South Dakota titles a road-built kei truck as a motor vehicle
Read from South Dakota's own statutes and motor vehicle office.
South Dakota has no kei truck law and no federal safety standards test at registration. A kei truck 25 years or older built for Japan's roads is a motor truck under South Dakota law and is titled and registered at the county treasurer on its customs entry, HS-7, EPA form and foreign ownership papers. A newer truck imported as governed off-road equipment is an off-road vehicle: it is titled, works farms and private land, may run highway ditches outside the interstate and may cross a road but not drive along it.
Your lane
Which truck are you buying?
South Dakota treats the two kinds of kei truck differently. Pick yours and this answers for it.
a truck 25 years or older imported for road use under the federal age exemptions
Open to road useTitle. County treasurer title on the CBP 7501, the HS-7, an EPA form 3520 and the foreign ownership papers, as a motor vehicle under SDCL 32-3-1(17).
Registration. Ordinary registration with plates.
- No South Dakota source names kei trucks.
- No South Dakota statute or rule asks for federal safety standards at title or registration.
- A vehicle whose certificate of origin says not for highway use is an off-road vehicle and may only cross public roads. SDCL 32-20-12
Read from a secondary source or an older page. Confirm it with the office before you rely on it.
I am buying a truck 25 years or older. What does South Dakota allow?
It is a motor vehicle under South Dakota law. The county treasurer titles it on its import papers and it takes ordinary plates.
a newer truck imported as off road equipment, governed to a top speed and carrying an EPA certified nonroad engine
Off highway vehicleWhere it can run
Private land and farms. Highway ditches outside the interstate system as close as possible to the outer edge of the right of way, unless a county or the Transportation Commission bans ditch use there. Road crossings.
Title. South Dakota off-road vehicle title through the county treasurer. SDCL 32-20-12
Registration. None for highway use. The motorcycle license route in SDCL 32-20-13 is written for all-terrain vehicles and two wheel off-road vehicles.
- No operation on a public street or highway except to cross from one side to the other. SDCL 32-20-12
- A person 12 years of age or older may operate an off-road vehicle in a highway ditch as close as possible to the outer edge of the right of way. SDCL 32-20-12
- Never in an interstate ditch, on Game, Fish and Parks lands outside designated areas and trails, in a ditch that is part of the state snowmobile trail system or on a public bike trail. SDCL 32-20-12
- A county or the Transportation Commission may ban ditch use by ordinance but may not ban crossings or normal agricultural operations. SDCL 32-20-12.1
Read from a secondary source or an older page. Confirm it with the office before you rely on it.
A newer truck comes in only as nonroad equipment, permanently governed to a top speed and with a nonroad engine certified by EPA before import. It pays the same 25 percent truck duty. What that engine needs.
I am buying a newer truck governed to 25 mph. What does South Dakota allow?
It is titled as an off road vehicle. It works farms and private land, may run highway ditches outside the interstate and may cross a road but not drive along it.
Who decides here
The office and the rule.
This is the office that titles and registers a kei truck in South Dakota, and the text it works from.
The deciding office
South Dakota Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division, through the county treasurer
SDCL 32-3-1(22) defines an off-road vehicle as any self-propelled, two-or-more-wheeled vehicle designed primarily to be operated on land other than a highway, which includes any vehicle whose manufacturer's statement of origin or manufacturer's certificate of origin states that the vehicle is not for highway use. SDCL 32-3-1(17) counts motor trucks as motor vehicles and leaves out off-road vehicles. No South Dakota statute or rule read requires a vehicle to meet federal motor vehicle safety standards to be titled or registered.The office pagedor.sd.gov, read 28 October 2026
Engines and EPA
Why the engine decides which truck comes in.
The same three facts hold in South Dakota and every other state.
The 25 year truck
It comes in on age
A 25 year old kei truck in original configuration clears both agencies on age. No Registered Importer and no Independent Commercial Importer is needed.
EPA's provision asks only that the truck is in its original configuration with the same model of engine it left the factory with.
