Northwest Seaport Alliance South Harbor, about 500 road miles.
- The Port of Seattle, The Northwest Seaport Alliance North Harbor, about 500 road miles.
- The Port of Everett, about 500 road miles.
How to import a mini truck, step by step.
Trucks travel in containers, one to a 20 foot box with room for parts or three to a 40 foot box.
Road miles are an estimate, the straight line times 1.2.
The ground
Owyhee County, counted.
Farms in Owyhee County hold 7,513 acres of woodland. Owyhee County has 461 farms and 257 cattle operations, by the 2022 Census of Agriculture. Owyhee County averages 47 inches of snow a year.
Importing a kei truck
The essentials, in short.
A truck under 25 can come in only as governed off road equipment, and only if its engine family held an EPA nonroad certificate for that model year. No kei engine family was certified for mini trucks before model year 2010, so a truck built after 30 October 2001 and before model year 2010 has no federal door until its 25th birthday.
Two lanes
A road truck must be 25 years old by its own build date. A newer truck comes in only as governed off road equipment with a certified engine.
The 25 percent duty
Every kei truck pays the 25 percent truck duty at the port, whatever its age.
The paperwork
The customs entry and the two federal declarations, DOT Form HS-7 and EPA Form 3520-1, travel with the truck to your title office.
The title
Keep every stamped paper with the truck. Your state title office asks to see them.
Contact
A question about the law in Owyhee County?
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