Can I own one here
Owning one in Columbia 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
Closed to road use. Oregon does not register kei trucks for the road. The DMV says kei class vehicles cannot be titled or registered because they were not built for US highways. The 2025 and 2026 bills to change that ended in committee.
A newer governed truck
Off highway vehicle. The DMV titles ATVs. A governed road-built truck falls in Oregon's Class II ATV definition when operated off highway, because Class IV requires a vehicle originally manufactured for off-road use only.
Roads and towns
Roads and towns in Columbia County.
To confirm. St. Helens opens designated streets to Class IV side by sides and Rainier opens streets posted 35 mph or less to utility vehicles and golf carts under a city permit, no Columbia County road was found open, St. Helens leaves a kei truck out and whether Rainier's permit takes one is a question for the city.
In town Some
- Some St. Helens. Designated city streets are open to Class IV side by sides and closed to Class I, II and III. US 30 is closed. The operator must be 18 or older with a driver licence, a Class IV operator permit, an ATV safety education card and liability insurance. Read only in search excerpts of the city's notice and code, which no longer load or sit behind a bot check. Ordinance 3320, adding Chapter 10.24 to the municipal code, effective 20 March 2026. Not read., read 28 October 2026
- Some Rainier. Utility vehicles and golf carts may use city streets posted 35 mph or less and cross US 30 only at controlled intersections with marked crossings, registered with the city and showing its decal, with a driver 16 or older who is licensed and insured and a rollover protection system on a utility vehicle. Read only in a search excerpt of the code, which sits behind a bot check. Ordinance 1103 of 2025, as the code excerpt shows. Not read., read 28 October 2026
- To confirm Clatskanie. The town's code was not read in this pass.
- To confirm Columbia City. The town's code was not read in this pass.
- To confirm Prescott. The town's code was not read in this pass.
- To confirm Scappoose. The town's code was not read in this pass.
- To confirm Vernonia. The town's code was not read in this pass.
County roads To confirm
No county ordinance or order opening county roads to ATVs turned up in the State Parks list of counties with ATV roads, a statewide search or a search by county name. The county code and board orders were not read one by one.
State highways Crossings only
- US 30 is closed through St. Helens and crossing only at controlled intersections in Rainier, by the cities' codes as excerpted. St. Helens Chapter 10.24 and Rainier Ordinance 1103, neither read, read 28 October 2026
Getting one here
From Japan to Columbia County.
The nearest ports with a sailing from Japan on record
- The Port of Tacoma, The Northwest Seaport Alliance South Harbor, about 100 road miles.
- The Port of Seattle, The Northwest Seaport Alliance North Harbor, about 150 road miles.
- The Port of Everett, about 200 road miles.
How to import a mini truck, step by step.
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
Columbia County, counted.
8 active surface mines and quarries work Columbia County's ground. Columbia County has 723 farms and 294 cattle operations, by the 2022 Census of Agriculture. Farms in Columbia County hold 21,619 acres of woodland.
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 30 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 Columbia County?
Ask about a truck, a state or the papers, and we answer with what applies to you.
Reach us
Use the form on this page. We read every message.