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New Mexico
Mini trucks in Lincoln County, New Mexico
Kei trucks in New Mexico earn their keep on farms, ranches and private land.
Lincoln CountyNew Mexico
Can I own one here
Owning one in Lincoln 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 Lincoln County.
Roads open. Lincoln County and Ruidoso open their paved roads and streets to side by sides but not ATVs, and the village reports Commission approved stretches of NM 48 and NM 37.
In town Some
- Open Ruidoso. Paved streets owned and controlled by the village are open to ROVs at the posted limit. Walking trails and village parks stay closed. Ruidoso Code 82-81 to 82-85, Ordinance No. 2017-03 of 10 January 2017 as amended by Ordinance No. 2018-09 of 13 November 2018, read 28 October 2026
- Closed Ruidoso Downs. 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 Capitan. 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. Its only hit bars motorized vehicles from parks and bike trails. town code as published on Municode, no OHV act, read 28 October 2026
- To confirm Carrizozo. 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 Corona. 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. ATVs are not permitted on paved county roads. Unpaved county roads are not closed by state law. Ordinance 2018-02, adopted 16 October 2018, recorded 17 October 2018, read 28 October 2026
State highways Segments open
- Portions of NM 48 at Ruidoso, with the route extended north along NM 48 and NM 37 toward the Bonito Lake turnoff, ROVs only. Read on the village's page, which gives no resolution, date or end points. State Transportation Commission authorization named on the Village of Ruidoso OHV page, the resolution itself not read, read 28 October 2026
Getting one here
From Japan to Lincoln County.
The nearest ports with a sailing from Japan on record
- The Port of Los Angeles, about 900 road miles.
- The Port of Oakland, about 1,200 road miles.
- The Port of Tacoma, The Northwest Seaport Alliance South Harbor, about 1,500 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
Lincoln County, counted.
Farms in Lincoln County hold 110,473 acres of woodland. Lincoln County averages 20 inches of snow a year. Lincoln County has 359 farms and 237 cattle operations, by the 2022 Census of Agriculture.
Areas
The areas Lincoln County is part of.
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 Lincoln County?
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