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Cars you can import to the USA
Every car, kei truck, van and 4x4 worth taking across the Atlantic under the 25-year rule, and when the next ones qualify.
- 257 models, searchable by chassis code
- Eligibility worked out by build year
- Kei truck rules for all 50 states
- We ship to the US from the UK and Europe
Quick facts
- 25 yrsfrom the month it was built, and the federal safety rules no longer apply. Right-hand drive included.
- 21 yrsis all the EPA asks for, provided the engine is original. Anything on this page has cleared it.
- 0models are eligible today; the rest arrive between 2027 and 2031.
- 2.5%base duty on a car. 25% on a truck, which is what a kei truck or a ute counts as.
The library
Find your car
Search a make, a model or a chassis code. Filter by where it comes from and whether it qualifies now. Every card says what it is, why it is worth the trouble and what to look for before you pay.
The rules
How importing to the USA works
Three federal agencies and fifty states have a say. Once a car is 25 years old to the month, the federal side is the easy bit. After that it is duty and your state's DMV.
The 25-year rule (NHTSA)
A vehicle at least 25 years old, counted from its month of manufacture, can enter the US without meeting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. A car built in November 2001 is not eligible until November 2026, whatever the model year says.
Right-hand drive is fine. No crash testing, no bumper conversion, no registered importer. Form HS-7, box 1, and proof of the build date.
The 21-year rule (EPA)
The EPA stops caring at 21 years, as long as the engine is in its original configuration. Every vehicle on this page that has crossed the 25-year line has already cleared it.
Form 3520-1, code E. A swapped or modified engine loses the exemption.
Show or Display
A short NHTSA list of significant cars (fewer than 500 built) can come in early, limited to 2,500 miles a year and needing approval before resale. The R34 GT-R Nür, NSX-R and Porsche 959 all arrived this way.
At 25 years the restrictions fall away. We list those cars under their 25-year date; ask if you want one sooner.
Duty, at the time of writing
These layers have moved several times in two years. We confirm the live rate with the broker on every quote.
Kei vehicles
Kei trucks and vans are 660cc, 3.4 m long and 1.48 m wide. Federally they import like any other 25-year-old vehicle. The state DMV is the real gatekeeper: some register them without fuss, some cap them to low-speed roads, and a growing number refuse or revoke titles. See the state guide below.
Kei cars (Jimny, Cappuccino, Alto Works) are usually treated as ordinary passenger cars, but a few states apply their kei policy to anything under 660cc.
What "eligible now" means here
Eligible now: the first units passed the 25-year line on or before September 2026. If the model ran on past 2001, later builds keep arriving month by month, and the card says so.
Coming soon: the earliest build is 2002–2006, so the first cars land between 2027 and 2031. Prices in Japan tend to rise 12–18 months before a model turns 25, so buy before the queue forms.
Tell us about the car
What it is, where it is and which state it is going to. We'll come back with a price for the whole job, shipping to the door, not just the boat.
Kei trucks
Where a kei truck can be registered
Where a 25-year-old kei truck or van can be titled and driven on the road, as of September 2026. This changes every legislative session, in both directions: Texas, Michigan, Massachusetts, Alaska and Vermont opened up in 2024–26 while Georgia, Illinois, Rhode Island and Wisconsin closed. Check with the DMV before you buy, and tell us your state so we can advise.
Coming soon
Turning 25 next
Models whose first builds turn 25 in the next five years. Each date is the earliest a first-month car qualifies; production carried on after that, so eligibility spreads across the following years.
FAQ
Questions we get asked
The short answers. Ring us for the long ones.
Does it have to be exactly 25 years old?
Yes, to the month of manufacture, not the model year or the first registration date. We check the build date from the chassis number or the manufacturer's records before anything is booked.
Can I drive a right-hand-drive car in the US?
Yes. There is no federal or state ban on right-hand drive; the postal service has been using it for decades. The conversion myth comes from the pre-25-year compliance process, which does not apply here.
Which state is easiest for a kei truck?
Texas, Michigan, Massachusetts, Arizona, Idaho, Montana and South Carolina register them on the road with no speed cap in the law. Roughly half the states allow them with limits, and about fifteen will not title one at all. The guide above has the detail, and it changes, so ask us before you buy.
What will the duty come to?
Passenger cars start at 2.5% of the declared value, trucks and utes at 25%, with origin-based surcharges on top that have changed more than once since 2025. We give you the broker's live figure on the quote rather than a number that was right last month.
Can you find the car as well as ship it?
Tell us what you are after and we will tell you what we can do. We buy and ship cars from the UK and Europe every week, and we know the Japanese market well through our own imports. If the honest answer is "buy it yourself and we will move it", we will say so.
Next step
Start with your car
Send us the chassis number and the state it is going to. We will confirm the build date, the duty and your DMV's position before you commit to anything.
Compiled September 2026 from NHTSA, EPA and CBP guidance, state DMV bulletins and customs broker notices. Eligibility is by individual build date; prices are approximate landed-in-US guides for good examples and move with the market and the exchange rate. Nothing here is legal or customs advice.
