How to import a 25-year-old car and get it titled in your state

Two separate authorities decide whether an imported car ends up on your driveway with plates on it. At the border, US Customs and Border Protection clears the car on the strength of two federal declarations, the Department of Transportation’s HS-7 and the EPA’s 3520-1, and collects the duty, which is 2.5% of the price for a car. After that, your state decides whether it will title and register the car at all, and it asks for its own stack of paper. Clearing customs is not a title.

This guide follows a car that is 25 or more years old, the age at which the federal safety standards stop applying at the border, from the shipping booking to the title office. The federal steps come from CBP, the regulation and the EPA’s own form. The state steps come from the title offices of California, Texas, Florida, Virginia, Colorado and New York, each read on 12 November 2026.

The short version

• Before you pay: check the car against both federal clocks using its build date, not the model year in the listing.
• At the port: the original bill of lading, the bill of sale, the foreign registration, EPA form 3520-1 and DOT form HS-7.
• Duty: 2.5% of the price paid or payable for a car, per CBP.
• The stamped 7501: CBP stamps the entry summary only when you ask, so ask, because your state may want it.
• At the title office: the customs entry, both declarations, the foreign title or registration with an English translation, and a VIN check.
• California: a car built for another market after 1974 needs a laboratory test before the DMV will register it.

Step 1: Make sure the car qualifies before you pay for it

The safety exemption is one line in 49 CFR 591.5. Paragraph (i)(1) reads, in full: “The vehicle is 25 or more years old.” CBP states the other side of it: “motor vehicles less than 25 years old must comply with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) in order to be imported permanently into the United States.”

Emissions run on a separate clock. Code E on EPA form 3520-1 covers a car “at least 21 years old (calendar year of manufacture subtracted from year of importation) and in original unmodified configuration.” The same code excludes a car with a replacement engine unless the engine is the same model as the original, or “an engine with any aftertreatment from a certified vehicle no older than the one being imported.” So a swapped engine can cost you the exemption. Why the two clocks differ, and how buyers lose cars in the four model years between them, is in The 25-year import rule is actually two rules.

A car younger than 25 that was not built to US standards is a different project. CBP says it must be imported through a DOT-registered importer, who modifies and certifies it, and you post a DOT bond for one and a half times the car’s dutiable value on top of the normal entry bond. A car that fails the EPA side goes through an independent commercial importer, and CBP’s own words are that “in general, ICI fees are very high.”

Step 2: Shipping, the broker and the car itself

You arrange the shipping. CBP says a car is cleared at the first port of entry unless a freight forwarder abroad sends it in bond to a port more convenient to you, and it asks you to have the shipper tell you the arrival date so you can process the car promptly.

A customs broker is optional. CBP officers are not allowed to act as your agent or make the entry for you, but you may hire a commercial customs broker to do it. The broker then files the entry on your behalf.

Two things to handle before the car is loaded. The Department of Agriculture requires the underside of an imported car to be free of foreign soil, so CBP advises having it steam-sprayed or cleaned thoroughly before shipment. And do not pack the car with belongings: CBP says the entire contents must be declared on entry, that failing to declare them can lead to a fine or seizure, and that many shippers will not accept a car with personal items inside.

Step 3: The paperwork at the port

CBP lists what it needs for clearance:

• The shipper’s or carrier’s original bill of lading
• The bill of sale
• The foreign registration
• Any other documents covering the car
• EPA form 3520-1, declaring the emissions provision the car enters under (code E for a car 21 or more years old)
• DOT form HS-7, declaring the safety provision (the 25-year exemption)

A car without a manufacturer’s US emissions label may be asked for proof that it qualifies for the exemption it claims, CBP says. That is the build-date plate again.

Step 4: Duty and the gas-guzzler tax

CBP lists the duty on a foreign-made car, new or used, at 2.5%, based on the price paid or payable. On a car bought for $20,000, that is $500. Trucks are dutiable at 25%, a rate that matters if the import is a pickup or van.

Some imports also owe the federal gas-guzzler tax. CBP says the tax is based on an EPA fuel economy rating, that no tax is imposed on a car rated at least 22.5 miles per gallon combined, and that a person importing a car for personal use can be the one liable for it. It is reported on IRS Form 720 with Form 6197.

Step 5: Ask for the stamped 7501

The entry summary, Customs Form 7501, is the document most title offices treat as proof the car came in legally. CBP’s guidance to the trade, CSMS 16-000399, says it will stamp a paper 7501 or its electronic ACE equivalent for someone registering a car “upon request,” and only that form. CBP will not stamp the HS-7 or the 3520-1.

The same notice explains what the stamp means: that the importer completed CBP’s import processing and showed proof of ownership. It does not certify that the car meets any other agency’s rules. Ask your broker to request the stamp at clearance. Colorado says its title offices accept a 7501 without an inspector’s signature, but California asks for CBP forms that are stamped and endorsed, so the stamp costs nothing to have and can cost a trip to be without.

Step 6: Title it in your state

CBP tells US residents to consult their own state’s DMV about temporary plates and what customs paperwork it will want. Here is what six title offices ask for. Texas, Florida, Virginia, Colorado and New York each ask for an English translation of any foreign-language document.

California

The DMV’s page for imported cars asks for proof of ownership, evidence that the car cleared customs (it names stamped and endorsed CBP forms HS-7, 3299, 3311, 3461, 6059 and 7501), the Application for Title or Registration (REG 343), the “Verification of Vehicle” form (REG 31), a Statement of Facts (REG 256) and the fees. A smog certificate applies to gasoline cars manufactured after 1968.

