Home / States / New Mexico / Grant County
New Mexico
Mini trucks in Grant County, New Mexico
Kei trucks in New Mexico earn their keep on farms, ranches and private land.
Grant CountyNew Mexico
Can I own one here
Owning one in Grant 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 Grant County.
Roads open. Grant County opens its paved county roads and five Commission approved state highway segments north of Silver City to side by sides only, and Silver City and Bayard open their streets to side by sides with an adult driver.
In town Some
- Open Silver City. Paved town streets are open to ROVs from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., with a driver eighteen or older. ATVs and every other OHV are barred in town, and trails, open space, riparian zones, stream beds and parks are closed. Silver City Code 50-3, amending the Uniform Traffic Ordinance, as amended through Ordinance No. 1319 of 11 July 2023, read 28 October 2026
- Open Bayard. City streets are open to ROVs with a driver eighteen or older or one under eighteen with a full licence. ATVs are not permitted in city limits. Ordinance No. 4-2019, adopted 9 September 2019, amending the traffic code adopted at Bayard Code 38-1, read 28 October 2026
- To confirm Hurley. The town is listed on Municode but no code text was searchable there, and no OHV act was found.
- To confirm Santa Clara. 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 Open
Every paved street or highway owned and controlled by the county is open to ROVs only. No other OHV may use them. Unpaved county roads are not closed by state law. Ordinance No. O-17-03, adopted 19 September 2017, read 28 October 2026
State highways Segments open
- ROVs only, never ATVs, on NM 15 from mile marker 6.2 near Pinos Altos to NM 35 at mile marker 25.2, NM 35 from McKnight Canyon Road, Forest Road 152, at mile marker 12.2 to NM 15 at mile marker 27.4, NM 153 from NM 211 at mile marker 0.0 to mile marker 3.9, NM 211 from NM 293 at mile marker 4.0 to NM 153 at mile marker 5.4 and NM 293 from NM 211 at mile marker 0.0 to mile marker 4.8. The grant is contingent on a county and NMDOT agreement, signage and county patrols. Whether those were completed was not confirmed. State Transportation Commission Resolution No. 2018-11 (SEP), adopted 20 September 2018, on Grant County Resolution R-18-27, read 28 October 2026
Getting one here
From Japan to Grant County.
The nearest ports with a sailing from Japan on record
- The Port of Los Angeles, about 700 road miles.
- The Port of Oakland, about 1,000 road miles.
- The Port of Tacoma, The Northwest Seaport Alliance South Harbor, about 1,500 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
Grant County, counted.
5 active surface mines and quarries work Grant County's ground. Farms in Grant County hold 21,315 acres of woodland. Grant County has 334 farms and 210 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 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 Grant 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.