Importing a car looks like a mountain from the bottom. Shipping lines, customs, HMRC, the DVSA, the DVLA, forms with numbers instead of names. The worry is that one missed step leaves your car stuck in a port or unregistrable in a shed.
In practice it is the same ten steps every time, in the same order. This page walks through them and points you to the detailed guide for each one, so treat it as the map and the other guides as the close-up.
- Sea shipping guide price
- £1,450 to £4,000
- Time at sea
- Usually 4 to 8 weeks between continents
- Tell HMRC
- Within 14 days of arrival
- Registration
- Within 10 working days of a pass, with us
The steps GOV.UK sets out
For a car that is shipped to you, GOV.UK lists six things that have to happen. An import declaration is made by a shipping company or customs agent, and the VAT and duty are paid at the border. HMRC is told the car has arrived within 14 days. The car gets vehicle approval, is registered and taxed with the DVLA, and is insured before it is driven.
Everything else on this page is either preparation for those six or the practical work that makes them possible. Here is the whole run, from choosing the car to driving it.
1. Check the car before you buy it
The car you pick decides most of the cost and most of the work. Its age matters most, because it sets which test it takes and what tax it pays.
| Feature | Test before registration | Import tax |
|---|---|---|
| Under 10, from outside Europe | IVA, plus an MOT if over 3 | 20% VAT and 10% duty |
| Under 10, built in the EU | Certificate of Conformity, plus an MOT if over 3 | 20% VAT, no duty if EU origin is shown |
| 10 to 30 years old | MOT | As above, by where it was built |
| Over 30 years old | MOT | 5% VAT, no duty |
| Over 40, not substantially changed | No MOT needed | 5% VAT, no duty |
Before you pay, read buying a car abroad safely and car shipping scams. Buying at auction has its own pages: US auctions and Japanese auction grades. For the history, checking the mileage covers km readings and title brands. If the car has been changed from standard, importing a modified car is worth reading first.
2. Work out the full cost
There are four parts to the bill: shipping, import tax, UK changes and testing, and registration. Our guide prices for shipping alone run from £1,450 to £4,000 by sea, depending on where the car starts, and they are on the shipping costs page. European cars come by road and are priced per job.
Tax is worked out on the price plus the cost of getting the car here, with VAT charged on top of any duty. The import tax calculator runs your numbers, and import tax worked examples shows the sums in full. Two guides cover the cases that catch people out: duty on cars bought in the EU but built elsewhere, and the 5% rate for historic vehicles.
Moving to the UK yourself? Transfer of Residence can take the tax to nil if you meet the conditions, and you apply to HMRC before the car ships. For a breakdown of what moves the shipping price, see what affects the cost of shipping a car.
3. Gather the paperwork
We need the car's current registration document, proof of purchase and photo ID. Some countries add their own documents, all listed in documents to ship a car to the UK.
- From Japan, the export certificate
- From the USA, the title, under the US export rules
- Money still owed on the car? See shipping a car with finance outstanding
- Importing for a business? You will need a GB EORI number. A private import usually does not
4. Choose how it travels
Most cars go in a shared container, some go RoRo, and a few fly. The trade-offs are in container, RoRo or air and shared or sole container. Our service pages cover container shipping and RoRo shipping in more detail.
Then get the car ready. Preparing your car for shipping has the list, and belongings in a shipped car explains what can travel inside it. If the car does not run, is electric or is worth a lot, read shipping a non-running car, shipping an electric car or shipping a high-value car. Cover at sea is explained in marine insurance.
5. Collection, loading and the voyage
The car is collected, taken to the port and strapped down inside its container, which how cars are loaded shows step by step. The shipping line issues a bill of lading, the receipt that gets the car released here.
Time at sea is usually 1 to 4 weeks within the same continent, 4 to 8 weeks between continents, and around 6 to 10 weeks from Australia and New Zealand. How long shipping takes breaks that down, and which UK port explains where it lands.
6. Customs clearance and NOVA
When the car lands, the import declaration is made and the tax paid. We are HMRC CDS authorised agents with our own customs staff, so we do this ourselves. The detail is in customs clearance for imported cars.
Separately, HMRC must be told the car has arrived within 14 days. That is NOVA, and the DVLA will not register the car without it. If things slow down at the port, customs delays and port storage charges explain why and what it costs. If the car arrives damaged, see damage in transit.
7. UK changes
Most imports need a few changes to pass a British test. The usual ones are a rear fog light, a speedometer in mph, and on left-hand drive cars, headlights that dip the right way. We do this work in our own workshop at Castle Donington.
