Can I own one here
Owning one in Matagorda 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
Open to road use. Texas titles and registers a kei vehicle that complies with federal law as a motor vehicle. Once titled and registered it may use any public highway where it can operate in compliance with the traffic laws.
A newer governed truck
Off highway vehicle. Texas title with the Off-Highway Use Only remark when the ownership papers show off highway use only.
Roads and towns
Roads and towns in Matagorda County.
To confirm. Matagorda County is one of the few Texas counties allowed to open roads posted 35 mph or less to OHVs, but the local paper reported in 2019 that UTVs were still barred from county roads and beaches, and no order or town code was read in this pass.
In town To confirm
No town street opening was found in the codes read.
County roads To confirm
The commissioners court may open all or part of any unincorporated road posted 35 mph or less to OHVs under 551A.053(c)(3), a county next to Calhoun under 37,000 people at the 2020 census that holds part of a Gulf barrier island or peninsula, and to golf carts as a Gulf county under 500,000 people (551.404(c)(2)). No order doing so was read in this pass. The local paper reported in 2018 that the commissioners approved golf carts on county roads posted under 35 mph when registered and driven by a licensed driver, and in July 2019, after the law changed, that UTVs, ROVs and ATVs were still not allowed on county roads or beaches. Neither order was read. none read, read 28 October 2026
State highways Closed
Closed to OHVs.
Getting one here
From Japan to Matagorda County.
The road hub, then the nearest ports with a sailing from Japan on record
- Houston, the road hub for Texas and the central states, about 100 road miles. Port Houston lists no direct sailing from Japan.
- The JAXPORT, Jacksonville Port Authority, about 1,000 road miles.
- The Port of Savannah, Georgia Ports Authority, about 1,100 road miles.
- The Port of Los Angeles, about 1,600 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
Matagorda County, counted.
Matagorda County grows 558 acres of orchards and vineyards. Farms in Matagorda County hold 46,096 acres of woodland. Matagorda County has 814 farms and 541 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 Matagorda County?
Ask about a truck, a state or the papers, and we answer with what applies to you.
Reach us
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