Importing a Japanese car into Canada
Canada opens ten years earlier than the United States. A vehicle fifteen years or older is exempt from the Registrar of Imported Vehicles programme entirely, which puts an entire generation of Japanese cars within legal reach years before an American buyer can touch them.
Right nowAny vehicle built in or before August 2011 may be imported into Canada under this rule.
- Exemption age
- 15 years
- Import duty
- 6.1%
- GST
- 5%
- RIV programme
- Exempt
From month of manufacture
On the customs value
On the duty-inclusive value
No RIV fee, no federal inspection
Why fifteen years matters so much
The fifteen-year threshold is the single biggest advantage Canadian buyers have. Cars that an American enthusiast will wait another decade for — the S15 Silvia, the Evolution IX, the later STI variants — are legally importable into Canada today. It is measured, as in the United States, from the month of manufacture.
- Fifteen years from the build month on the chassis plate
- Exempt from the RIV programme, its fee and its inspection
- Vehicle must still appear as admissible to Transport Canada
- The advantage is real: roughly a decade of cars the US cannot yet have
At the border
The vehicle is reported to CBSA at the port of entry with the customs entry, the Japanese export certificate and its translation, and the bill of lading. Duty on a Japanese-built passenger car is 6.1%, and GST of 5% is charged on the duty-inclusive value.
- CBSA Form B3 customs entry
- Japanese export certificate with certified translation
- Duty at 6.1% of the customs value
- GST at 5% on the value including duty
- Provincial sales tax is charged separately, at registration
Provincial inspection and registration
Because the car is RIV-exempt, there is no federal inspection. Each province instead applies its own safety standard before it will register the vehicle. Requirements vary, but none of it is onerous for a well-sorted car — and we handle it as part of the service on anything we sell.
- British Columbia — provincial safety inspection at a designated facility
- Ontario — safety standards certificate before plating
- Alberta — out-of-province style inspection
- Daytime running lights are required in some provinces and may need fitting
One caution worth reading twice
A car imported into Canada under the fifteen-year rule does not become importable into the United States any earlier because of it. If you buy a 2007 car in Canada and later move to the US, that car still cannot cross the border until twenty-five years from its build date. Plan around that if a move is anywhere in your future.
Verify with the authorities
We handle all of this for cars we sell and source, but the final word always rests with these bodies.
Canada Border Services Agency
Customs entry, duty and GST at the border
Transport Canada
Vehicle admissibility and the RIV programme
Your provincial licensing authority
Safety inspection, registration and plating
This guide is general information for buyers, written to make the process understandable. It is not legal, customs or tax advice. Rules and rates change. Confirm your specific circumstances with the authorities above or a licensed customs broker before committing money to a purchase.
Is it legal to import?
Both rules run from the month a car was built, not its model year. Enter the build date and see both markets at once.
Eligible now
Cleared the 25-year rule in May 2024.
Eligible now
Cleared the 15-year rule in May 2014.
The United States exempts vehicles 25 years old from FMVSS and EPA requirements; Canada exempts vehicles 15 years old from the RIV programme. Both are measured from the month of manufacture. This is general guidance, not customs advice — confirm with CBP or CBSA before committing to a purchase.
Let us handle all of it
Every car in our collection has already been through this process. Buy one and none of the above is your problem.
The 25-year rule
Read the US guide