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New Mexico
Mini trucks in Los Alamos County, New Mexico
Kei trucks in New Mexico earn their keep on farms, ranches and private land.
Los Alamos CountyNew Mexico
Can I own one here
Owning one in Los Alamos 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 Los Alamos County.
None found. Los Alamos County keeps every paved street closed to OHVs except to cross, and state highways stay crossing only.
In town Closed
- Closed Los Alamos. Los Alamos County is an incorporated county, one government for the county and its townsites, so the county code governs here. No paved street is open to OHVs except to cross. Los Alamos County Code 38-500, Ordinance No. 85-218 of 1995 as amended by Ordinance No. 02-236 of 17 December 2013, read 28 October 2026
County roads Closed
No person may operate an OHV on any paved street except to cross. An OHV with a validating sticker may be moved beside a street only by non-mechanical means to reach a riding area. The department lists the county as strictly prohibited. Los Alamos County Code 38-499 to 38-504, current through Supplement 73, read 28 October 2026
State highways Closed
Closed to OHVs.
Getting one here
From Japan to Los Alamos County.
The nearest ports with a sailing from Japan on record
- The Port of Los Angeles, about 800 road miles.
- The Port of Oakland, about 1,100 road miles.
- The Port of Tacoma, The Northwest Seaport Alliance South Harbor, about 1,400 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
Los Alamos County, counted.
Los Alamos County averages 42 inches of snow a year. Los Alamos County has 4 farms and 2 cattle operations, by the 2022 Census of Agriculture. Los Alamos County is mostly urban, with 5 percent of its people outside urban areas.
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 Los Alamos County?
Ask about a truck, a state or the papers, and we answer with what applies to you.
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