Alabama has a written rule that titles 25-year-old imports, and a separate mini-truck plate that does not title them at all. The mini-truck definition sets a 1,500 lb floor that a light Suzuki Carry misses by 23 lb.
Maine convened a seven-member working group — including a foreign car importer — to study kei trucks. Its February 2026 report recommended no change, unanimously. Here is the reasoning, quoted, because it is the best-argued no in the country.
Minnesota names mini trucks in statute and requires non-FMVSS manufacture in the definition. Road use runs on a county permit — with a sheriff’s inspection, annual renewal, and numbers on the front and rear.
Missouri titles kei trucks as “Non-USA-Std Motor Vehicle” after a Highway Patrol examination. The municipal ordinance route everyone cites is written for utility vehicles — defined as manufactured exclusively for off-highway use.
Tennessee names mini-trucks in statute and offers two registrations. Medium speed lets you use any street posted 40 mph or less — if you govern the truck to 35. Class I keeps your speed but confines you to county roads.
Washington is widely reported to register kei trucks as low-speed vehicles at 35 mph. Every low-speed class in Washington statute is electrically powered, and the ATV class requires handlebars. A petrol kei truck fits none of them.
South Carolina has no kei-specific law, no periodic safety inspection and no restricted road class. What it does have is a 5% Infrastructure Maintenance Fee capped at $500 — and one conflicting report worth resolving before you buy.
Hawaii bars registering vehicles never certified to FMVSS — but the statute excepts special interest vehicles, defined as a vehicle of any age collected or preserved by a collector. Four counties, four answers.
Every guide says Maryland refuses kei trucks. The MVA’s gray-market instructions accept an HS-7 with box 1 checked — which is the 25-year exemption. Here is the tension, and the question to put in writing.
Illinois refuses to register kei trucks under a statute requiring a vehicle to be “originally manufactured for operation on highways.” Michigan’s equivalent clause says “in the U.S. or in another country” — and reaches the opposite conclusion.