Can I own one here
Owning one in Lewis 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 Lewis County.
To confirm. Lewis 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 Open
- Open Craigmont. A search result of the city's code page says ATVs and UTVs may use city streets under 6-1-6 with a valid Idaho driver's license, a current Idaho off-road registration displayed on the vehicle and proof of liability insurance, on the part of a street designed and maintained for automobile traffic, never on sidewalks, curbing or ditches, and that city streets are closed to unregistered ATVs and UTVs. The section itself could not be opened. Craigmont City Code 6-1-6, read 28 October 2026
- To confirm Kamiah. The state's 2023 compilation of local off-highway vehicle ordinances holds only a snowmobile chapter for Kamiah. It names no utility type vehicle, and the city's wider code was not read. 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 under 49-426(7). Kamiah City Code chapter 10.69, read 28 October 2026
- To confirm Nezperce. 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 Reubens. 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 Winchester. The state's 2023 compilation of local off-highway vehicle ordinances holds only a snowmobile chapter for Winchester. It names no utility type vehicle, and the city's wider code was not read. 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 under 49-426(7). Winchester City Code 5-3-4, read 28 October 2026
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 Lewis 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 Lewis County.
The nearest ports with a sailing from Japan on record
- The Port of Tacoma, The Northwest Seaport Alliance South Harbor, about 350 road miles.
- The Port of Seattle, The Northwest Seaport Alliance North Harbor, about 350 road miles.
- The Port of Everett, about 350 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
Lewis County, counted.
Lewis County averages 42 inches of snow a year. Farms in Lewis County hold 38,451 acres of woodland. Lewis County has 219 farms and 61 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 Lewis County?
Ask about a truck, a state or the papers, and we answer with what applies to you.
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