Kei Trucks for Massachusetts Buyers

By Farhad Musazada, owner of Skyline Kei Trucks. Last updated: October 24, 2026. Statute and agency rules verified October 2026; fees, taxes and shipping estimates checked October 2026. Based on the RMV's September 17, 2024 kei vehicle advisory and its requirements for imported foreign vehicles, DOR regulation 830 CMR 64H.25.1 and the RMV's inspection rules (sources at the end). Shipping prices are published estimates, not quotes. General information, not legal advice.

Our kei trucks are on our lot in east Houston, about 1,775 miles from Springfield, Massachusetts; Worcester is about 1,810 miles away and Boston 1,848. Since September 18, 2024 the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) has registered and titled kei trucks, vans and cars with a passenger or commercial plate, and we found no kei-specific road or speed limits. The catch: it's RMV policy, not law, and the RMV stopped registering them for part of 2024. A registered truck also needs a safety inspection within 7 days and every year after. This page covers the policy, the plate, the inspection, the paperwork, the taxes and getting the truck home.

Key facts

Street legal: yes, by RMV policy since September 18, 2024, not statute; we found no kei-specific road or speed limit.
How it registers: a Massachusetts title and a passenger or commercial plate, “depending on their intended use.”
Paperwork: the Registration and Title Application (RMV-1) stamped by your insurance agent, the Japanese export certificate with our English translation, our bill of sale, CBP Form 7501, DOT HS-7 (Box 1) and EPA Form 3520-1, at an RMV Service Center.
Taxes: 6.25% sales or use tax, paid to the RMV within 10 days; your city or town also bills a yearly excise.
Fees: $75 title; $60 for a passenger plate or $40 per 1,000 pounds of registered gross weight for a commercial plate, each for two years; $35 inspection.
Insurance: a Massachusetts policy first; since July 1, 2025, minimum 25/50 bodily injury, $30,000 property damage, $8,000 personal injury protection and 25/50 uninsured auto.
Inspection: a safety inspection within 7 days of registering, then yearly; the emissions test covers vehicles under 15 years old.
Pending: H.4053 and H.3698 would put kei registration into law; both have sat in House Ways and Means since July 2025.

Are kei trucks legal in Massachusetts?

Yes, by Registry of Motor Vehicles policy. On September 17, 2024 the RMV announced in an advisory that “owners of Kei Vehicles will be able to register these vehicles effective September 18, 2024,” covering kei trucks, cars and vans, and that newly registered ones “may receive a passenger or commercial plate, depending on their intended use.” Owners register and title them at an RMV Service Center. The advisory sets no road, speed or highway limit, and we found none elsewhere in the RMV's published rules.

The advisory doesn't mention age. Eligibility comes from the RMV's list for imported foreign vehicles, which requires CBP Form 7501, DOT Form HS-7 and EPA Form 3520-1; without DOT or EPA compliance or exemption, a vehicle “cannot be registered or titled.” Our trucks come in under HS-7 Box 1, the exemption for vehicles 25 years or older (see our 25-year import rule guide).

The policy reversed a stop: on July 3, 2024 the RMV sent registration agents a notice titled “Mini Kei Trucks or Vans Cannot be Registered by the RMV – Revised” (RMV notice archive), and owners pushed back for months (The Drive). Registration now goes on “while continuing to review safety implications of Kei Vehicles on the public roadways,” and the RMV says plans for a formal study will be announced. We found no later announcement, and the RMV's notice archive, which runs through September 2026, has nothing newer on kei vehicles. Because this is policy, not statute, both 2024 changes came without the Legislature.

Two other classes don't fit. A low-speed vehicle tops out above 20 but not above 25 mph, gets LSV plates only and may not use roads posted over 30 mph (RMV). A limited use vehicle (over 30 but not over 40 mph) needs a 17-character VIN and its maker's certification to federal safety standards (RMV); a kei truck has neither.

Two bills would put kei registration into law. H.4053 would let the registrar register kei cars and trucks of 660 cc or less, up to 130 inches long, 78 high and 60 wide (trucks built to Japan's kei size rules since October 1998 can be about 11 ft 2 in long). H.3698 would require the RMV to “register all vehicles 25 years or older as of the date of manufacture” imported under the federal rules, kei cars included. The Joint Committee on Transportation reported both favorably on July 28, 2025 and sent them to House Ways and Means, where the Legislature's site still shows them in October 2026. Neither is law.

Moving the truck to another state later, or want to see how Massachusetts compares? Our kei truck laws by state map covers all 50 states, with each state's status, statute and the 2026 changes.

Passenger or commercial plate?

Either; the advisory leaves it to how you'll use the truck. You pick the registration type and gross weight on the Registration and Title Application, and the RMV's schedule of fees (revised May 2025) prices the two differently:

Passenger plate: $60, renewed every two years.
Commercial plate: $40 per 1,000 pounds of registered gross weight (the vehicle's weight plus the heaviest load it's meant to carry) for a vehicle up to 5,000 pounds, also renewed every two years.

