Importing a Car to the USA: Understanding the 25-Year Rule

Under US federal law, vehicles that are 25 years old or older, calculated from the vehicle's date of manufacture (not model year), are exempt from the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) enforced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and from the emissions standards enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This exemption is what makes it possible to import UK cars — many of which were never certified to US specification — as classics once they cross the 25-year threshold.

The key detail importers often get wrong is the calculation date: the exemption is based on the exact month and year of manufacture shown on the vehicle's build plate or manufacturer records, not simply the model year printed on the registration document. A car built in November will not qualify until 25 years after that specific month, even if the equivalent model year technically passed the 25-year mark. Getting this date wrong can result in a vehicle being denied entry at a US port.

Once a vehicle qualifies, no EPA Form 3520-1 declaration of conformity or DOT HS-7 declaration of full compliance is required in the way they would be for a newer, non-conforming vehicle — instead you complete these forms selecting the age-exemption boxes, which significantly simplifies the paperwork compared with importing a modern non-US-spec car.

Vehicles under 25 years old that were not originally built to US federal standards face a far more complex and expensive path, generally requiring the vehicle to go through a Registered Importer (RI) and be brought into compliance with FMVSS, which for a UK car can mean modifications to lighting, bumpers, and other safety systems, plus EPA emissions certification. This process is costly, sometimes running into many thousands of dollars, and is only realistically viable for rare or highly desirable vehicles.

For this reason, the vast majority of private UK-to-US shipments we handle are vehicles that already qualify, or are close to qualifying, under the 25-year exemption. If your vehicle isn't yet 25 years old, it's often more practical to wait until it qualifies before shipping, unless the model is eligible under a specific show-or-display exemption granted by NHTSA for historically or technologically significant vehicles produced in limited numbers.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) charges import duty of 2.5% on passenger cars (the rate differs for trucks and motorcycles), calculated on the vehicle's purchase price or declared value. Entry documentation includes CBP Form 7501, the EPA and DOT declaration forms noted above, the bill of lading, and the original purchase invoice.

Most popular ports of entry for UK shipments are Baltimore, New York/New Jersey, and the West Coast ports depending on final destination, and CBP processing at these ports is generally efficient for straightforward classic imports once paperwork is in order. It's worth noting that a vehicle's title status in the UK (clean V5C versus a salvage or write-off marker) will be scrutinised, and salvage-titled vehicles can complicate both import and subsequent state registration.

Once a vehicle clears CBP, registering it is a state-level matter, and requirements vary significantly. Many states exempt vehicles over 25 years old from standard emissions testing under their own classic/antique vehicle registration categories, but a handful of states — notably California — apply their own separate rules that can be stricter than federal law, sometimes requiring smog exemptions to be specifically claimed rather than automatically granted.

Before shipping, it's worth checking the specific registration category and any emissions exemption process in the state where the vehicle will actually be based, since state DMV requirements (title application, odometer disclosure, VIN verification) sit on top of the federal import process and can add several additional weeks if not planned for in advance.

We regularly ship 25-year-exempt classics from the UK to the USA, most commonly via container for maximum protection given the values typically involved. Our team checks the manufacture date against current eligibility before booking, prepares the EPA/DOT declaration paperwork, and can advise on the best US port of entry based on the vehicle's eventual home state.