Are Kei Trucks Legal in Washington?

We marked Washington unclear deliberately, and the reason is the absence of anything to cite rather than a conflict between two rules. We read the Revised Code of Washington chapters that would carry a kei provision if one existed — chapter 46.04 (definitions), chapter 46.12 (certificates of title), chapter 46.16A (vehicle registration) and chapter 46.37 (vehicle lighting and other equipment) — and found no mention of kei vehicles, kei trucks, mini-trucks, keijidosha, a 660-cubic-centimetre class, or a medium-speed vehicle category. Washington has not legislated on this either way.

What does exist is the general rule, WAC 308-56A-115, which is an administrative regulation with the force of law. It sets out what the Department of Licensing needs in order to title and license a vehicle that is not currently titled or licensed in Washington, and subsection (5) deals specifically with a vehicle from a foreign country: the current foreign ownership document, a US Customs and Border Protection entry summary, a notarised or certified English translation of anything not in English, and a release of interest if the applicant is not the owner shown. There is nothing in it that excludes a kei vehicle, and nothing in it that names one.

We should flag a claim that circulates widely and that we could not source. A number of state-by-state summaries state that Washington registers kei trucks under a low-speed-vehicle framework and confines them to roads posted at 35 miles per hour or less. We found no basis for that in Washington law. Washington's statutory low-speed vehicle class follows the federal 49 CFR 571.500 standard — a maximum speed above 20 and not above 25 miles per hour — which a kei truck does not meet, and Washington has no medium-speed vehicle category at all. We could not establish where the 35 mph figure comes from, and buyers should not rely on it.

So the honest statement of the position is this. Nothing in Washington law prohibits registering an imported kei truck; nothing in Washington law or Department of Licensing guidance affirmatively confirms that it will be registered. We checked the Department's own published page on customs inspections for imported vehicles and it does not mention the 25-year federal exemption, kei vehicles or any off-road-only designation. Until the Department publishes something, the outcome at a Washington vehicle licensing office is not something this page can promise.

What you can do in Washington

Get the answer in writing before you buy, from the Department of Licensing rather than from a licensing-office counter, and keep the reply. Give them the specific vehicle — year of manufacture, make, model, VIN and engine displacement — and ask plainly whether it will be issued a certificate of ownership and a registration for road use. A general question gets a general answer; a VIN gets a decision.

Assemble the file WAC 308-56A-115 actually asks for: the Japanese export certificate as the current foreign ownership document, a notarised or certified English translation of it, the US Customs and Border Protection entry summary, and the bill of sale or release of interest if you are not the owner named on the export certificate. Carry the USDOT HS-7 as well, even though the WAC does not name it, because it is what evidences the 25-year federal exemption.

Do not structure the purchase around the 35 mph claim you will see repeated elsewhere. If a seller tells you Washington registers kei trucks as low-speed or medium-speed vehicles, ask them which statute or rule says so, and treat a vague answer as the answer.

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

Does Washington have a law about kei trucks?

No. We found no mention of kei vehicles, kei trucks, mini-trucks or a 660-cubic-centimetre vehicle class in the Revised Code of Washington chapters governing vehicle definitions (46.04), certificates of title (46.12), vehicle registration (46.16A) or vehicle equipment (46.37).

What does Washington require to title a vehicle imported from Japan?

WAC 308-56A-115 requires the current ownership document issued by that country, an approved Department of Homeland Security US Customs and Border Protection entry summary form authorising the vehicle entry into this country, a notarised or certified English translation of any document not in English, and a release of interest if the applicant is not the owner shown on the ownership documents.

Are kei trucks limited to 35 mph roads in Washington?

We could not source that claim. Washington law contains no medium-speed vehicle class, and its low-speed vehicle class follows the federal standard in 49 CFR 571.500 for vehicles whose maximum speed is above 20 and not above 25 miles per hour, which a kei truck does not meet.

Has the Washington Department of Licensing published guidance on kei vehicles?

We found none. The Department's published page on customs inspections for imported vehicles does not mention kei vehicles, the 25-year federal safety-standard exemption, or any off-road-only designation.

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 Washington registering authority before you buy. Payment for an imported vehicle is by bank transfer and is not reversible.