Speedometer and headlight conversions covers the common jobs. American cars have their own list in converting an American car, and left-hand drive cars in the UK covers living with one. Tinted glass is a separate rule, in window tint rules.
8. Testing
This is GOV.UK's vehicle approval step, plus an MOT for most cars over 3 years old. Newer cars from outside Europe take the IVA test, newer EU cars usually use a Certificate of Conformity, and older cars take an MOT. Motorbikes take the MSVA test.
We run one of only seven privately operated IVA centres in Great Britain and the only privately owned MSVA centre, and the DVSA tests on our site every week. How a car proves it meets the standard is in IVA model reports and manufacturer letters, and if a test does not go to plan, see what happens if an import fails its test.
Not on the road until it is registered. GOV.UK says using an import on a public road before these steps are done can lead to prosecution. The only exception is driving, insured, to a pre-booked MOT or approval test. With testing on our site, that journey never happens.
9. Registration and plates
Once the car passes, the DVLA application goes in on form V55/5, explained in registering an imported car. Our dealer-level DVLA account lets us register imported cars within 10 working days of a pass. Classics and older cars can take longer, and how long registration takes explains why.
Then come plates and tax. Number plates covers age-related and Q numbers, and road tax for imported cars explains how the rate is set.
10. Insure it and drive
The car needs insuring on its new registration before you drive it. Tell the insurer it is an import and list the changes made. Insuring an imported car and Japanese import insurance go through it.
After that it is a car like any other, with a few things worth knowing: ULEZ, recalls, parts and servicing and, one day, selling it on.
The whole run at a glance
-
Before you buy
Check and cost the car
Age, condition, paperwork and the full bill: shipping, tax, changes, testing and registration.
-
Before it ships
Paperwork and booking
Registration document, proof of purchase and ID to us, and Transfer of Residence approved if you are moving here.
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Usually 4 to 8 weeks
Collection and shipping
Collected, loaded, and at sea. Around 6 to 10 weeks from Australia and New Zealand.
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On arrival
Customs and NOVA
We clear the car as HMRC CDS authorised agents and tell HMRC it has arrived within 14 days.
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At our site
Changes and testing
UK changes in our workshop, then IVA or MOT on our own lanes.
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Within 10 working days
Registration
Our dealer-level DVLA account registers the car, and it is ready to tax, insure and drive.
Guides by where the car is now
Every origin has its quirks. The busiest routes have their own guides: the USA, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Dubai, South Africa, Europe and Ireland. The rest are on our countries page.
Guides by what you are bringing
- Classic cars and classic American cars
- Motorbikes and quads
- Motorhomes, vans and pickups
- Race and track cars and project cars
- JDM cars and kei cars
- An inherited car or a car for a business
Moving to the UK with your car
If the car is coming with you, start with moving to the UK with your car. Bringing back a car that was once UK-registered is different again, in bringing a UK car back home and returning from a forces posting. If you only need to use a foreign car here for a while, see driving a foreign-registered car.
Weighing up whether to do this at all? Importing yourself or buying from a UK importer sets out both sides, and the car import checklist turns this page into boxes to tick. For the jargon, there is the glossary.
Questions people ask
What are the steps to import a car to the UK?
For a shipped car, GOV.UK lists an import declaration and payment of VAT and duty at the border, telling HMRC within 14 days that the car has arrived, vehicle approval, registering and taxing with the DVLA, and insuring it before you drive.
Can I import a car to the UK myself?
You can arrange the purchase yourself, but GOV.UK says the import declaration for a shipped car is made by a shipping company or customs agent. We are HMRC CDS authorised agents and can handle the whole import, or just the parts you need.
How much does it cost to import a car?
Our guide prices for sea shipping run from £1,450 to £4,000 depending on the origin, shipping only. Import tax is usually 20% VAT plus 10% duty from outside the EU, and changes, testing and registration are on top. The quote prices the whole job.
How long does it take to import a car?
Time at sea is usually 4 to 8 weeks between continents and around 6 to 10 from Australia and New Zealand. After arrival, customs, changes and testing follow, and we register imported cars within 10 working days of a pass.
Can I drive an imported car before it is registered?
No. GOV.UK says you can be prosecuted for using it on a public road before the import steps are done, unless you are driving it, insured, to a pre-booked MOT or approval test.
Is there a minimum age for importing a car to the UK?
No. Age changes the test and the tax, not whether the car can come in. A new car from outside Europe can be imported as long as it passes its IVA test.
Ready to start? Tell us about the car on the quote form and we will price every step.
