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Idaho
Mini trucks in Clearwater County, Idaho
In Idaho a kei truck runs in the UTV lane, never on a regular plate.
Clearwater CountyIdaho
Can I own one here
Owning one in Clearwater 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 with limits, to confirm. Idaho will not register a vehicle its maker did not certify to federal motor vehicle safety standards, so a kei truck takes no ordinary plate. ITD classes a vehicle of that size that is not FMVSS certified as a UTV, which takes a restricted plate for the roads Idaho opens to off-highway vehicles.
A newer governed truck
Utility terrain vehicle. Titled at the county office as a UTV under ITD's measurement chart, which counts a vehicle not FMVSS certified for highway use.
Roads and towns
Roads and towns in Clearwater County.
To confirm. Clearwater County's own code was not read in this pass. Idaho Code 49-426 opens county and city roads that are not state highways to a licensed off-highway vehicle until the county, city or highway district closes or limits them, so a kei truck that Idaho titles as a UTV and plates with a restricted plate may use them at up to 45 mph wherever nothing says otherwise.
In town To confirm
- To confirm Elk River. The city's code was not read in this pass. Idaho Code 49-426(3)(a) leaves a street that is not a state highway open to a licensed off-highway vehicle until the city closes or limits it by ordinance or resolution under 49-426(7).
- To confirm Orofino. The city's code was not read in this pass. Idaho Code 49-426(3)(a) leaves a street that is not a state highway open to a licensed off-highway vehicle until the city closes or limits it by ordinance or resolution under 49-426(7).
- To confirm Pierce. The city's code was not read in this pass. Idaho Code 49-426(3)(a) leaves a street that is not a state highway open to a licensed off-highway vehicle until the city closes or limits it by ordinance or resolution under 49-426(7).
- To confirm Weippe. The city's code was not read in this pass. Idaho Code 49-426(3)(a) leaves a street that is not a state highway open to a licensed off-highway vehicle until the city closes or limits it by ordinance or resolution under 49-426(7).
County roads Open
Open by the state's own default and not yet ruled out as closed. Idaho Code 49-426(3)(a) opens every highway that is not a state or interstate highway to a licensed off-highway vehicle until the governing board closes or limits it under 49-426(7). No ordinance or resolution of the Clearwater County commissioners closing or limiting county roads was read in this pass. A road that belongs to a highway district or a city is that body's to close or limit and not the county's. Idaho Code 49-426(3)(a) and (7); no county closure read, read 28 October 2026
State highways Closed
Closed to OHVs.
Getting one here
From Japan to Clearwater County.
The nearest ports with a sailing from Japan on record
- The Port of Seattle, The Northwest Seaport Alliance North Harbor, about 400 road miles.
- The Port of Tacoma, The Northwest Seaport Alliance South Harbor, about 400 road miles.
- The Port of Everett, about 400 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
Clearwater County, counted.
Clearwater County averages 83 inches of snow a year. Farms in Clearwater County hold 16,635 acres of woodland. Clearwater County has 273 farms and 78 cattle operations, by the 2022 Census of Agriculture.
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 Clearwater County?
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