The hard part is emissions. The DMV says a direct import not originally built to California emissions standards and the federal safety standards “cannot be registered in California, unless the vehicle is modified and tested under CARB’s direct import program.” The Air Resources Board’s own answers set the line by model year: a 1967 or older car needs no modification or testing; for 1968 to 1974, CARB does not recommend importing at all; a 1975 or newer car more than two years past production needs a Certificate of Conformance issued after a successful laboratory test. CARB says that laboratory testing “typically exceeds the value of most vehicles.” The DMV adds that motorcycles, off-highway machines and diesels cannot be converted to California standards at this time.

Texas

TxDMV says the car “must meet all federal and state importation requirements prior to titling and/or registering the vehicle in Texas.” Its steps for a car bought outside the United States run in this order: import the car properly; pass any inspection that applies; have the VIN inspected by a trained auto theft investigator who is a Texas law enforcement officer, who completes form VTR-68-A (an authorized National Insurance Crime Bureau employee may also do it); then take to the county tax office the HS-7 or another document showing customs entry and compliance with or exemption from the safety standards, a bond release letter if the car is still under DOT bond, the inspection report if one applies, Form 130-U, the ownership document, the odometer reading where required and proof of insurance.

Registration in one of 18 counties, among them Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar and Travis, needs a passing emissions inspection first. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality says that program inspects gasoline cars “model-year 2 through 24 years old,” so a car past 25 falls outside it.

Florida

Florida’s title procedure for out-of-country imports, TL-10, revised December 2025, starts with four documents: the out-of-country title, with a certified translation signed by the translator and notarized; a VIN verification on form HSMV 82040 or 82042 by one of the officials those forms list; CBP Form 7501 showing the VIN; and form HS-7 showing the VIN. If box 2B is checked on the HS-7, Florida wants the manufacturer’s confirmation letter; if box 3 is checked, the bond letter and, if applicable, the registered importer contract. Sales tax is worked from the bill of sale, or from the value on the 7501 when there is no bill of sale.

Virginia

Virginia’s DMV titles an imported car by mail or in person. It asks for the Application for Certificate of Title and Registration (VSA 17A), proof of address, an ownership document such as the foreign title, registration or an export certificate, English translations, CBP forms 7501 and 3461 with a signature and the VIN on them, a bill of sale or invoice showing the VIN, the EPA 3520-1 where it applies and the HS-7. When the export certificate is assigned to an exporting company rather than to you, the DMV also wants that company’s bill of sale to you. The title fee is $15, plus sales and use tax and the registration fee if you register it.

Once a gasoline passenger car passes 25 model years, Virginia also exempts it from the emissions inspection in the Northern Virginia localities that test, with or without antique plates. Those plates, and Maryland’s and the District’s versions of them, are in Antique and historic plates in Virginia, Maryland and DC.

Colorado

Colorado’s title and registration manual asks for the HS-7, the foreign title or registration, one CBP entry form (7523, 3299, 3311, 7501 or 3461; a 7501 does not need an inspector’s signature), a VIN verification on form DR 2698, and the odometer on a secure form such as the DR 2173 bill of sale, converted to miles if it reads in kilometers. A certified weight slip may be required when the documents do not show the weight. Translations must be signed and notarized, or signed under penalty of perjury.

New York

New York’s DMV accepts CBP forms 368, 7523, 3299, 3311, 7501 or 6059B as the customs document, plus a certificate of title or its equivalent for a used car, with a certified English translation. Two warnings sit on the same page. The DMV can require a car to meet New York’s own safety and emissions standards even when it meets or is exempt from the federal ones. And it will not register or title a kei-class car unless you prove it has been brought into compliance with the federal safety standards and EPA rules that applied in the year it was made.

Questions people ask

Can a 25-year-old import be titled in any state?

Not automatically. The federal exemption gets the car into the country; each state decides on registration. California requires a laboratory test for a 1975 or newer car built for another market, and New York will not register a kei car without proof it has been brought into compliance with the federal rules for its year.

What forms do I need to import a car from Japan?

At the port: the original bill of lading, the bill of sale, the foreign registration, EPA form 3520-1 and DOT form HS-7, per CBP. For the title office, ask for the stamped CBP 7501 as well.

How much is the import duty on a car?

2.5% of the price paid or payable, per CBP. Trucks are 25%.

Do I need a customs broker?

Not by law. CBP officers cannot make the entry for you, so either you file it yourself or a commercial customs broker files it for you.

Will CBP stamp my HS-7 or 3520-1?

No. CBP stamps only the 7501 entry summary or its electronic equivalent, and only on request.

Does the 25-year count start at the model year or the build date?

The safety regulation says “25 or more years old” without defining the arithmetic. The EPA form subtracts the calendar year of manufacture from the year of import. Have the build-date plate photographed and read the two-rules explainer before you bid.

Sending a car the other way runs on its own clock; see Exporting a car from the US: the 72-hour rule. Before a deal on any older car, foreign or domestic, the title check in What to check before buying a used enthusiast car still applies. None of this is legal advice. Rules and forms change, and each requirement above was read on the agency’s own page on 12 November 2026; follow the source links to check the current wording.

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Mario Bailey

Founder, Driven Life

Mario Bailey founded Driven Life, which is published by Revlent LLC. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and a tech founder, and has worked as a software engineer for more than ten years. He edits the site and is responsible for every page on it: the meet, club and rally guides, the metro and state hubs, the car and tool pages, and the magazine.