When can a car from Japan be imported? An age line date checker
Sources checked 4 October 2026
Most countries let an older car in on easier terms than a newer one. The catch is that each government counts the years differently: from the build date or the first registration, to the day of import or the day you apply, in calendar years or to the month. And Japanese papers usually show the month a car was first registered, not the month it was built.
This page does the counting. Put in what the papers show and it gives the date the car reaches each country's age line, using each government's own wording. It doesn't say a car can be imported or registered. That's for the authority in each country, and the age line is only one of their conditions.
| Country | Age line | Age | Counted from | Counted to | In the government's words | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Safety standards (FMVSS) do not apply | 25 or more years | Build date | Date of import | the vehicle is 25 or more years old (49 CFR 591.5); 25 years from the date of the vehicle's manufacture (NHTSA FAQ) | nhtsa.gov |
| United States | EPA emissions exemption (code E) | At least 21 years | Build year | Year of import | at least 21 years old, determined by subtracting the calendar year of manufacture from the year of importation; original unmodified configuration | epa.gov |
| United States | Section 232 auto duties do not apply | At least 25 years | Build year | Year of entry | used cars manufactured in a year at least 25 years prior to the year of the date of entry | cbp.gov |
| Canada | Age exemption (no RIV/CMVSS) | Not less than 15 years | Build date | Date of import | the age of a motor vehicle is determined by the month and year during which work was completed on the vehicle at the place of main assembly. For example, a vehicle manufactured in May 2000 would be considered to be 15 years old on May 1, 2015 | cbsa-asfc.gc.ca |
| Australia | Older vehicle (concessional RAV entry) | At least 25 years | Build date | Date of the import approval application | the vehicle has a relevant build date that is at least 25 years before the date of the application; relevant build date = the date that assembly of the vehicle was first completed, or the date of the last significant modification | legislation.gov.au |
| New Zealand | Frontal impact / emissions / ESC do not apply | 20 or more years | Build date or first registration, whichever is earlier | Date of entry certification | manufactured, or first registered outside of New Zealand, twenty years or more before the date of its first certification for entry into service | vehicleinspection.nzta.govt.nz |
| United Kingdom | Vehicle approval (IVA) not needed | More than 10 years | Build date or first registration, whichever is earlier | Not stated | Vehicle approval may not be needed if the vehicle was first registered or manufactured more than 10 years ago | gov.uk |
| Ireland | VRT category C (flat EUR 200) | More than 30 years | Not stated (build date or first registration) | Time of registration | vehicles more than 30 years old at the time of registration | revenue.ie |
Data checked 4 October 2026 · 8 rows
The date is only the age line. Whether the car itself is worth importing can only be seen at the car: send us the listing and tell us what to look at.
How to use it
- Put in the build date if you have it. It may be on the model plate, in the maker's records, or in the remarks of the Japanese registration certificate (as "date of manufacture", only on some cars). If you only know the year, leave the month as "Month not known".
- Put in the first registration month from the Japanese papers. It's on the registration certificate (shaken-sho) and the export certificate. If you have only this, the checker counts from it as the latest the car could have been built.
- Pick the date to check against. It starts as today. For the US and Canada, the line is counted to the day the car is imported, so add the time at sea. For Australia it's the day you apply for import approval.
Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved. The counting happens in your browser.
The answer for each line comes in one of three forms:
- "From 1 May 2015": the line is reached on that date.
- "Possibly from 1 August 2027 … for certain from 1 September 2027": only the build month is known, so the line falls somewhere in that month. The later date is safe whatever the day.
- "At the latest": you put in only the first registration month. The car was built before that, so the real date may be earlier.
Try it with our own car
Our own car is a 2012 Toyota Prius α. Its electronic registration certificate shows a first registration of August 2012, and the inspection record sheet that came with it gives the day, 22 August 2012. Neither gives a build date. Put in only the first registration, August 2012, and the checker says:
| Line | Date |
|---|---|
| United States, safety standards (25 years) | 1 September 2037 at the latest |
| United States, EPA emissions exemption (21 calendar years) | 1 January 2033 at the latest |
| United States, Section 232 duties (25 calendar years) | 1 January 2037 at the latest |
| Canada (15 years, from the build month) | 1 August 2027 at the latest |
| Australia, older vehicle (25 years, to the date of application) | 1 September 2037 at the latest |
| New Zealand (20 years, build or first registration, whichever is earlier) | 1 September 2032 for certain, earlier if it was built earlier |
| United Kingdom, no vehicle approval needed (more than 10 years) | Past the line since 1 September 2022, earlier if it was built earlier |
| Ireland, flat €200 VRT (more than 30 years) | 1 September 2042 at the latest |
Two things this shows. First, the papers decide how early you can go: for every line that counts from the build date, the first registration month only gives a "latest", and a build month would bring it forward. Second, the record sheet's exact day matters where first registration counts. For New Zealand, our car's twentieth anniversary of first registration is 22 August 2032. The checker works in months, so it says 1 September 2032 to be safe. If your papers give a day, count from it yourself.
