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New Mexico
Mini trucks in Sandoval County, New Mexico
Kei trucks in New Mexico earn their keep on farms, ranches and private land.
Sandoval CountyNew Mexico
Can I own one here
Owning one in Sandoval 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 Sandoval County.
To confirm. Sandoval County has no act opening paved county roads and Rio Rancho, Bernalillo and Corrales keep their streets closed, while three villages' codes were not found.
In town To confirm
- Closed Rio Rancho. The town's code on eCode360 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 Uniform Traffic Ordinance 12-7-9.2 keeps paved streets closed except to cross. town code as published on eCode360, no OHV act, read 28 October 2026
- Closed Bernalillo. The town's code on eCode360 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 hits are noise rules. town code as published on eCode360, no OHV act, read 28 October 2026
- Closed Corrales. No OHV may run on any public road or right of way of the village, paved, graded or improved, nor on trails on village right of way. Corrales Code 34-62(c), Ordinance No. 11-001, 11 January 2011, read 28 October 2026
- To confirm Cuba. 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 Jemez Springs. 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 San Ysidro. 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 Some
No county act opens paved county roads, so they stay closed to OHVs, NMSA 66-3-1011(A). The Act closes only paved streets and highways, so a registered OHV is not barred from an unpaved county road the county has not closed. The county code on Municode was searched and has no OHV act. none. The Department of Wildlife register of paved road acts, kept under 18.15.3.15 NMAC, lists no act for the county, read 28 October 2026
State highways Closed
Closed to OHVs.
Getting one here
From Japan to Sandoval 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 1,000 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
Sandoval County, counted.
5 active surface mines and quarries work Sandoval County's ground. Farms in Sandoval County hold 29,085 acres of woodland. Sandoval County grows 250 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 Sandoval County?
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