The 'E' Type Forum

Hi

Can anybody please tell me what is the documentation that a US car needs to have when you buy in order to import in Europe?

I am not familiar with the topic, and I have seen a document called Certificate of Title for a Vehicle, but I ignore if this suffices or any other document is mandatory. In some countries of Europe you have some kind of “technical card” containing some key details, like engine size in CC, hp, etc

Thanks a lot

Probably the most sensible thing for you to do is to ask whoever the office responsible for registration of the car in your country is, and preferably get the answer in writing/email form.

All you need is the title and bill of sale. Its easy to import from the US. If the car is over 30 years old and has been used on the road, there will be a tax receipt which will contain all the details of the vehicle. Example attached.

While I can't speak for the UK, I have imported several US cars into Australia, and I think that it's more complex than just having a copy of the car's registration documents from the US.

Customs will need to be able to positively identify the car numbers to ensure it is what you say it is, and is not stolen.

They will also need to be able also to determine ownership and value for duties.

Finally there are safety related issues like the presence of asbestos that need to be addressed.

You need a paper trail to assure them of all of this, or you can end up with your car impounded.

Thanks for the answers

Lots of threads on this some of which I have contributed to.
In my case the shipper was adamant that the Title must accompany the car. This was then provided to the DVLA in the UK in order to register the car.