The 72-hour rule is US Customs and Border Protection’s rule for exporting a used car: the paperwork has to reach CBP at least 72 hours before the car leaves the country. Two filings run on that clock. The ownership documents, led by the original certificate of title, go to CBP at the port of export under 19 CFR 192.2. And Electronic Export Information has to be filed in the Automated Export System 72 hours before export, for every used car, “regardless of destination, value or condition,” according to CBP.
Miss either and the car waits at the port. Below: what CBP wants for each kind of title, how the 72 hours works by sea, air and land, and what trips people up, all read on CBP’s own pages on 12 November 2026.
The short version
- File the EEI in AES at least 72 hours before export, through AES or AESDirect, and ask your shipper who is filing it.
- Bring the original title (or a certified copy) and two complete copies of it to CBP at the port.
- A lien or a lease? Add a signed letter from the lender or lessor, on its letterhead, saying the car may be exported.
- By ship or plane: the documents and the car go to CBP at least 72 hours before export.
- By road or rail to Canada or Mexico: the documents go in 72 hours ahead, and the car is presented at the crossing.
The title is the core of it
CBP’s guidance is blunt: “The certificate of title is the core requirement in the Customs export process, regardless of the vehicle’s economic value, physical condition, or operating order.” What you hand over depends on the paper the car has:
- A US title or salvage title in force: the original certificate of title or a certified copy, plus two complete copies of it.
- A leased car or one with a recorded lien: all of the above, plus a separate letter from the lienholder or lessor on its letterhead, describing the car with its VIN, naming the owner or lienholder, giving phone numbers, signed and dated in the original, and stating expressly that the car may be exported.
- A car titled or registered abroad: the original proof of ownership, with an English translation if needed, and two complete copies of both.
- A new car with a Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin and no title yet: the original MSO and two complete copies.
- A junk or scrap certificate: the original or a certified copy, and two complete copies.
A “complete copy” means both sides when there is writing on the back of the original, under CBP’s definitions. Copy the back of the title, too.
How the 72 hours works
By ship or by air, 19 CFR 192.2 requires the documents and the car itself to be presented to CBP at least 72 hours before export. In practice that means at the port, three days before the sailing or flight, at the place the port sets.
By road or rail, including driving the car across the border into Canada or Mexico, the documents must be submitted at least 72 hours before export, and the car is presented at the time it crosses.
Where to go is set port by port. The regulation says port directors establish the locations where exporters present documents and cars, and publish those locations and their hours. Look up the export office for your port before you book a sailing.
The EEI filing
Separately from the title documents, the Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Regulations require Electronic Export Information to be filed through the Automated Export System, or AESDirect, for every used car 72 hours before export (the rule’s own term is “used self-propelled vehicles”). CBP cites 15 CFR 30.2(a)(1)(iv)(H) and 15 CFR 30.4(b)(5) for the rule, and says first-time and one-time exporters are covered like anyone else. CBP names AES and AESDirect as the filing routes. Ask your shipper whether it files the EEI for you, and keep the confirmation.
Who is exempt
CBP says the documentation and EEI rules do not apply to a car that entered the United States under an in-bond procedure, a carnet or a Temporary Importation Bond. The regulation also excludes a car a nonresident brought in under the one-year personal exemption.
What CBP does with your papers
Customs checks the documents for authenticity and marks the originals. In most cases, the regulation says, the originals go back to you. If CBP kept an original title and cannot find it before the car is exported, your authenticated copy stands as proof you complied.
Before you book the shipping
- Find the original title, or order a certified copy from your state if the original is lost
- Pay off the loan, or get the lienholder’s export letter, before the car goes to the port
- Make the two complete copies, both sides, before you leave home
- Confirm who files the EEI in AES or AESDirect, and get the confirmation
- Find your port’s export office and hours, and count 72 hours back from the sailing or crossing
Buying at auction to ship abroad? The transport section of How to buy a car at Barrett-Jackson or Mecum covers booking a carrier. Bringing a car in rather than sending it out is a different process, covered in How to import a 25-year-old car and get it titled.
Questions people ask
What is the 72-hour rule for exporting a car?
CBP requires the ownership documents for a used car, and the Electronic Export Information in AES, at least 72 hours before export. By ship or air, the car itself must also be presented 72 hours ahead.
Do I need the original title to export a car?
Yes, or a certified copy of it, plus two complete copies. CBP calls the title the core requirement.
Can I export a car that still has a loan on it?
Only with a letter from the lienholder, on its letterhead, with an original signature and the date it was signed, stating that the car may be exported.
Do I need to file AES for a car worth very little?
Yes. CBP says the EEI is required for every used car “regardless of destination, value or condition.”
Does the 72-hour rule apply when driving a car to Canada or Mexico?
Yes, for an export. The documents must be submitted 72 hours ahead, and the car is presented when it crosses.
This is not legal advice. The rules above were read on CBP’s pages and in 19 CFR 192.2 on 12 November 2026; port procedures differ, so confirm with the export office at your port.
- Source: US Customs and Border Protection, Exporting a Motor Vehicle (interpretation of 19 CFR Part 192), read 12 November 2026
- Source: CBP, Exporting Used Self-Propelled Vehicles (EEI and AES, updated 7 January 2026), read 12 November 2026
- Source: 19 CFR 192.2, Requirements for exportation (Cornell LII), read 12 November 2026
