How to Title and Register a Kei Truck in Utah

Tyler Alden

Sep 9

7 min read

A practical 2026 guide to imported Kei trucks, Utah’s novel-vehicle category, emissions, inspections, and what the plate actually allows

(Last updated: September 9, 2026)

Utah can easily title a Kei truck. Registration is where things get interesting and we've been seeing changes in the past couple years.

A few years ago, we took a Kei truck to the Draper DMV and were directed toward OHV registration. In 2026, another Utah owner we spoke with took his truck to Provo, received a Utah title and license plate, and had the vehicle entered as a novel vehicle.

Both experiences make more sense once you look at the dates. Utah’s novel-vehicle law took effect January 1, 2025. It created a registration category for vehicles the DMV cannot clearly place into one of the state’s existing vehicle categories. Utah Legislature

Start with the federal paperwork

Utah registration does not cure a bad import. Make sure your truck/ van can qualify in the first place.

For most 1990s Kei trucks, the clean federal route is the 25-year exemption. NHTSA allows a vehicle that is at least 25 years old, measured from its date of manufacture, to be permanently imported without having to meet the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards that applied when it was built. The vehicle is declared under Box 1 of DOT Form HS-7. NHTSA

EPA has a separate rule. A vehicle at least 21 years old may qualify under EPA’s age exemption if it retains the required original-equivalent engine configuration. EPA Form 3520-1 uses Code E for that exemption. US EPA

For a normal 25-plus-year-old Kei truck imported for road use, keep copies of:

Japanese Export Certificate or other ownership document, with a certified English translation
purchase invoice or bill of sale
CBP Form 7501 Entry Summary
DOT Form HS-7
EPA Form 3520-1
any additional customs or import records supplied with the truck

CBP specifically tells owners of foreign vehicles to retain the 7501, HS-7 and 3520-1 for state registration. CBP Help Center

Keep these records after the Utah title arrives. They prove something the title alone does not: how the truck legally entered the country.

Title and registration are not the same thing

A title establishes ownership.

Registration determines what kind of vehicle Utah considers it to be and, in turn, how it may be operated.

Utah’s current novel-vehicle statute tells DMV to identify an existing vehicle category from the VIN or vehicle information first. If the vehicle clearly fits an existing category, DMV registers it there. If it does not fit, its characteristics make the category unclear, or a reasonable person would not consider it clearly included in an existing category, DMV registers it as a novel vehicle. The statute allows DMV to issue a plate or registration sticker and also allows a Utah title to be issued. Utah Legislature

You do not choose the category yourself, rather the DMV does. For a Kei truck, the categories you are most likely to hear discussed are:

Registration	What matters
Novel vehicle	Can be titled and, if made street legal, operated under Utah’s street-legal novel-vehicle rules
Street-legal ATV	A separate Utah category with its own registration and road-use rules
OHV	Off-highway registration; this is not ordinary street registration
Existing motor-vehicle category	If DMV determines the vehicle clearly belongs in an existing category, it is registered under that category instead

A normal-looking license plate does not tell you which one you have.

Read the registration.

What to bring to the Utah DMV

For a newly imported truck being titled in Utah for the first time, bring the import file rather than trying to guess which page the clerk will want.

Utah law requires an applicant registering a sub-6,000-pound vehicle that was not originally manufactured for sale in the United States to provide a signed statement that the vehicle complies with the federal laws applicable to it. If the ownership document is not in English, Utah requires a certified English translation. Utah Legislature

You will also need Utah’s title application, TC-656. The current version is maintained by the State Tax Commission. Utah State Tax Commission

A vehicle being registered in Utah for the first time generally needs an identification-number inspection. TC-661 is the current Certificate of Inspection form and specifically allows a VIN, HIN, serial number, or other identification number to be recorded. That matters on Japanese-market vehicles that do not have an American-style 17-digit VIN. Utah State Tax Commission

This letter may be worth printing out to bring in with you, if youu intend top pursue the Novel Vehicle route.

Bring:

Your ownership document and certified translation.
Bill of sale or purchase invoice.
CBP 7501.
HS-7.
EPA 3520-1.
TC-656.
TC-661 or be prepared to have the identification number inspected.
Proof of insurance for street registration.
Safety-inspection paperwork if registering it as a street-legal novel vehicle.
Any previous U.S. title or registration if the truck has already been titled elsewhere.

