Under 49 U.S.C. § 30112(a), a person may not permanently import into the United States a motor
vehicle manufactured after the date that an applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS)
takes effect unless the vehicle complies with the standard and is so certified by its original
manufacturer. This prohibition applies to both new and used motor vehicles, but does not apply to
motor vehicles that are at least 25 years old (based on the date that the vehicle was manufactured).
Under one of the exceptions to this prohibition, found in 49 U.S.C. § 30141, a motor vehicle that was
not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable FMVSS can be lawfully imported into the
United States, provided it is determined eligible for importation by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA), and is imported by a registered importer, or by a person who has a
contract with a registered importer to bring the vehicle into compliance with all applicable FMVSS
following importation. Import eligibility decisions can be made either on the initiative of the
Administrator of NHTSA or on the petition of a manufacturer or registered importer. One basis for
determining a motor vehicle eligible for importation is that it 1) is substantially similar to a motor
vehicle of the same model year that was manufactured for sale in the United States and certified by its
manufacturer as complying with all applicable FMVSS and 2) is capable of being readily altered to
comply with all applicable FMVSS. See 49 U.S.C. § 30141(a)(1)(A). Where there is no substantially
similar U.S.-certified motor vehicle of the same model year, a vehicle can only be determined eligible
for importation if its safety features comply with, or are capable of being altered to comply, with all
applicable FMVSS based on destructive test information or other evidence NHTSA decides is
adequate. See 49 U.S.C. § 30141(a)(1)(B).
Vehicles that have been determined eligible for importation are assigned a vehicle eligibility number.
The following list includes all nonconforming vehicles eligible for importation as of the date shown
above as well as all vehicle eligibility numbers issued up to that date. The importer of a vehicle
admissible under any eligibility decision must write the appropriate eligibility number on the Form
HS-7 accompanying entry to indicate that the vehicle is eligible for importation.
All eligibility numbers are for left-hand drive motor vehicles except where the initials “RHD,”
signifying right-hand drive, appear in the model type column. While there is no specific restriction on
importing a right-hand drive vehicle, these may not be imported under eligibility decisions based on
the existence of substantially similar U.S.-certified left-hand drive vehicles. Our experience has shown
that the safety performance of right-hand drive vehicles is not necessarily the same as that of
apparently similar left-hand drive vehicles offered for sale in this country. However, we will consider
the vehicles "substantially similar" if the manufacturer advises us that the right-hand drive vehicle
would perform the same as the U.S.-certified left-hand drive vehicle in dynamic crash tests. Absent
such a showing, the RI would have to demonstrate (through a petition) that the vehicle, when
modified, would comply with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards, including those
for which dynamic crash testing is prescribed.
This list also includes the NHTSA docket number(s) associated with each eligibility decision, so that
any person wishing to obtain a copy of the petition or other associated documents can do so. The
complete docket number uniquely identifies each docket.