How to Import a Car from Canada to the US: Paperwork, Costs, and Ports

To import a car from Canada to the US, you have to prove the vehicle meets federal safety and emissions rules, file the right customs and EPA forms at the border, pay duties that now include a 25% Section 232 tariff on most passenger vehicles, and then title and register the car in your state. The tariff took effect on April 3, 2025, and it is the single biggest change to the cost of a cross-border purchase in years. Everything else about the process, from the paperwork to the inspections, still runs on the same rails it did before.

What It Will Cost You Now

Start with duties, because they drive the decision. The base duty on a passenger vehicle is 2.5% of declared value. On top of that, a 25% tariff under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act now applies to passenger cars, SUVs, crossovers, minivans, and cargo vans from all countries, including Canada.¹ The combined effective rate on a Canadian passenger vehicle is 27.5% of its value.

Light trucks are worse. They already carried a 25% base duty, and the additional 25% Section 232 tariff brings the total to 50% of declared value.² A $40,000 truck carries $20,000 in duties before you touch any other fee. For most buyers, that ends the conversation on trucks.

Motorcycles sit outside the Section 232 auto proclamation and continue at their base duty of about 2.4%.

Vehicles manufactured at least 25 years before the date of entry are exempt from the Section 232 tariff.³ Combined with the safety and emissions exemptions for older cars, this leaves classic vehicles as the one category where importing from Canada still pencils out for a private buyer. The 2.5% base duty still applies.

There is a USMCA carve-out for the U.S.-content portion of a vehicle’s value, but it is built for commercial importers filing detailed content data with the Commerce Department by model line, and overstating U.S. content triggers retroactive assessment of the full 25% tariff on the entire vehicle value plus prior imports.¹ An individual bringing in one used car will find it impractical.

Beyond duties, budget for three more line items:

A Merchandise Processing Fee on formal entries, running 0.3464% of the vehicle’s value for fiscal year 2026, with a $33.58 floor and a $651.50 ceiling.⁴
The federal Gas Guzzler Tax, which applies to passenger automobiles rated below 22.5 miles per gallon and scales from $1,000 up to $7,700 as fuel economy drops. It hits importers the same way it hits manufacturers, and it targets high-performance cars and older muscle cars. Vehicles classified as light trucks are exempt.⁵⁶
State sales or use tax when you register, generally in the 4% to 7% range depending on your state and county, calculated on the purchase price or fair market value.

Federal Safety Standards

Every motor vehicle less than 25 years old has to comply with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards before it can be permanently imported.⁷ Many Canadian-market vehicles are effectively the same car sold in the United States and already meet the standards. Others differ on headlamps, bumper heights, or speedometer markings and don’t.

If yours doesn’t conform, a Registered Importer can modify it and certify compliance. You have to post a Department of Transportation bond equal to at least the vehicle’s dutiable value and up to 150% of it.⁸ The bond is separate from any customs bond and attaches to the HS-7 form at import.⁹ If the vehicle can’t be brought into compliance in the time allowed, you forfeit the bond and the car has to be exported or destroyed.

Vehicles at least 25 years old can be imported regardless of current safety standards. You still file the HS-7, but you check the box for the age exemption. Age runs from the actual date of manufacture on the data plate, not the model year.

Federal Emissions Standards

EPA compliance runs on a separate track from safety. The easiest case is a car that already carries a U.S. emissions label from the factory. Many Canadian-sold vehicles from major manufacturers are built to the same emissions specs as their U.S. siblings and have the EPA certificate of conformity label affixed at the plant. With that label, the car is considered compliant and you note it on the EPA declaration without testing or modification.¹⁰

Without that label, you’ll need an Independent Commercial Importer to test the vehicle and, if necessary, modify the emissions system. That adds cost and time.

Vehicles more than 20 years old (production year subtracted from importation year) are exempt from EPA emissions requirements, but only when imported through an Independent Commercial Importer.¹⁰ You can’t claim this exemption as a private importer on your own.

Paperwork to Have Before the Border

Gather everything before you drive to the port of entry. A missing form can mean turning around or watching the vehicle get held.

The Canadian title, current registration, and a bill of sale showing the price and terms.
DOT Form HS-7, the declaration that identifies why the vehicle qualifies to enter, whether by conformity, age exemption, or the Registered Importer route.⁷
EPA Form 3520-1, the emissions declaration for passenger vehicles and motorcycles.¹¹
A recall clearance letter from the manufacturer confirming no open safety recalls on the VIN. Request it well in advance. Some manufacturers require open recalls to be repaired by a dealer before they’ll issue the letter.
A passport or other CBP-accepted ID.
If you’re using a Registered Importer, copies of the contract and the DOT conformance bond, both attached to the HS-7.⁹

At the Port of Entry

Tell the primary inspection officer you’re importing a vehicle. You’ll be sent to secondary inspection, where a CBP officer reviews your forms and may physically inspect the car to confirm it matches the paperwork. You pay duties and fees at this stage.

Once everything clears, CBP stamps your HS-7 and EPA Form 3520-1 and hands them back, along with CBP Form 7501, the Entry Summary that acts as your official receipt.¹² Keep all three. Your state DMV will want them, and without them you can’t prove the car was legally imported.

Titling and Registering at Home

Clearing customs gets the car into the country. It doesn’t put plates on it. You still need to title and register with your state DMV, and most states require the following:

CBP Form 7501, proving formal entry and paid duties. Most DMVs won’t process registration without it.¹²
The stamped HS-7 and EPA Form 3520-1.
The Canadian title, bill of sale, and any manufacturer’s statement of origin.
A VIN verification by law enforcement or a certified inspector, which many states require for any vehicle previously titled in another country.
A state emissions inspection, where applicable, on top of the federal EPA clearance.
Proof of insurance from a U.S.-based insurer.

Canadian cars show speed and odometer readings in kilometers. Some states require conversion to miles; others accept a kilometers disclosure on the title. Whichever your state uses, make sure the paperwork accurately reflects the reading and the unit. A discrepancy here creates trouble when you resell.

States give you a limited window to register after import and charge escalating late fees. Line up the insurance policy and any inspection appointments before you cross so you can move straight from the border to the DMV.

1
The White House. Adjusting Imports of Automobiles and Automobile Parts Into the United States
2
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Guidance – Import Duties on Certain Automobiles
3
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Section 232 Additional FAQs – Automobiles and Auto Parts
4
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Customs User Fee – Merchandise Processing Fees
5
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 6197 – Gas Guzzler Tax
6
eCFR. 26 CFR 48.4064-1 – Gas Guzzler Tax
7
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Requirements for Importing a Personal Vehicle or Vehicle Parts
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 30141
9
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Importing a Motor Vehicle
10
eCFR. 19 CFR 12.73 – Importation of Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Engines
11
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Publications and Forms for Importing Vehicles and Engines
12
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Registering a Foreign Vehicle or Motorcycle With the Department of Motor Vehicles