Are Kei Trucks Legal in Maine?
Maine law enacted in 2025 describes mini trucks as vehicles "currently prohibited from operation on the State's roads and highways", and directed a working group to study whether that should change.
That the Secretary of State shall convene a working group, referred to in this resolve as "the working group," to study the feasibility of allowing registration and use by motorists of vehicles currently prohibited from operation on the State's roads and highways, referred to in this resolve as "nonconforming vehicles," including, but not limited to, mini trucks, antique military vehicles and any other vehicle under 10,000 pounds and operated by a holder of a Class C license, and to review the systems and laws in place for antique vehicles.
Maine is the clearest refusing state in this group, and unusually the evidence comes from the Legislature rather than the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. When Maine enacted Resolve chapter 29 in May 2025 it did not ask whether mini trucks are prohibited — it stated as a premise that they are, and set up a working group to study "the feasibility of allowing registration and use" of vehicles "currently prohibited from operation on the State's roads and highways." Mini trucks are the first category the Resolve names. A legislature does not commission a study into legalising something that is already legal.
The background is that Maine spent several years going the other way. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles cancelled registrations on imported Japanese vehicles that had previously been plated, on the basis that they do not meet US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, and owners received letters telling them to remove their plates. That history is widely reported but we could not source a published BMV policy document stating it, so we rest the position on the enacted Resolve, which is unambiguous and carries the Governor's approval.
Maine's other obvious route is also closed. Title 29-A, section 101, subsection 32-A defines a "low-speed vehicle" as a four-wheeled motor vehicle capable of 20 to 25 mph and under 3,000 pounds unloaded, and requires that it "must be originally manufactured and maintained in accordance with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards as a low-speed vehicle pursuant to 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 571.500." A Japanese kei truck was built to Japanese standards, is capable of well over 25 mph, and cannot meet that definition. In the version of section 101 published by Maine's Office of the Revisor of Statutes there is no definition of "mini truck" or "nonconforming vehicle" at all.
What we could not establish is the outcome. The Resolve required the Secretary of State to report findings and recommendations to the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation by 6 February 2026, and allowed that committee to introduce legislation in the Second Regular Session. We were unable to obtain the report itself or to confirm from an official source what the Second Regular Session did with it. If you are reading this some time after the date above, Maine is the state in this group most likely to have moved, and the question is worth re-asking at the BMV directly.
What you can do in Maine
In Maine, a kei truck bought today is a private-land vehicle. Farm work, woodlot access, orchards, campgrounds, gravel pits, marinas, large private properties and off-road trail use are all unaffected by the registration position — none of them require a Maine registration. If that is genuinely the job, a kei truck is a reasonable buy in Maine.
What it is not is a road vehicle with paperwork pending. Do not buy on the strength of a plan to register it later, do not rely on another state's plates while living in Maine, and treat any seller who tells you Maine registration is routine as someone who has not read the 2025 Resolve. Irreversible money should not move on a hope.
If you want to follow the question, the live thread is the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation and the Secretary of State's working group report of February 2026. A written answer from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles naming your specific vehicle is the only thing that should change your plans.
How this fits the national picture
Importing a vehicle twenty-five years or older is a federal matter and is settled. Registering one for the road is decided state by state, which is why the answer changes when you cross a line on a map. Our state-by-state guide covers all fifty, including why states disagree and the AAMVA guidance most restrictions trace back to.
We are based in Goshen, New York, and New York is one of the states that will not register these for road use. We say so on our own state's page because it is true, not because it helps us. We will not tell you a kei truck is street legal in the USA.
Common questions
Are kei trucks street legal in Maine?
No. Maine enacted Resolves 2025, chapter 29, which describes mini trucks as among the vehicles "currently prohibited from operation on the State's roads and highways" and directed the Secretary of State to convene a working group to study whether to allow their registration and use.
Why does Maine refuse to register kei trucks?
Maine treats imported kei vehicles as nonconforming because they were not manufactured to US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Maine law enacted in 2025 identifies mini trucks as currently prohibited from operation on the state's roads and highways and commissioned a study of whether that should change.
Can a kei truck be registered as a low-speed vehicle in Maine?
No. Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A, section 101, subsection 32-A requires a low-speed vehicle to be originally manufactured and maintained in accordance with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for low-speed vehicles under 49 CFR 571.500. A Japanese kei truck was not built to that standard.
Is Maine likely to change its kei truck law?
Maine commissioned a formal review. Resolves 2025, chapter 29 required the Secretary of State to report the working group's findings and recommendations to the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation by 6 February 2026, and allowed that committee to introduce legislation based on the report in the Second Regular Session of the 132nd Legislature.
What can I legally do with a kei truck in Maine?
A kei truck can be used on private property in Maine, including farms, woodlots, orchards, campgrounds and job sites, because Maine registration law governs operation on public roads and highways. It cannot be registered for use on Maine public roads.
This page describes what we could establish from the source above on the date shown. It is not legal advice, and kei registration rules have moved in both directions every year since 2021 — confirm with the Maine registering authority before you buy. Payment for an imported vehicle is by bank transfer and is not reversible.