One form deserves a warning: TC-706

Utah still publishes TC-706, Statement of Compliance — Motor Vehicles Not Manufactured For Sale in the United States.

The form is old. Its current text asks the owner to certify, among other things, that the vehicle “has been modified to comply” with applicable FMVSS. Utah State Tax Commission

That does not neatly describe a 25-year-old Kei truck imported under NHTSA’s age exemption. Such a vehicle is federally admissible because of its age; it was not necessarily modified into FMVSS compliance. NHTSA

Bring the federal paperwork and ask DMV how it wants the certification required by Utah Code §41-1a-225 handled for your import.

Do not sign a factual statement you know is wrong just because there is a box for it.

Street-legal novel vehicles need an initial safety inspection

Utah requires a safety inspection the first time a novel vehicle is registered as a street-legal novel vehicle. Utah Legislature

The current street-legal equipment requirements include two headlamps, two tail lamps, two brake lamps, turn signals, a white plate light, rear reflector, service brakes, horn, muffler/emissions-control equipment, mirrors on both sides, a windshield or qualifying eye protection, an illuminated speedometer, proper passenger seating and seat belts, and qualifying tires. For side-by-side seating, the statute also specifies a seat height between 20 and 40 inches and tires no taller than 44 inches with at least 2/32-inch tread. Utah Legislature

A stock Acty, Carry, Hijet, Sambar or Minicab will already have much of this equipment. Check that it works before arriving. They will likely perform this inspection while you wait at the DMV.

Kei trucks and Utah emissions

There has been a lot of old information passed around on this point.

The Utah State Tax Commission issued a memo to emissions agencies on August 31, 2023 specifically addressing mini trucks. It instructed emissions stations not to issue an emissions inspection to these vehicles and discussed the OHV, street-legal ATV and low-speed-vehicle registrations then being used for them. administratorco.davis.ut.us_20250422_114933.pdfPDF

That memo predates the novel-vehicle law.

Current DMV guidance settles the issue more cleanly: for 2026, Novel Vehicle appears on the emissions-exemption list in the Utah counties that operate vehicle emissions programs, including Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties. DMV

So if your Kei truck is registered as a novel vehicle, the current DMV guidance treats it as emissions-exempt.

Utah County also has a separate exemption for engines of 650 cc or less. Do not use that as a catch-all Kei-truck argument. Many Kei trucks are above that threshold. The novel-vehicle exemption stands on its own. DMV

Is a novel-vehicle plate “unrestricted”?

No. The plate may look unrestricted. The statute is not.

A street-legal novel vehicle:

may not operate on an interstate highway;
may not exceed the lesser of the posted speed limit or 50 mph;
on an otherwise permitted highway posted above 50 mph, must operate on the extreme right side of the roadway and carry the specified reflective markings; and
faces an additional prohibition on certain highways in a county of the first class where the road is near a grade-separated section and posted above 50 mph. Utah Legislature

A truck capable of 70 mph is still limited to 50 mph when it is being operated as a street-legal novel vehicle.

That is the distinction worth remembering:

A regular-looking Utah plate is not the same thing as regular passenger-vehicle privileges.

If DMV actually registers a particular Kei truck in an ordinary motor-vehicle category rather than as a novel vehicle, that is a different situation. Check what the state record says.

The plate is not the law.

Buying a Kei truck that is already in Utah

Ask for the import paperwork.

Utah law specifically prohibits knowingly selling one of these foreign vehicles without providing the buyer evidence of legal U.S. entry and compliance with the applicable EPA and DOT requirements. Utah Legislature

At minimum, we like to see the ownership trail and the federal import documents stay with the truck.

A Utah title tells you who owns it; the customs paperwork tells you why it is here.

Before you leave the DMV

Check three things.

Is the truck titled correctly?

Make sure the chassis number and ownership information match your documents.

What registration category did DMV assign?

Do not infer this from the shape of the plate.

What restrictions come with that category?

If the answer is street-legal novel vehicle, remember the important ones: no interstate use and a 50 mph maximum under current Utah law. Utah Legislature

Then put the title somewhere safe and keep copies of the import documents with your permanent vehicle records.