Is a Kei Truck Street Legal in New Hampshire?

Are Kei Trucks street legal in New Hampshire?

Yes. No New Hampshire statute names Kei Trucks, and chapter 261, which governs titles and registration, contains no federal safety standards test. Two sections make older imports especially simple:

• RSA 261:3, I(k) says a title is not required for a motor vehicle whose model year predates 2000, except a heavy truck above 18,000 pounds. That covers any Kei Truck with a 1999 or earlier model year.
• RSA 261:2-a: to register a title-exempt vehicle, you must show a previous New Hampshire registration, a valid title, an application for title, or a current New Hampshire VIN verification form in the format the director of motor vehicles sets.

A truck of model year 2000 or 2001 does not get the exemption and needs a New Hampshire title, so the full import paperwork goes to the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Owners of title-exempt vehicles can still ask for a voluntary title under RSA 261:3, III. Confirm the model year shown on the export certificate before you buy, and compare other states on the Kei Truck law map.

Is there a 35 mph or 40 mph limit on Kei Trucks in New Hampshire?

Only if you choose the farm class. RSA 259:2-a defines an agricultural/industrial utility vehicle as one on four or six wheels (tractors excluded), carrying up to six people and up to 1,500 pounds of load, used for farming, agriculture or light industry. It may only use roads with speed limits of 40 mph or lower, and it must stay within 10 miles of where the farm's land is entered, or 2 miles from an industrial or construction site. The 35 mph and 25-mile versions that circulate online do not match the statute.

So the 40 mph figure is a road limit for an optional class, not a rule for every Kei Truck. The class registers at one third of the normal weight-based fee (RSA 261:141, III(dd)) and carries its own equipment list in RSA 261:41-a, III: a slow-moving vehicle emblem, a mirror, a red rear reflector for night use and a VIN meeting federal requirements, among other items. A Japanese chassis number may not satisfy that last one, so ask the DMV before you count on this class. A Kei Truck registered the ordinary way has no Kei-specific road or speed limit.

How do you register a Kei Truck in New Hampshire?

Registration starts with a municipal permit from your town or city clerk (RSA 261:148). For a title-exempt vehicle, the clerk needs a current government photo ID and a bill of sale showing the date, make, model, identification number (the chassis number on a Kei Truck), model year, year of manufacture, body type, number of cylinders, the buyer's name and address, and the seller's signature and address. Add the VIN verification form that RSA 261:2-a requires, then complete the state registration.

Keep the federal import papers with the file: the CBP 7501 entry summary, the HS-7 (the DOT declaration of safety-standard status, box 1 for the 25-year exemption) and EPA Form 3520-1, the emissions import declaration. They prove the truck entered legally and help pin down its build date. Our guide to importing a Kei Truck and the 25-year rule page explain each one.

1. Check the model year

   Find the model year on the export certificate and on the truck. Model year 1999 or older needs no New Hampshire title; model year 2000 or newer has to be titled first.

2. Get the VIN verification form

   Ask your town clerk or the DMV where to have the New Hampshire VIN verification form completed for a title-exempt vehicle with no earlier New Hampshire record.

3. Prepare a complete bill of sale

   Make sure the bill of sale shows the date, make, model, chassis number, model year, year of manufacture, body type, cylinders, your name and address, and the seller's signature and address.

4. Get the town permit

   Take your photo ID, the bill of sale and the VIN form to your town or city clerk, pay the municipal permit fee, and keep the federal import forms with you.

5. Finish state registration

   Complete the state portion of the registration and pick up your plates. Decide at this point whether you want the optional farm class, with its 40 mph road limit and its own equipment rules.

Does New Hampshire still inspect vehicles?

No. RSA 266:1, the periodic inspection law, was repealed effective January 31, 2026, along with the related sections through RSA 266:6 (2025 Laws, chapter 141). The OBD II emissions rule in RSA 266:59-b never applied to vehicles 20 or more model years old, and that section's own repeal is waiting on conditions in the same 2025 law. A Kei Truck old enough to import now faces no scheduled safety or emissions check.

Police can still stop a truck with broken equipment, and no inspector will catch worn parts for you anymore. Keep the brake parts and lights in good order, and follow our maintenance guide on a schedule of your own.

Next door, Massachusetts still requires a yearly inspection, with the first one due within 7 days of registering a newly purchased vehicle.