Car Shipping to USA

Why ship a car to USA from the UK

The Ship Cars is a specialist UK vehicle export company moving cars, SUVs, classics, motorbikes and light commercials to USA every month. North, Central and South America each impose distinct import regimes, but a common thread is container-led shipping with selective RORO on the East Coast. The 25-year and 15-year classic exemptions in the US and Canada generate steady British classic-car volume. Typical clients on this lane include returning Latin American nationals, alongside private owners relocating to USA and returning residents importing a personal vehicle. Our UK-to-USA corridor is engineered around predictable transit, transparent pricing and full compliance with USA customs.

Vehicles depart from Liverpool, Tilbury, Immingham and arrive at New York, Baltimore, Savannah and 3 more ports via direct trans-Atlantic East Coast calls. Typical door-to-port turnaround is 14–21 days from southampton/tilbury to east coast ports (new york, baltimore), supported by marine all-risks insurance, GPS-tracked UK collection and bonded warehousing where required. For an instant indication of cost, use our car shipping cost calculator or request a tailored quote on our quote page.

How UK to USA car shipping works

Every shipment to USA follows the same six-step pipeline: free quotation, UK collection or self-drop at Liverpool, bonded UK warehousing and pre-shipment photos, HMRC NOVA / C88 export clearance handled by our UK customs clearance team, ocean transit to New York (and onward feeder to Baltimore where required), and destination customs handover. You choose the shipping mode that best matches the vehicle profile and budget — see the full breakdown on our car shipping costs page or compare live RORO sailing dates to USA.

USA ports, routing and transit

Vehicles bound for USA are typically routed through New York as the lead discharge port, with Baltimore, Savannah, Houston, Los Angeles, Long Beach available as alternatives depending on sailing schedule and onward inland transport. We schedule loads to match weekly RORO sailing schedules to USA and book 20ft and 40ft container slots on the same rotation.

• Port of New York
• Port of Baltimore
• Port of Savannah
• Port of Houston
• Port of Los Angeles
• Port of Long Beach
• UK departure: Southampton
• UK departure: Tilbury
• UK departure: Bristol (Portbury)

USA import duty, VAT and customs in 2026

Importing a vehicle into USA is regulated and document-driven. The headline framework is summarised below; our team verifies every figure against the latest USA customs schedule before quoting.

• EPA, DOT, Transport Canada and INMETRO compliance
• 25-year and 15-year classic-import exemptions
• Customs bonds, brokers and HS code 8703 classification
• Gulf, Atlantic and Pacific routings via Panama Canal

Document checklist for USA

• V5C registration document
• Valid passport or photo ID
• Commercial invoice with declared value
• Bill of Lading
• EPA Form 3520-1
• DOT Form HS-7
• Customs Bond

For full country-specific customs rules, see our USA import guides and articles, our UK and USA customs clearance service, or use the duty-inclusive cost calculator for a landed estimate to New York.

Other Americas destinations from the UK

We ship to 8+ other Americas countries from the UK on the same trade lanes as USA. Many customers shipping to USA also enquire about Canada, Mexico because routing, customs documentation and transit windows overlap.