40 CFR 85.1511(f)(2)eCFR, read 28 October 2026The newer truck
EPA asks for a certified engine
A newer kei truck comes in as nonroad equipment, permanently modified so its top speed is 25 mph or less, with its engine covered by an EPA certificate of conformity before it reaches US Customs. The governor stays for the life of the truck, and removing it is tampering, a federal offense.
Mini-trucks, importing used motor vehicles as nonroad vehiclesEPA, read 28 October 2026Engine size
Why 30 kilowatts decides a newer truck's engine
EPA sorts nonroad gasoline engines by maximum power, not size. Every kei engine is under 1,000 cc, so an engine of 30 kW or less may certify to the small engine standards, and 30 kW is the line that decides. Today's stock kei engines are rated above it, and a speed governor does not lower an engine's maximum power.
Every kei engine family EPA has certified for mini trucks is a lower power certified configuration, between 14.46 and 29.9 kW, under part 90 or part 1054. A certified mini truck engine is that configuration, not the stock engine.
40 CFR 1054.1, the small engine ruleseCFR, read 28 October 2026Small nonroad spark ignition engine certificatesEPA, read 28 October 2026South Dakota, the five answers
Road, title, land, inspection and what is next.
Some of South Dakota's answers rest on a general rule or a page that would not open, so they are marked to confirm. We confirm them with the office before a truck goes there.
The roadCan I drive it on the road?
South Dakota titles and registers a road-built kei truck as a motor vehicle. Its law counts motor trucks as motor vehicles and keeps the off-road class for vehicles designed primarily for land other than a highway or whose origin papers say not for highway use, and no South Dakota law asks for federal safety standards at registration.
- Motor vehicle covers automobiles, motor trucks and all vehicles propelled by power other than muscular power, except off-road vehicles and a few named machines. SDCL 32-3-1(17)
- Off-road vehicle: any self-propelled, two-or-more-wheeled vehicle designed primarily to be operated on land other than a highway, including any vehicle whose manufacturer's statement or certificate of origin says it is not for highway use. Farm vehicles are excluded. SDCL 32-3-1(22)
- County treasurers title an import on the CBP 7501, the HS-7, an EPA form 3520, the foreign ownership document naming the titling person as importer of record and the MV-1001 application.
- No road type or speed limit is written for a kei truck.
- No person may operate an off-road vehicle on a public street or highway except to cross from one side to the other. SDCL 32-20-12
SDCL 32-3-1(17) and (22); SDCL 32-20-12; county treasurer import requirements
Read from a secondary source or an older page. Confirm it with the office before you rely on it.
TitleHow do I title and register it?
Title and registration run through the county treasurer on the Department of Revenue's application. For an import the treasurer asks for the CBP 7501, the HS-7, an EPA form 3520 and the foreign ownership document, with the titling person listed as importer of record.
The steps
- Gather the CBP 7501, the HS-7, the EPA form 3520 and the foreign registration or other ownership document, with English translations.
- Make sure the person taking title is the importer of record on the entry papers.
- Complete the Application for Motor Vehicle Title and Registration, form MV-1001, signed by every owner or an agent with a power of attorney.
- Submit it with the bill of sale to the county treasurer.
The documents
- CBP 7501 or another accepted entry summary
- NHTSA HS-7
- EPA form 3520
- Foreign ownership document naming the importer of record
- Bill of sale or purchase agreement
- Application for Motor Vehicle Title and Registration, form MV-1001
- Proof of weight, which may be a weight ticket
South Dakota Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division, 605 773 3541, through the county treasurer
Read from a secondary source or an older page. Confirm it with the office before you rely on it.
LandCan I use it on a farm or private land?
Off road vehicles are titled in South Dakota but not registered for highway use. They may run in highway ditches outside the interstate system unless a county or the Transportation Commission bans it.
Class. Off-road vehicle under SDCL 32-20-1(4).
Registration. Title only. A resident's off road unit is titled in South Dakota through the county treasurer.
On the farm
A farm vehicle designed and used primarily for tillage, harvesting or hauling farm products or farm property for producers is outside the title chapter and outside the off-road vehicle definition. A two or three axle truck is not exempt. SDCL 32-3-2.4
InspectionWhat inspection or insurance applies?
Safety. No periodic safety inspection was found in the sources read.
