Do you want to import your personal car or do you want to start your very own auto importing business? Well, there are certain requirements that are standard to importing a vehicle.

The U.S. standard includes certain vehicle characteristics such as the car bumper, emissions test and other safety rules. Since the United States has its own rules and specifications, that means cars outside of the U.S. do not conform to these rules and must be conforming at the time of import. So you have to make sure that each individual car meets the U.S. import standard and specification.

If you are importing cars from Japan, for example, to the U.S. they have to meet the required safety rules as indicated by the DOT Safety1966 Safety Act. This Safety Act was revised in 1988 to include the control of air pollution as well as to the standards of the vehicle’s bumper as included in the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Saving Act of 1978.

If you are moving to another country or you want to send your U.S. vehicle to another country, there are certain standards and guidelines you have to follow. You have to show that you are the owner of the vehicle through the appropriate documentation. The certificate of title is usually the document required. The U.S. Customs requires two certified copy before the vehicle can be shipped.

If your vehicle is going through a shipping port, the required document has to be presented as much as three days before vehicle is shipped. Again, on the day you will be exporting the vehicle, you need to show the U.S. Customs your vehicle and the documents of ownership.

The U.S. Custom officials will inspect your vehicle at that time. If you are shipping by ship, the car and documents of ownership must be shown to the custom officer within three days and an inspection will also be conducted. The custom officer will stamp the title for the vehicle to show that it has been exported.

OWNERSHIP DOCUMENTS

You cannot export a car if you don’t have full ownership of the vehicle. If you owe the bank money on the car, that means you are not the full owner of the vehicle. The bank would have to agree in writing that you are allowed to export the vehicle and in most cases, this will not happen.

Make sure you check with your custom office before you export your vehicle on what are the required documentation to legally ship a car outside of the United States. You want to be safe; not sorry.