Import tools

When can I import my car?

Almost every eligibility list works in model years. The federal rule does not — it runs from the actual month and year of manufacture stamped on the compliance plate. A car titled as a 2001 but built in October 2001 is not admissible until October 2026. Enter the build month and get the exact date.

The build month is on the manufacturer's plate, usually in the door jamb or engine bay. On a Japanese export certificate it also appears as the first registration date, which is normally within a few months of manufacture — if those two differ, the plate governs.

What this does and does not tell you

It covers the federal 25-year FMVSS exemption only.

That exemption (49 CFR 591.5) is what lets a non-conforming vehicle enter the United States without meeting the safety standards it was never built to. EPA requirements sit alongside it and have their own, different, 21-year provision.

Clearing customs is not the same as being able to register it.

Federal admissibility settles the port. State titling and registration is separate, varies by state and by vehicle class, and is the most common place an otherwise clean import comes apart — particularly for kei trucks and kei vans. Check your own state before you commit to anything.

Eligibility is confirmed per vehicle, on documents.

This tool is a date calculation, not a verification. Before any vehicle is sourced we confirm the build month against the export certificate and the compliance plate. A car may qualify for import — verified per vehicle.

Working out what it would cost?

Eligibility is the first question. The second is what the car actually costs in your driveway — including the roughly $4,700 of fixed logistics that almost no listing shows you.

Estimate the landed cost