Register a Japanese truck in Georgia.

Where the truck lands

Japan to Brunswick is an East Coast sail, often about 4 to 6 weeks. The booked ship sets the date.

Brunswick is in Georgia. A coastal buyer has no second ocean leg. Atlanta is an inland truck up I-95 and I-16, or the route the carrier prefers.

After it is in Georgia

Georgia titles after CBP release. Metro Atlanta counties require an emissions inspection. Counties outside that program generally do not. Confirm the county list with the Department of Revenue before you title in Atlanta.

The office that handles the plate is Georgia Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicles. Read their current page before you pay the vehicle balance. County rules change, and the page they publish is the one that titles the truck.

How old the truck has to be in Georgia

NHTSA’s rule is the same in Georgia as in every other state. A vehicle at least 25 years old, counted from the date of manufacture, can be imported without regard to the full federal safety standards. That entry is HS-7 Box 1. The badge year on the fender is not the clock.

Georgia’s foreign-vehicle page does not publish a 25-year age of its own. For a used vehicle it asks for the foreign registration, bills of sale through the applicant, a T-22B inspection, an English translation, and proof from the US Department of Transportation that the vehicle meets the federal safety standards. A letter from a converter is not that proof. The same department says Georgia will not title a vehicle that the state does not require to be titled, and it gives 1985 and older as the example, when the file is only foreign documents or a surety bond. HS-7 is still required when the truck is imported. Confirm the county tag office will accept Box 1 before you pay the balance.

The federal file, then the state

The federal gate is the same in every state. NHTSA’s 25-year rule runs from the date of manufacture on the plate, not the badge year. The entry is HS-7 Box 1. EPA is a separate file. CBP’s vehicle page says a vehicle is exempt from EPA standards when 21 years have passed since the original production year and it is still in original condition. Form 3520-1 is filed at entry. A truck can clear one clock and fail the other. Your broker files the entry at the discharge port. CBP’s importing-a-car page prints auto duty at 2.5% and truck duty at 25%. Those printed rates are not in our price. US$500 by card starts the Japan-side order. Ocean freight is quoted after the sailing is booked. State title, use tax, and any inspection come after CBP releases the truck. A federal release is not a state plate.

NHTSA: importing a vehicle · EPA: importing vehicles and engines · CBP: importing a car · United States overview