It is not illegal to drive a right-hand drive car in the United States. No federal law requires the steering wheel to sit on the left, and NHTSA has stated plainly that manufacturers may install the steering wheel on either side of a vehicle.1National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA Interpretation – righthanddrive You can register and drive an RHD vehicle in every state. The complications almost always come from how the car got here, not from the fact that you’re sitting on the right.
What Federal Law Actually Says
The federal government regulates vehicle safety through the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, which cover crash protection, braking, lighting, mirrors, and similar equipment. Any vehicle on U.S. roads has to meet those standards or qualify for an exemption.2National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Laws and Regulations Steering wheel position is not one of the regulated items. A compliant car with the wheel on the right is just as legal as a compliant car with the wheel on the left.
The place this trips people up is at the border. Federal law prohibits importing a motor vehicle that doesn’t comply with applicable safety standards unless it fits a specific exemption.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 30112 – Prohibitions on Manufacturing, Selling, and Importing Noncompliant Motor Vehicles Most RHD cars people want (Japanese Skylines, UK-market Minis, Australian utes) were never certified to U.S. standards. So when someone asks whether RHD cars are legal, the real question is usually whether a particular car was imported legally.
The One Legal Issue That Catches People: Imports
A right-hand drive car legally present in the U.S. falls into one of a few categories. It was built for the U.S. market with the wheel on the right (postal vehicles, some Jeep models), it was modified and certified by a NHTSA-registered importer to meet FMVSS, or it qualifies for an exemption from the standards.
The exemption that covers most imports is age. Under 49 CFR 591.5, a vehicle that is 25 years or older can be imported without meeting current FMVSS at all. You declare the vehicle’s age on the HS-7 form at the port of entry and no safety modifications are required.4eCFR. 49 CFR 591.5 – Declarations Required for Importation This is why the imported JDM market revolves around cars from the mid-1990s and earlier.
EPA emissions rules follow a slightly different clock. Vehicles more than 21 years old are exempt from Clean Air Act standards when imported by a certificate holder.5eCFR. 40 CFR 85.1511 A car between 21 and 24 years old clears EPA but still needs full FMVSS compliance work through a registered importer, which is usually expensive enough that owners wait for the 25-year mark.
Two narrower paths exist for newer cars. The Show or Display exemption lets you import a vehicle of exceptional historical or technological significance, generally one produced in quantities of 500 or fewer and no longer in production.6National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. How to Import a Motor Vehicle for Show or Display A Show or Display car can be driven on public roads but is capped at 2,500 miles per year. Non-residents can also temporarily import a non-conforming vehicle for personal use for up to one year, provided it stays registered abroad and is exported before the year ends.4eCFR. 49 CFR 591.5 – Declarations Required for Importation
A car brought in outside these channels is a different story. CBP can seize and forfeit any merchandise imported in violation of safety regulations, and a non-compliant vehicle with no exemption can be confiscated at the port.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 1595a – Forfeitures and Penalties If you’re buying an RHD car already in the country, ask for the import paperwork before you pay.
Registering an RHD Car in Your State
Once a vehicle has cleared federal import requirements, registration happens at the state level and generally works like it would for any other car. You bring the title, bill of sale, and import documents to the DMV, pay registration fees and any applicable sales or use tax, and get plates.
Two state-level issues are worth knowing about before you buy.
Headlights. Cars built for countries that drive on the left have headlight beam patterns angled toward the left shoulder, which on U.S. roads means the beams point into oncoming traffic. States that do safety inspections will usually flag this. You may need to replace or re-aim the headlamps to meet FMVSS 108, and some states also require additional mirrors to compensate for the driver’s shifted position.
Emissions, especially in CARB states. States that follow California Air Resources Board standards are the strictest on imports. A direct foreign import that wasn’t originally built to meet California emissions standards cannot be registered in a CARB state unless it goes through CARB’s direct import program. For vehicles less than two years old, no CARB conversion program exists, which effectively blocks registration. If you live in California or another CARB-aligned state, confirm your specific car can be registered before you buy it.
Insurance for Right-Hand Drive Cars
Every state requires liability insurance to register a car, and RHD vehicles are no exception. The practical hurdle is that major carriers may decline coverage or quote elevated premiums because their underwriting models don’t have good comparables for repair costs and parts sourcing on an imported vehicle.
Specialty insurers that handle classic, imported, and collector cars tend to be a better fit. The feature worth asking about is agreed value coverage rather than actual cash value. With actual cash value, the insurer pays what a generic version of your car would sell for today minus depreciation, a formula that undervalues an imported RHD car because it ignores import costs, modifications, and scarcity. Agreed value locks in a specific payout when the policy is written. On a car you spent well into five figures importing and modifying, the difference can be enormous.
Watch the fine print on how the car can be used. Collector-oriented policies often cap annual mileage or exclude daily driver use. If you plan to commute in the car, make sure the policy allows it.
What Driving on the Right Side Is Actually Like
Legal doesn’t mean effortless. Sitting on the passenger side relative to traffic flow changes your sightlines in ways that affect ordinary driving.
The biggest issue is overtaking on two-lane roads. When you pull out to pass, your view of oncoming traffic is poor because you’re sitting on the far side of the lane. Unprotected left turns at intersections create a similar blind spot, with your own car partially blocking the view of approaching vehicles. Experienced RHD drivers tend to ask passengers to help spot traffic or simply avoid the maneuvers where visibility is worst.
Then there’s the daily friction. Drive-through windows are on the wrong side, toll booths make you reach across the car or get out, and parking garage ticket machines assume you’re on the left. For some owners this is a small price to pay for driving something interesting. For others it wears thin. The one group that benefits is postal carriers, who prefer being on the right because it makes curbside mailboxes easier to reach; imported Japanese kei trucks and vans are common choices for rural mail routes.
None of this is a legal problem. It’s just the reality of driving a car designed for the other side of the road, and worth factoring in before you commit to importing one or buying one that’s already here.