Importing a car from Japan to the USA: the 25-year rule, the emissions rule and what to check first

A car built for the Japanese market generally can't be imported into the United States permanently until it is 25 years old. Younger cars have to meet US federal safety standards, and a Japanese-market car wasn't built to them. Bringing one up to standard means a registered importer, a bond and, often, a cost that makes it impractical.

Once a car is old enough, the paperwork is fairly short: a safety declaration (form HS-7), an emissions declaration (EPA form 3520-1), 2.5% duty on a car, and a clean underside. The rules that catch people are the small print: the emissions exemption only covers cars in their original, unmodified configuration, and a 25-year-old car has had 25 years to rust. Photos show less than you think.

Which cars can come in

• Safety: 25 years or older. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says that, as a general rule, vehicles less than 25 years old must comply with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to be imported permanently. NHTSA's declaration rule lists "the vehicle is 25 or more years old" as one of the declarations an importer can make on form HS-7.
• Younger cars: a registered importer, if the model is eligible at all. A non-conforming car must go through a DOT-registered importer, who modifies it and declares that it meets the standards. The importer also posts a DOT bond for one and a half times the car's dutiable value. If the model hasn't been found eligible before, it must go through a petition first. CBP warns this can be so costly as to be impractical.
• Emissions: 21 years or older, and unmodified. EPA form 3520-1 has an exemption (code E) for a vehicle at least 21 years old, counted as the calendar year of manufacture subtracted from the year of importation, and in its original unmodified configuration. A car with a replacement engine doesn't qualify unless the engine is the same model as the original, or one taken from a vehicle that was approved under US emissions rules and is no older than the car being imported. Customs may ask for proof of the car's age.
• Your state decides on registration. CBP points out that state emission rules may differ, and tells US residents to check with their state's Department of Motor Vehicles.

Counting the years

The three rules don't count age in quite the same way. The safety rule is written as "25 or more years old". The emissions exemption counts calendar years (year of import minus year of manufacture). CBP's guidance on the Section 232 auto duties excludes used cars "manufactured in a year at least 25 years prior to the year of the date of entry".

Our reading, not an official rule: go by the month the car was built, not its model year or the year it was first registered, and leave a margin for shipping. If a car is close to the line, ask before it sails, not after.

Our founder owned an R33 Skyline GT-R (BCNR33). R33 GT-Rs were built in the mid-to-late 1990s, so by 2026 they're generally past the 25-year line. But the rule applies to the individual car's build date, so check the car in front of you.

What it costs

Item	How much	Notes
Customs duty	2.5%	CBP's rate for cars, whether new or used, based on the price paid or payable. Trucks are 25%
Section 232 auto duties	Not on cars made 25 or more years before	CBP: used cars are covered, except those manufactured in a year at least 25 years before the year of entry
Gas-guzzler tax	Some cars	Federal tax on certain imported cars with a combined rating under 22.5 miles per gallon. If the EPA hasn't rated the model, a rating has to be determined
Registered importer and bond	Only for cars under 25	CBP warns the modification cost can make this impractical
Shipping, customs broker, state registration and insurance	Quoted separately

A rough example. For every ¥1,000,000 paid for the car (about 6,330 US dollars on 1 October 2026), duty at 2.5% is about ¥25,000 (about 160 US dollars). That's an estimate at the European Central Bank's reference rate of 1 October 2026 (one US dollar = about ¥158). Your broker works out the real figure.

The steps, in order

1. Before you pay for the car: confirm the build date, and whether the engine and other parts are original. That decides which boxes you can tick on HS-7 and 3520-1.
2. Clean the undercarriage before it ships. The US Department of Agriculture requires the undercarriage of imported cars to be free of foreign soil. CBP suggests steam-cleaning before shipment.
3. Don't ship personal belongings in the car. CBP says many carriers won't accept a car with belongings in it, and everything in it must be declared.
4. Clear CBP at the port. You'll need the original bill of lading, the bill of sale, the foreign registration (for a car from Japan, usually the export certificate) and any other documents, plus forms HS-7 and 3520-1.
5. Pay duty, and any gas-guzzler tax.
6. Register the car in your state, following its rules.

Where Japanese imports get stuck

Modifications and the emissions exemption. The 21-year exemption is for cars in their original, unmodified configuration, so find out what's been changed on the car you're buying. We photograph what's fitted, including the engine bay, but we don't judge whether parts are genuine, original or legal.

Rust that 25 years has had time to make. Our founder, who works in paintless dent repair and detailing, puts the underside and the strut tops well ahead of the outside panels on a used car from Japan (more in what dealer photos miss). On an R33, our founder's experience is to check the boot (trunk) for leaks: there's a good chance of finding water pooled in the spare wheel well, and rust there. More in the R33 GT-R guide.

A date that's too close. A car that's a few weeks short of the line on the day it reaches the port isn't 25 years old yet.

Soil. It's a border requirement. Dirt collects in the wheel arches and on the underside, places listing photos rarely show.

What this page can't tell you

• Whether your car is admissible. CBP, NHTSA and the EPA decide. Contact them, or a broker, before you buy.
• Your state's rules for registering an imported car.
• Whether a part is original. We record what we see; we don't judge parts.
• The car's full underside. We don't lift cars, so we photograph what can be seen from ground level, and we don't say whether a car has been in an accident.
• Legal or customs advice. This is a plain summary of official guidance, checked on the date below.

The age, the forms and the duty are all settled in the US. Whether the engine is original and what the boot floor looks like can only be seen in Japan. Send us the listing and tell us what to look at. We can go and photograph what can be seen without lifting the car or removing anything, and tell you what we couldn't see. See how a viewing works.

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What to ask the seller before you buy

• The first registration month from the Japanese papers, and anything showing the build month
• A list of modifications, and whether the engine is the original
• A photo of the engine bay with the bonnet (hood) open
• The boot (trunk) floor with the mat lifted, and the spare wheel well
• The underside from ground level at each corner, and whether it will be cleaned before shipping

Everything before the car reaches a US port, from picking a seller to shipping, is the same as for any other country. See importing a car from Japan, stage by stage.

Written by Yoshiaki Sagara, a paintless dent repair and detailing technician in Japan. He looks at cars for overseas buyers through Ninja Desk Japan. About us

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