Think twice before shipping your car from UAE to USA (or Canada)!!

While the thought of taking your pride and joy with you when leaving the UAE is appealing, in practice it is an extremely complicated and potentially costly process - which if not done properly can result in the car being destroyed by US Customs.

Regardless of what shipping agents may tell you it is YOUR responsibility to ensure the vehicle is compliant with US requirements, and you have every single document required for clearance.

These documents include (but are not limited to) -

Proof of ownership (copy of Vehicle Registration) Copy of Vehicle Registration or letter from Manufacturer's U.S. Representative stating that vehicle was originally manufactured to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation standards DOT HS-7 (box 2A if meet all regs) EPA 3520-1 (box B if meet all regs)

It doesn't stop there.....US Customs also require a 7501 Form - which needs to be accompanied by a letter from the Manufacturer's U.S. Representative to state the vehicle conforms to EPA and DOT standards​.

Nonconforming vehicles will not b​​e cleared and will either need to be returned to origin or destroyed.

If you are determined to get the vehicle in, there is an alternative - there are registered independent commercial importers in the US (ICI's), who are permitted to import the nonconforming vehicle and carry out the necessary work to ensure EPA requirements ​are met​. This process can take up to 120 days & can be phenomenally expensive - they will charge a premium on shipping, you'll have to pay a bond of 150% of the vehicles value along with a heap of other taxes which can total up to 10% of the vehicle's value and they will not guarantee the vehicle's eventual compliance.

Our advice would be to think twice before shipping any vehicle to the US......