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New Mexico

Mini trucks in Bernalillo County, New Mexico

Kei trucks in New Mexico earn their keep on farms, ranches and private land.

Road use unclearPrivate land onlyAbout 800 road miles from the Port of Los Angeles
Check your stateState rules

Bernalillo CountyNew Mexico

CibolaMcKinleySandovalSanta FeSocorroTorranceValencia
Bernalillo County, New Mexico
Matthew.kowalCC BY-SA 4.0Wikimedia Commons

Can I own one here

Owning one in Bernalillo 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 unclear. New Mexico has no kei truck law. The MVD's written procedure for a vehicle built for sale abroad asks for conformity to federal safety and emission standards and a NHTSA bond release letter, and it has no lane for a vehicle imported at 25 years under the federal age exemption.

A newer governed truck

Private land only. The two statutory OHV definitions disagree on a governed work truck, so no OHV title path is settled.

Owning oneState rules

Roads and towns

Roads and towns in Bernalillo County.

None found. Bernalillo County bars OHVs from its paved roads, trails and parks while Albuquerque, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque and Tijeras open no street to them.

In town Closed

  • Closed Albuquerque. The town's code on American Legal was searched for off-highway, all-terrain, off-road and UTV and opens no street, so paved streets stay closed to OHVs except to cross, NMSA 66-3-1011. The only hits are a ban on vehicles in drainage channels and arroyos and the open space rules. town code as published on American Legal, no OHV act, read 28 October 2026
  • Closed Los Ranchos de Albuquerque. The town's code on American Legal was searched for off-highway, all-terrain, off-road and UTV and opens no street, so paved streets stay closed to OHVs except to cross, NMSA 66-3-1011. town code as published on American Legal, no OHV act, read 28 October 2026
  • Closed Tijeras. The town's code on Municode was searched for off-highway, all-terrain, off-road and UTV and opens no street, so paved streets stay closed to OHVs except to cross, NMSA 66-3-1011. town code as published on Municode, no OHV act, read 28 October 2026

County roads Closed

Ordinance 2022-3 bars OHVs from paved county streets and highways except to cross, and from walking trails and county parks. The department lists the county as strictly prohibited. The act reaches paved roads only. Ordinance No. 2022-3, adopted February 2022, codified as County Code 82-5 to 82-5.4, read 28 October 2026

State highways Closed

Closed to OHVs.

Getting one here

From Japan to Bernalillo County.

The nearest ports with a sailing from Japan on record

  • The Port of Los Angeles, about 800 road miles.
  • The Port of Oakland, about 1,100 road miles.
  • The Port of Tacoma, The Northwest Seaport Alliance South Harbor, about 1,400 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

Bernalillo County, counted.

Bernalillo County grows 155 acres of orchards and vineyards. 3 active surface mines and quarries work Bernalillo County's ground. Bernalillo County has 964 farms and 190 cattle operations, by the 2022 Census of Agriculture.

964farmsUSDA National Agricultural Statistics Serviceread 28 October 2026190cattle operationsUSDA National Agricultural Statistics Serviceread 28 October 2026155acres of orchards, vineyards includedUSDA National Agricultural Statistics Serviceread 28 October 2026285operations with horsesUSDA National Agricultural Statistics Serviceread 28 October 202621,163acres of woodland on farmsUSDA National Agricultural Statistics Serviceread 28 October 20263active surface mines and quarriesMine Safety and Health Administrationread 28 October 202612.6inches of snow a year, the station meanNOAA National Centers for Environmental Informationread 28 October 20264percent of people outside urban areasUS Census Bureauread 28 October 2026676,444people in 2020US Census Bureauread 28 October 2026

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.

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