Two lanes
Which Minicab can come in.
The 25 year road truck
Built in October 2001 or earlier
A Minicab at least 25 years old comes in for the road under the federal 25 year rule, declared to DOT and to EPA at the port, if its engine is the model it left the factory with. Your state then decides the title and the roads.
The two agesHow it worksThe newer off road truck
Governed, with a certified engine
A newer Minicab comes in only as off road equipment, permanently governed to a top speed and with a nonroad engine certified by EPA before import. It is never a road truck under federal law, and it works farms, ranches and private land as your state allows.
What that engine needsTestingThe duty
The chicken tax, at every age
Every kei truck pays the 25 percent truck duty, the one people call the chicken tax, whatever its age. U.S. Customs has ruled so for kei trucks built in 1990 and 1993, and the 25 year rule decides only whether a truck may come in, not what it pays.
The dutyHow it worksThe engines
Minicab engines, generation by generation.
EPA admits a 25 year truck on age only with the same model of engine it was built with, so the engine is read before the truck is bought.
| Generation | Built | Engine | Stock power | Eligible from | Lane |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minicab 1st | August 1966 to March 1976 | engine code not published 359 cc | August 1991 maker | Every unit is 25 or older | |
| Minicab Van 1st | 1968 to March 1976 | engine code not published 359 cc | 1993 maker | Every unit is 25 or older | |
| Minicab 5 2nd | April 1976 to February 1977 | engine code not published | April 2001 maker | Every unit is 25 or older | |
| Minicab Wide 55 2nd, 550 cc | March 1977 to May 1984 | engine code not published | March 2002 maker | Every unit is 25 or older | |
| Minicab 3rd | June 1984 to December 1990 | engine code not published | June 2009 maker | Every unit is 25 or older | |
| Minicab Truck U41T/U42T | January 1991 to December 1998 | 3G83 657 cc | January 2016 catalog | Every unit is 25 or older | |
| Minicab Bravo (van) U41V/U42V | January 1991 to December 1998 | 3G83 657 cc | January 2016 maker | Every unit is 25 or older | |
| Minicab Truck U61T/U62T | January 1999 to January 2014 | 3G83 657 cc | 35 kW | January 2024 catalog | Turning 25 from January 2024 |
| Minicab Van U61V/U62V | January 1999 to December 2013 | 3G83, 3G83 turbo 657 cc | 35 kW | January 2024 catalog | Turning 25 from January 2024 |
| Minicab Truck DS16T | February 2014 on | R06A 658 cc | 37 kW | February 2039 catalog | Newer, off road only |
| Minicab Van DS17V | March 2015 on | R06A 658 cc | 36 kW | March 2040 catalog | Newer, off road only |
Eligible from is the month the earliest units turn 25, counted from the start of the generation as the maker or a catalog gives it. Each truck's own date of manufacture decides, to the day, under 49 USC 30112(b)(9). Read 28 October 2026.
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