colorado titling and registration (JDM to USA)

hey everyone,

i wrapped up colorado titling and registration today and want to share the steps in the process because it's sort of opaque. there's some info out there, but a lot of it is contradictory or downright incorrect.

so, first off: it's really easy and straight forward. i registered in denver county in two days including waiting in line. the process follows a DMV bulletin from 2017 called "BL 17-01 Imported Motor Vehicles Titling Requirements", with one oversight that i'll explain along the way.

here are the steps in order that will minimize repeat trips to the DMV.

1. roll to the DMV with your export certificate (title), HS-7, and US customs entry form. this will allow them to issue a temporary registration tag. you may need the VIN verified prior to issuing temp tags.

2. call the Denver Emissions Technical Center at 303-744-2522 to set up the state emissions inspection and obtain form DR2365 (this step is not listed on the bulletin). Tim and Raymond are helpful and familiar with Hiace's, they were able to schedule me for next day inspection. it takes 30-60min and is free of charge. the DR2365 is required to obtain a diesel emissions inspection and requires temporary registration to complete. as far as i know, this service is only available in denver and may or may not be required in your county.

3. go to the diesel emissions location of your choice. L & N Diesel at Pecos and Mississippi is both familiar with Hiace's and also familiar with the import process. good guys and close to the emissions tech center.

4. while getting emissions, have the VIN VERIFIED not inspected by the Colorado State Patrol. this part is important and will save you a lot of time. i repeat: only verification is required. form DR2698. there's a lot of folks that think you need to get the VIN inspected by the CSP, which is extremely time consuming and difficult to schedule. verify it.

5. take your HS-7, export certificate, customs entry form (see list), your DR2698, emissions, weight slip, and odometer disclosure to the DMV.

i was out the door with plates in 30min. you can be too. if you're really really good at time management you could have this done in a day.

thank you for coming to my TED talk and i hope this helps someone in the future.

Hello,
Your post is extremely useful!
We are in Colorado and just got a 1994 Hiace. We are having problems getting insurance right now, but are hopeful things will run smoother once we get that, thanks to your steps.
Thank You!

Hagerty will insure your Hiace over the phone.

It’s an option if you haven’t already reached out.

Good Luck
-Bryan

pizzasandwich, did your hiace come from another state with a US title or straight from a port?
I've gotten a few questions from people asking about some of the VIN/emissions steps who are buying ones that have already been imported to another state. Mine came straight from a port so I definitely had to do all of these things, but I never quite know how to answer those questions to people.

Hey Pizzasandwich,

I'm trying to bring my Hiace in to CO and they're busting my balls because I don't have a "secure odometer disclosure form", what did you have for that?

Thanks!

pizzasandwich wrote:

hey everyone,

i wrapped up colorado titling and registration today and want to share the steps in the process because it's sort of opaque. there's some info out there, but a lot of it is contradictory or downright incorrect.

so, first off: it's really easy and straight forward. i registered in denver county in two days including waiting in line. the process follows a DMV bulletin from 2017 called "BL 17-01 Imported Motor Vehicles Titling Requirements", with one oversight that i'll explain along the way.

here are the steps in order that will minimize repeat trips to the DMV.

1. roll to the DMV with your export certificate (title), HS-7, and US customs entry form. this will allow them to issue a temporary registration tag. you may need the VIN verified prior to issuing temp tags.

2. call the Denver Emissions Technical Center at 303-744-2522 to set up the state emissions inspection and obtain form DR2365 (this step is not listed on the bulletin). Tim and Raymond are helpful and familiar with Hiace's, they were able to schedule me for next day inspection. it takes 30-60min and is free of charge. the DR2365 is required to obtain a diesel emissions inspection and requires temporary registration to complete. as far as i know, this service is only available in denver and may or may not be required in your county.

3. go to the diesel emissions location of your choice. L & N Diesel at Pecos and Mississippi is both familiar with Hiace's and also familiar with the import process. good guys and close to the emissions tech center.

4. while getting emissions, have the VIN VERIFIED not inspected by the Colorado State Patrol. this part is important and will save you a lot of time. i repeat: only verification is required. form DR2698. there's a lot of folks that think you need to get the VIN inspected by the CSP, which is extremely time consuming and difficult to schedule. verify it.

5. take your HS-7, export certificate, customs entry form (see list), your DR2698, emissions, weight slip, and odometer disclosure to the DMV.

i was out the door with plates in 30min. you can be too. if you're really really good at time management you could have this done in a day.

thank you for coming to my TED talk and i hope this helps someone in the future.

ProfJ wrote:

Hey Pizzasandwich,

I'm trying to bring my Hiace in to CO and they're busting my balls because I don't have a "secure odometer disclosure form", what did you have for that?

Thanks!

Did you get the CSP inspection of the VIN/VIN verification?
Or is yours from overseas? In which case I would think that should be covered by the mileage on the translated import paperwork.

I got the CSP inspection of VIN, yes.  They say the mileage on the export certificate doesn't count because it isn't signed by the seller (there are no signature spaces on the export cert.)

shaggy0928 wrote:

ProfJ wrote:

Hey Pizzasandwich,

I'm trying to bring my Hiace in to CO and they're busting my balls because I don't have a "secure odometer disclosure form", what did you have for that?

Thanks!

Did you get the CSP inspection of the VIN/VIN verification?
Or is yours from overseas? In which case I would think that should be covered by the mileage on the translated import paperwork.

May I ask which actual DMV you went to? Maybe I'll ask my local DMV to phone them to get a clue.

ProfJ wrote:

I got the CSP inspection of VIN, yes.  They say the mileage on the export certificate doesn't count because it isn't signed by the seller (there are no signature spaces on the export cert.)

shaggy0928 wrote:

ProfJ wrote:

Hey Pizzasandwich,

I'm trying to bring my Hiace in to CO and they're busting my balls because I don't have a "secure odometer disclosure form", what did you have for that?

Thanks!

Did you get the CSP inspection of the VIN/VIN verification?
Or is yours from overseas? In which case I would think that should be covered by the mileage on the translated import paperwork.

I went to one of the Denver DMVs. I have since relocated to Arapahoe county though and while I haven't had to actually visit a DMV there, they had no problem renewing it.

Looking at the paper that I have from DMV with Colorado rules regarding registration, I see that certified odometer paper is on there.
I think that I met this by having the export form(mine was from Japan, I assume yours is as well) done with a Certified Translation. I feel like the export company should have provided this. Mine is both stamped CERTIFIED TRANSLATION and signed by the translator.