Register a Japanese truck in Indiana.

Where the truck lands

Japan to Baltimore is the long sail, often about 4 to 6 weeks by the Panama Canal or a hub. The booked ship sets the date.

Baltimore is the quoted ocean port. The truck moves inland to the BMV office that will title it.

After it is in Indiana

Indiana titles after CBP release. Lake and Porter counties, next to Chicago, have had an emissions program. Most other counties have not. Confirm with the BMV for the county on the title.

The office that handles the plate is Indiana Bureau of 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 Indiana

NHTSA’s rule is the same in Indiana 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.

Indiana’s buying-and-selling page says a title application is due within 45 days of acquiring the vehicle, and a vehicle from another state needs an inspection. It does not publish an import age. The BMV mini-truck packet, which is only the mini-truck file, says ownership documents from another country must follow NHTSA’s imported-vehicle guidelines. The age on a truck from Japan remains the federal 25-year manufacture date.

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