Many states are changing and updating their laws to be more friendly towards kei truck owners this year. It’s keeping us busy, and we couldn’t be happier to have some work to do. Colorado has now become the latest state to officially allow the registration of kei trucks and vans on public roads, after years of ambiguity and difficulty for owners and importers.
Colorado state bill HB25-1281 passed unanimously in the state legislature and was signed by Colorado Governor Jared Polis on May 9th, 2025. The law clarifies that kei vehicles imported from Japan can be registered for use on public roads and must obey all standard motor traffic laws and inspection regulations.
The law defines a kei vehicle as a vehicle that:
The bill further clarifies that kei vehicles registered in Colorado cannot drive on any roads with a speed limit higher than 55mph. This means that kei trucks and vans cannot be driven on highways in Colorado. Kei vehicles also will be able to undergo a two-speed idle testing for emissions instead of the standard dynamometer style tests. These tests are more commonly used for older vehicles and should make it easier for kei vehicles to pass them.
Based on the criteria above, we can confirm that all kei trucks and vans over 25 years old would fit within it.
Just as we mentioned in our article about Texas legalizing kei trucks and vans for street use, Coloradans have also had a hit-or-miss experience in registering kei vehicles with their local DMV offices. Some people are getting them registered now, but others are being turned down or running into issues with emissions testing. It seems that the Colorado DMV was following a guideline that was shared by the AAMVA to DMVs across the country advising not to register kei trucks. We are well aware of this guideline and have opposed it since it was first released years ago.
The kicker is that the bill does not go into effect until July 1, 2027. Therefore, there is still a bit of time to wait. If you would like to learn more about kei trucks and how to purchase and register them, please get in touch with us today to start the process.