A car with a known build month
If the build month is on the papers, most lines move forward and the answer becomes a range within a month. For a car built in May 2000, the example the CBSA uses:
| Line | Date |
|---|---|
| United States, safety standards | Possibly from 1 May 2025, for certain from 1 June 2025 |
| United States, EPA emissions exemption | 1 January 2021 |
| United States, Section 232 duties | 1 January 2025 |
| Canada | 1 May 2015, as in the CBSA's own example |
| Australia, older vehicle | Possibly from 1 May 2025, for certain from 1 June 2025 |
| New Zealand | Possibly from 1 May 2020, for certain from 1 June 2020 |
| United Kingdom, no vehicle approval needed | Possibly from 2 May 2010, for certain from 1 June 2010 |
| Ireland, flat €200 VRT | Possibly from 2 May 2030, for certain from 1 June 2030 |
How each country counts
The table under the checker has each line in the government's own words. The differences that change the answer:
- What's counted. The US, Canada and Australia count from the build date. New Zealand and the UK take the build date or the first registration, whichever is earlier. Ireland's page doesn't say which.
- To what date. The US safety rule and Canada count to the date of import. Australia counts to the date of your application for import approval, so the car can still be in Japan. New Zealand counts to the date of entry certification, after the car arrives.
- "More than" means the day after. The UK and Ireland lines say more than 10 and 30 years, so the anniversary itself doesn't count yet. The checker's earliest date for those two is the second of the month.
- Months and days. Canada counts from the first day of the build month: its own example is a car built in May 2000 being 15 years old on 1 May 2015. The two US calendar-year lines only look at the year. The others count to the day, so with only a month the checker gives a range.
- The US has three lines. The 25-year safety rule (NHTSA), the 21-year emissions exemption (EPA, and only for a car in its original unmodified configuration) and the 25-calendar-year exclusion from the Section 232 auto duties (CBP). A car can be past one and not the others. A 2002 R34 GT-R, for example, passed the 21-year emissions count on 1 January 2023 and the Section 232 count on 1 January 2027, while the safety rule waits for its build month in 2027.
Where a build date comes from
Japanese papers usually give the first registration month, not the build month. Some registration certificates show a date of manufacture in the remarks. Maker recall notices list production periods for ranges of chassis numbers, which can put a car in a window. All of this, with what each country accepts as evidence, is in proving a Japanese car's build date.
What this page can't tell you
- Whether a car can be imported or registered. The age line is one condition. Australia also looks at significant modifications made in the last 25 years. New Zealand also looks at the emissions code on the papers for younger cars. California won't register most direct imports without CARB's direct import programme. Each country's guide covers its other conditions: US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Ireland.
- The exact date for a car whose papers give a day. The checker works in months. Count from the day on your papers, and check it with the authority.
- Anything about the car's condition. A date on paper doesn't show what's under the car.
If the car isn't past the line yet, it's early to have it looked at for import. Start with the papers: a Remote Check is where we ask the dealer for the documents that show when it was built.
Sources
All checked on the date shown for each line in the table, between 3 and 4 October 2026.
- NHTSA, Importation and Certification FAQs, and Code of Federal Regulations, 49 CFR 591.5: 25 years from the date of manufacture
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Form 3520-1: code E, at least 21 years by calendar year, original unmodified configuration
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Section 232 additional FAQs: automobiles and auto parts: manufactured in a year at least 25 years before the year of entry
- Canada Border Services Agency, Memorandum D9-1-11: age by the month and year of main assembly, and the May 2000 example
- Federal Register of Legislation (Australia), Road Vehicle Standards Rules 2019, section 36: a relevant build date at least 25 years before the date of the application
- NZTA, VIRM: Entry certification, 8-1 Service brake and park brake: manufactured, or first registered outside New Zealand, twenty years or more before first certification
- GOV.UK, Vehicle approval: exemptions: first registered or manufactured more than 10 years ago
- Revenue, Applying the tax: vehicles more than 30 years old at the time of registration
- Nissan, FAQ: Skyline GT-R (BNR34) (in Japanese): production January 1999 to August 2002
- Our own car's electronic registration certificate and inspection record sheet (issued June 2025): first registration August 2012, the day 22 August 2012, no build date
Close to a line and not sure what the papers show? Send us the listing.