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New Mexico

Mini trucks in Eddy County, New Mexico

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

Road use unclearPrivate land onlyAbout 1,000 road miles from the Port of Los Angeles
Check your stateState rules

Eddy CountyNew Mexico

LeaLincolnOteroCulbersonHudspethLovingReeves
Eddy County, New Mexico
Patrick Alexander from Las Cruces, NMCC0Wikimedia Commons

Can I own one here

Owning one in Eddy 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 Eddy County.

Roads open. Eddy County opens its paved county roads to ROVs and ATVs with a licensed and insured driver, while Carlsbad and Artesia keep their streets closed and state highways stay crossing only.

In town To confirm

  • Closed Carlsbad. 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
  • Closed Artesia. 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
  • To confirm Hope. No online code or OHV act was found for the town in this pass, so whether it opens a street is not known.
  • To confirm Loving. No online code or OHV act was found for the town in this pass, so whether it opens a street is not known.

County roads Open

Every paved street or highway owned and controlled by the county is open to ROVs and ATVs as the ordinance defines them, and to no other OHV. Unpaved county roads are not closed by state law. Ordinance No. O-18-95, adopted and recorded 7 August 2018, read 28 October 2026

State highways Closed

Closed to OHVs.

Getting one here

From Japan to Eddy County.

The nearest ports with a sailing from Japan on record

  • The Port of Los Angeles, about 1,000 road miles.
  • The Port of Oakland, about 1,300 road miles.
  • The JAXPORT, Jacksonville Port Authority, 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

Eddy County, counted.

14 active surface mines and quarries work Eddy County's ground. Eddy County grows 6,369 acres of orchards and vineyards. Farms in Eddy County hold 2,992 acres of woodland.

346farmsUSDA National Agricultural Statistics Serviceread 28 October 2026163cattle operationsUSDA National Agricultural Statistics Serviceread 28 October 2026640,351acres of land in farmsUSDA National Agricultural Statistics Serviceread 28 October 20266,369acres of orchards, vineyards includedUSDA National Agricultural Statistics Serviceread 28 October 2026146operations with horsesUSDA National Agricultural Statistics Serviceread 28 October 20262,992acres of woodland on farmsUSDA National Agricultural Statistics Serviceread 28 October 202614active surface mines and quarriesMine Safety and Health Administrationread 28 October 20262.9inches of snow a year, the station meanNOAA National Centers for Environmental Informationread 28 October 202622percent of people outside urban areasUS Census Bureauread 28 October 202662,314people in 2020US Census Bureauread 28 October 2026

Areas

The areas Eddy County is part of.

Permian Basin

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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