To register the truck in a company's name, the RMV wants the business's legal name, addresses and federal ID number, with IRS proof no more than two years old (RMV).

When does a kei truck need its inspection?

Within 7 days of registering it, then every year. The RMV's inspection page says “Newly purchased vehicles must be inspected within 7 days of registration”; after that it's yearly, $35 for most vehicles, at a Massachusetts Vehicle Check station (station locator). Bring the registration, which has to show a valid vehicle identification number (Mass Vehicle Check); on a kei truck that's the chassis number, shorter than a 17-digit VIN (format like S210P-0123456; see our VIN and frame number guide).

A kei truck 25 years or older gets the safety inspection only: the emissions test is for “Vehicles with onboard diagnostic systems that are less than 15 years old,” and every truck we sell is model year 2001 or older. The safety inspection covers brakes, steering, lights, tires, glass, mirrors, seat belts and other equipment. Since the 7-day clock starts at registration, pick a station before you go to the RMV.

How do you title an imported kei truck in Massachusetts?

At an RMV Service Center, on one application for the title and the registration. Insurance comes first: “In order to register a car in Massachusetts, you must have automobile insurance” (Division of Insurance), and a licensed Massachusetts agent has to “complete, stamp and sign” the Registration and Title Application (RMV), which DOR's rule calls Form RMV-1. Since July 1, 2025 the minimums are $25,000/$50,000 for bodily injury to others and for injury by an uninsured auto, $30,000 for property damage and $8,000 of personal injury protection (Notice 2025-A). The RMV's list for imported vehicles, plus what comes with every truck we sell:

The Registration and Title Application (form), stamped by your agent; its odometer box is in miles and kei odometers read in kilometers, so ask the clerk how to enter it
Proof of ownership: the Japanese export certificate, with our English translation; the RMV wants foreign-language documents “accompanied by a translation” and doesn't ask for a certified one
Our bill of sale; the RMV asks for bills of sale “providing a complete chain of transfers and ownerships (if applicable)”
CBP Form 7501, the customs entry summary
DOT/NHTSA Form HS-7 with Box 1 checked, and EPA Form 3520-1
Proof of identity
Payment for the title, the registration and the sales or use tax

DOR's rule (830 CMR 64H.25.1) gives you 10 days “of the date of purchase, transfer, or use” to file and pay the tax; late tax brings interest and penalties. The import list calls for documents, not an examination of the truck. You leave with a registration certificate, plates and a decal; the title comes by mail in about 6 to 8 weeks. The chassis number on the export certificate serves as the VIN. The RMV Contact Center is 857-368-8000.

What are the taxes and fees in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts charges 6.25% sales or use tax on a motor vehicle, paid to the RMV with your application (DOR guide), and no title or registration is issued until it's paid (830 CMR 64H.25.1). When the seller isn't a Massachusetts dealer, the tax is figured on the greater of the price paid or the NADA average trade-in value. Texas doesn't charge its motor vehicle sales tax on a vehicle “purchased in Texas for use exclusively outside Texas” that isn't used here beyond the trip out or registered here; the buyer gives the seller Form 14-312 (Texas Comptroller). Massachusetts relief for tax paid elsewhere (Form MVU-29) requires that you paid another state's sales tax, so the full 6.25% is due.

Every year the truck is registered, starting with the month you register it, your city or town bills a motor vehicle excise of $25 per $1,000 of value ($5 minimum), due 30 days after it's issued. From a vehicle's fifth year on, the value is 10% of the manufacturer's list price in its year of manufacture (DOR excise guide); the guide doesn't say how a 25-year-old import is valued, so ask your city or town.

Item	Amount
Sales or use tax (6.25%)	$500.00
Title	$75.00
Registration, two years	$60.00 with a passenger plate; a commercial plate is $40 per 1,000 lb of registered gross weight
Safety inspection	$35.00
Motor vehicle excise (yearly, from your city or town)	$25 per $1,000 of excise value; $5 minimum
Total	about $670.00 with a passenger plate, plus the excise

Example for a $7,999.99 truck; fees from the RMV's schedule of fees (revised May 2025). The tax assumes the RMV uses the price; if it uses a higher NADA value, the tax is 6.25% of that.

How do you get it home from Houston?

On a trailer or a carrier, because an unregistered kei truck can't be driven on Texas roads. Kei trucks are no more than about 11 ft 2 in long and 4 ft 10 in wide, so they fit a standard car-hauler trailer behind a half-ton pickup. Our lot is just off I-10 on the east side of Houston. Lot hours are Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; call or text (713) 385-9798 to set a time.

