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New Mexico
Mini trucks in Doña Ana County, New Mexico
Kei trucks in New Mexico earn their keep on farms, ranches and private land.
Doña Ana CountyNew Mexico
Can I own one here
Owning one in Doña Ana 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.
Roads and towns
Roads and towns in Doña Ana County.
Roads open. Doña Ana County opens its paved county roads to ROVs and ATVs, Las Cruces opens its streets to permitted UTVs and Mesilla opens its own streets, while state highways stay crossing only.
In town Some
- Open Las Cruces. Paved streets and highways owned and controlled by the city are open to ROVs, which the code also calls UTVs, that carry a city permit, DOT approved tires, a safety glass windshield and a muffler, at 45 mph or the posted limit if lower. ATVs are not named. Las Cruces Code 27-12-7-9.2, Ordinance No. 2915 of 2 March 2020 as amended by Ordinance No. 2930 of 6 July 2020, read 28 October 2026
- Open Mesilla. Paved town streets are open to ROVs and ATVs. The multi-use trails stay closed, as do the state highways through town, Avenida de Mesilla, Motel Boulevard, Union Avenue and University Avenue. Mesilla Town Code 10.15.040, Ordinance No. 2020-01, read 28 October 2026
- Closed Anthony. 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. Its traffic code lists the state OHV offences in its penalty schedule only. town code as published on American Legal, no OHV act, read 28 October 2026
- Closed Hatch. 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 Sunland Park. 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
County roads Open
Every paved street or highway owned and controlled by the county is open to ROVs and ATVs, ATVs at 35 mph and ROVs at 45 mph or the posted limit if lower. Unpaved county roads are not closed by state law. County ordinance enacted 22 August 2017 and recorded 24 August 2017, instrument 1719817, codified as County Code chapter 312, article III, read 28 October 2026
State highways Closed
Closed to OHVs.
Getting one here
From Japan to Doña Ana 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 1,600 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
Doña Ana County, counted.
Doña Ana County grows 38,790 acres of orchards and vineyards. 5 active surface mines and quarries work Doña Ana County's ground. Doña Ana County has 1,990 farms and 167 cattle operations, by the 2022 Census of Agriculture.
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 Doña Ana County?
Ask about a truck, a state or the papers, and we answer with what applies to you.
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