Register a Japanese truck in Colorado.

Where the truck lands

A direct Japan RoRo to Los Angeles or Long Beach is often about 2 to 3 weeks. The booked ship sets the date.

Los Angeles / Long Beach, then I-70. The mountain grade is a real trucking constraint for a loaded cab-over. Tell us the city so the inland quote uses a carrier that will take that pass.

After it is in Colorado

The Front Range runs an emissions program for the Denver-area counties. Mountain and eastern counties generally do not. A diesel and a gasoline truck are not the same test. Confirm the county with the Colorado DMV before you pay the balance.

The office that handles the plate is Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles. Read their current page before you pay the vehicle balance. County rules change, and the page they publish is the one that titles the truck.

How old the truck has to be in Colorado

NHTSA’s rule is the same in Colorado as in every other state. A vehicle at least 25 years old, counted from the date of manufacture, can be imported without regard to the full federal safety standards. That entry is HS-7 Box 1. The badge year on the fender is not the clock.

Colorado’s imported-vehicle bulletin (BL 17-01, still published by the DMV) does not restate the 25-year age. It splits the file in two. A conforming vehicle needs HS-7, the foreign ownership paper, a customs entry form, and a VIN inspection. A nonconforming vehicle needs a NHTSA bond-release letter, or proof that 30 days have passed after the conformity packet, before the DMV will title it. Take HS-7 Box 1 to the county and confirm that office treats a 25-year truck as the federal exemption.

The federal file, then the state

The federal gate is the same in every state. NHTSA’s 25-year rule runs from the date of manufacture on the plate, not the badge year. The entry is HS-7 Box 1. EPA is a separate file. CBP’s vehicle page says a vehicle is exempt from EPA standards when 21 years have passed since the original production year and it is still in original condition. Form 3520-1 is filed at entry. A truck can clear one clock and fail the other. Your broker files the entry at the discharge port. CBP’s importing-a-car page prints auto duty at 2.5% and truck duty at 25%. Those printed rates are not in our price. US$500 by card starts the Japan-side order. Ocean freight is quoted after the sailing is booked. State title, use tax, and any inspection come after CBP releases the truck. A federal release is not a state plate.

NHTSA: importing a vehicle · EPA: importing vehicles and engines · CBP: importing a car · United States overview