Can I own one here
Owning one in Johnson County.
On your own land
On private land closed to the public a kei truck needs no plate, title or DNR registration.
On the farm
An ATV or off-road utility vehicle may use a highway between sunrise and sunset incidental to its agricultural use, stops for fuel, food and a nonalcoholic drink included, at 35 mph or less, 321.234A(1)(a). It needs no registration when used that way or used only as a farm implement, 321I.9(2) and (3), and the DNR says the age and insurance terms of 321.234A(2) do not reach it. The DNR's 2025 sheet adds that no license is needed within two miles of the farm and a Class C license beyond, citing 321.176 and 761 IAC 605.3.
Whether a governed kei truck used only in farming is an implement of husbandry was not found in any DOT text. It is the question for Iowa DOT Motor Vehicle Division before a farmer drives one on a road.
A 25 year truck on the road
Road use unclear, to confirm. Iowa law tells the DOT and every county treasurer to refuse registration and title to a vehicle without a federal safety certification label, and chapter 321 gives no exception for age. A kei truck carries no such label, so the DOT's Vehicle Services decides whether any road path opens.
A newer governed truck
Private land only. None as delivered. Iowa Code 321.30(2)(a) bars a motor vehicle title without a federal label, and the off-road utility vehicle class needs nonhighway tires or tracks.
Roads and towns
Roads and towns in Johnson County.
Roads open. Every unpaved county road in Johnson County is open by state law to registered ATVs and UTVs with a licensed and insured driver of eighteen or older at 35 mph or less and paved county roads only on the most direct route. Iowa City keeps them off its streets and North Liberty opens its streets to UTVs. A kei truck on its own road tires is neither an ATV nor an off-road utility vehicle.
This rests on Iowa law. No Johnson County ordinance or resolution was read.
In town Some
- Closed Iowa City. Riding an ATV or UTV on city streets is a simple misdemeanor, by news coverage updated April 2026. The city code was not read. not read, read 28 October 2026
- Some North Liberty. UTVs with roll bars on city streets from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and no ATVs, by news coverage updated April 2026. The city code was not read. not read, read 28 October 2026
- Some Solon. A news summary lists Solon among towns that let UTVs use city streets with exceptions of their own and generally keep ATVs off them. The city code was not read. not read, read 28 October 2026
County roads Some
Every unpaved secondary road in unincorporated Johnson County is open by state law to a registered ATV or off-road utility vehicle. A paved undivided two-lane secondary road is open only over the most direct route to a riding park or trail, an open road, an open city street or the rider's home, unless the board of supervisors authorizes it for any trip, Iowa Code 321I.10(4)(a)(3). No county act authorizing paved roads was found in this pass. Iowa Code 321I.10(4), as amended by 2022 Iowa Acts chapter 1105 (HF 2130), effective 1 July 2022. No county act found in this pass., read 28 October 2026
State highways Closed
Closed to OHVs.
Getting one here
From Japan to Johnson County.
The nearest ports with a sailing from Japan on record
- The Port of Savannah, Georgia Ports Authority, about 1,100 road miles.
- The JAXPORT, Jacksonville Port Authority, about 1,200 road miles.
- The Port of Los Angeles, about 1,900 road miles.
How to import a mini truck, step by step.
A newer off road truck never lands in California. It comes in through Tacoma or by way of Houston.
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
Johnson County, counted.
Johnson County has 1,212 farms and 311 cattle operations, by the 2022 Census of Agriculture. 4 active surface mines and quarries work Johnson County's ground. Johnson County grows 278 acres of orchards and vineyards.
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 31 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 Johnson County?
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