Destination	From our lot	Published price range (2026)	Transit
Springfield	about 1,775 miles	Freedom Auto Transport $1,021–$1,458; moveBuddha $1,287–$1,830	4–7 days (moveBuddha: 3–11)
Worcester	about 1,810 miles	Freedom $1,022–$1,460; moveBuddha $1,313–$1,907	5–8 days (moveBuddha: 3–11)
Boston	about 1,848 miles	Freedom $1,050–$1,499; moveBuddha $1,340–$2,007	5–8 days (moveBuddha: 3–11)

Prices are the brokers' own published estimates for a running vehicle, not quotes. Freedom and moveBuddha publish one range per route, and Freedom says open, door-to-door shipping keeps the price in the lower end of its range. A kei truck is smaller and lighter than the cars they price, but brokers don't list a separate rate for them. An enclosed trailer costs about 30% to 50% more (Homeland Auto Transport), and a vehicle that doesn't run costs more again, often $150 to $300 extra for winching (AmeriFreight). Prices change with season and fuel, so ask for a written quote. We help arrange an independent carrier and you pay the carrier directly; see delivery to your state.

Where do you go to title and register it?

To your local RMV Service Center, as the advisory says. In the cities in our shipping table they are Boston (Haymarket), 136 Blackstone St., Boston 02109; Worcester, 50 Southwest Cutoff, Worcester 01604; and Springfield, 1250 St. James Ave., Springfield 01104, each open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. The RMV's locations page lists the rest. Registration and title business is by appointment or walk-in, but “customers with scheduled appointments will be prioritized.” The RMV Contact Center is 857-368-8000, and Ask the RMV has an online contact form.

Kei trucks in Massachusetts

Massachusetts farms are small: 7,083 in 2022, covering 464,451 acres and averaging 66 acres, and more than two-thirds had fewer than 50 acres (USDA Census of Agriculture). Hay and haylage is the biggest crop by area, at 72,649 acres; cranberries were grown on 12,875 acres, and the census counted 13,457 horses and ponies. A kei truck suits that work: hay, feed and tools on small farms and horse properties, crates in vegetable fields, orchards and cranberry bogs, and gear for landscapers. Registered like any other truck, it can use the same roads between field and town; we found no rule that keeps a registered one off the highway, but it is a small truck in fast traffic. In snow, a 4x4 with a low range helps (see our 4x4, hi-lo and diff lock guide).

Frequently asked questions

Are kei trucks street legal in Massachusetts?

Yes. Since September 18, 2024 the RMV has registered and titled kei trucks with a passenger or commercial plate. It's RMV policy, not statute, and we found no kei-specific road or speed limit.

Could Massachusetts stop registering kei trucks again?

It did in 2024: in July the RMV told registration agents that kei trucks and vans couldn't be registered, then reversed course on September 18. H.4053 and H.3698 would put kei registration into law; both have been in House Ways and Means since July 28, 2025.

Should I get a passenger or commercial plate?

Either, depending on how you'll use the truck: $60 for two years with a passenger plate, or $40 per 1,000 pounds of registered gross weight for two years with a commercial plate.

Does a kei truck need an emissions test in Massachusetts?

Not at 25 years old: the emissions test is for vehicles with onboard diagnostic systems less than 15 years old. It needs the $35 safety inspection within 7 days of registration and every year after.

How much is the tax on a kei truck in Massachusetts?

6.25%, or $500 on a $7,999.99 truck (more if the RMV uses a higher NADA value), paid to the RMV when you register. Fees add $75 for the title, $60 for a two-year passenger plate and $35 for the inspection, plus a yearly excise from your city or town.

Can you ship a kei truck to Massachusetts?

Yes. We help arrange an independent carrier and you pay the carrier directly; published 2026 estimates from Houston run from about $1,021 (Springfield) to $2,007 (Boston).

Shop kei trucks

Browse trucks in stock in Houston, or reserve one that is arriving soon from Japan with a $1,000 deposit that counts toward the price. New to kei trucks? Start with our kei truck buyer's guide, our comparison of the Hijet, Carry, Acty and Sambar and how buying from us works. Questions? Call or text (713) 385-9798.

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Sources

Written by Farhad Musazada, owner of Skyline Kei Trucks

Farhad imports more than 300 kei trucks a year to Houston and meets buyers at the lot at 6100 Harvey Wilson Dr. He writes these guides from the paperwork our buyers take to the county tax office and the official sources listed on each page. Spotted something out of date? Email us and we will check it.

All vehicles are sold by Wideway Motors LLC as is, with no warranty. We help arrange shipping through independent carriers; you pay the carrier directly, and we are not the carrier. Seller makes no representation that any vehicle can be titled, registered or driven on public roads in any state, and being unable to do so is not grounds to cancel a purchase. Laws and agency practice change; confirm with your state's motor vehicle agency before you buy. See our Terms of Sale and Shipping & Pickup Policy.