Emissions. None found.
Read from a secondary source or an older page. Confirm it with the office before you rely on it.
Insurance. South Dakota's insurance law was not read for this file.
Read from a secondary source or an older page. Confirm it with the office before you rely on it.
NextWhat is coming?
No bill or rule change for kei trucks was found in South Dakota on 28 October 2026. We read it again before a truck goes there.
Questions
Asked about South Dakota.
Does South Dakota have a kei truck law?
No. South Dakota sorts vehicles into motor vehicles and off-road vehicles. A road-built kei truck is a motor truck. An off-road vehicle is one designed primarily for land other than a highway or one whose origin papers say not for highway use.
Can I drive a kei truck on South Dakota roads?
A kei truck 25 years or older titled and registered as a motor vehicle takes ordinary plates. South Dakota law sets no federal safety standards test and no separate road limit for it. The county treasurer and the Department of Revenue's Motor Vehicle Division decide each title.
Where do I title it?
At the county treasurer, on the Application for Motor Vehicle Title and Registration, with the CBP 7501, the HS-7, an EPA form 3520 and the foreign ownership document naming you as importer of record.
Can an off road vehicle use the ditches?
Yes for drivers 12 and older, close to the outer edge of the right of way. Interstate ditches, snowmobile trail ditches and bike trails are closed. A county may close more.
Upgrades
Upgrades in South Dakota.
Height and lift. No bumper, frame or lift limit was found in the equipment chapters. Overall height may not exceed 14 feet (SDCL 32-22-14). A vehicle of 6,000 lb unloaded or less needs a suspension allowing axle movement with a damping device at each wheel (SDCL 32-15-27).
Tires and fenders. A tire with tread under 2/32 inch on any two adjacent grooves may not be operated (SDCL 32-19-13). None found for an ordinary registered vehicle on fenders, flaps, how far a tire may stick out, tire size, trimming or spacers (SDCL 32-15 and 32-19 read).
Lights. Up to three auxiliary driving lamps may be mounted 12 to 24 inches high and none except fog lamps may be lit on low beam (SDCL 32-17-17). No more than one spot lamp is allowed (32-17-19). Red visible from the front is barred (32-17-9).
Modification and inspection. A vehicle is rebuilt when parts are added or deleted so it no longer looks like the vehicle on its title (SDCL 32-3-1). It needs a rebuilt title and may be inspected by the highway patrol (32-3-53). Lifts and larger tires are not named.
From the upgrades chapter of Mini Truck Roadbook, the 2026 to 2027 edition, with the statute after each rule.
Getting it there
Where South Dakota's truck comes ashore.
From the nearest port where a sailing from Japan is on record. Road miles are an estimate, the straight line times 1.2, not a routed drive.
The road hub
Houston
Houston is the Gulf door. Port Houston's published schedules show no direct sailing from Japan and its Asia services call Busan and Shanghai. From the Houston docks I-10 runs east and west, I-45 north to Dallas and I-69 northeast through Humble.
about 1,200 road miles from Port Houston, straight line times 1.2
Nearest port with a sailing from Japan on record
Port of Everett
Everett has kept a direct service with Japan for twenty years, on I-5 north of Seattle.
The road. I-5 to Seattle, Washington, then I-90 into South Dakota, read from the federal route log, not a routed drive.
about 1,400 road miles, straight line times 1.2
Sources
Every source read, 28 October 2026
- sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/32-20.html
- sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/32-3.html
- dor.sd.gov/individuals/motor-vehicle/off-road-vehicles
- dor.sd.gov/individuals/motor-vehicle/all-vehicles-title-fees-registrat..
- pennco.org/services/treasurer/motor_vehicle_title___license/import_veh..
- sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/32-5.html
- sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/32-15.html
- sdlegislature.gov/api/Rules/64:28.html
- sdlegislature.gov/api/Rules/64:28:03:12.html
- sdlegislature.gov/api/Bills/Session/70
- sdlegislature.gov/api/Bills/Session/71
- dor.sd.gov/contact
The public record of South Dakota as read on 28 October 2026, not legal advice. Every kei truck pays the 25 percent truck duty, the chicken tax, whatever its age.
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