Right-Hand-Drive Cars: US and Canada Rules and Driving

Steering position

NHTSA's interpretation dated 7 April 2006 (archived copy, 17 June 2026) says its safety standards do not prohibit right-hand-drive steering systems. The US Postal Service also describes its Long Life Vehicles as right-hand drive. A particular import must still satisfy its federal entry requirements and the applicable state rules before registration.

Safety import rule (NHTSA)

As of 12 October 2026, 49 CFR 591.5 says no person may import a motor vehicle unless the importer files a declaration stating one of the listed bases. Paragraph (i)(1) lists a vehicle that is 25 or more years old.

The text counts the age of the vehicle. EPA's emissions rule is separate and is covered below.

Emissions rule (EPA)

EPA's Form 3520-1, posted in August 2024, describes code E as a vehicle at least 21 years old, counted by subtracting the calendar year of manufacture from the year of importation, and in original unmodified configuration. Such a vehicle is either exempted or excluded from EPA emission requirements, depending on age.

The same form says vehicles at least 21 years old with replacement engines are not eligible for this exemption unless the replacement engine is the same model as originally installed, or an engine with any aftertreatment from a certified vehicle no older than the one being imported. It also says Customs may require proof of vehicle age.

EPA's importing page says EPA has long interpreted the equivalence requirement to mean the engine must be identical to the original, meaning the same model and configuration. EPA strongly encourages importers to contact its Imports Hotline before importation to confirm equivalence.

The 25-year NHTSA provision and the 21-year EPA code come from different agencies and are separate requirements.

State registration

California's DMV, for example, warns that some imported vehicles cannot be registered in California or in the U.S. It says a direct foreign import not originally manufactured to meet California emissions standards and DOT FMVSS cannot be registered in California unless it is modified and tested under CARB's direct import program.

Federal age threshold

Section 4(2)(a)(ii) of the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations, current to 21 September 2026 on the Justice Laws site, excludes from the prescribed classes of vehicles any vehicle other than a bus whose date of manufacture is 15 years or more earlier than the date of its importation. CBSA Memorandum D19-12-1 (dated 2 September 2026) also says vehicles with a date of manufacture 15 years or more before importation are not regulated under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

Transport Canada's older-vehicles page, last modified 24 August 2018, words this as vehicles older than 15 years. The regulation and the CBSA memorandum say 15 years or more. Transport Canada says age is primarily determined by the month and year of manufacture on the manufacturer's statement of compliance label.

Border checks

Transport Canada says that for these older vehicles CBSA officers establish non-regulated status due to age, inspect for soil contaminants, examine the ownership documents, collect taxes or duties if applicable and determine admissibility under other customs rules. If an importer cannot give valid proof of age, officers assess the vehicle under normal guidelines, which can result in denial at the border.

CBSA also says there are no allowances in the Act or Regulations for modifying a regulated-class vehicle under 15 years old that was made for a foreign market and does not comply with CMVSS so that it can be imported permanently.

Provincial licensing

Transport Canada says a successful import does not guarantee the vehicle can be registered and licensed, and that some provinces will not license right hand drive vehicles. It tells buyers to contact the provincial or territorial licensing department before importing. CBSA likewise tells importers to contact their insurance provider and licensing authority first.

This page does not cover every province's rules.

Alberta

Alberta says an imported RHD vehicle must pass an out-of-province vehicle inspection before registration. The owner buys a Request for Inspection form at a registry office and takes it and the vehicle to an inspection facility. A passing certificate must be presented to a Registry Agent within 14 days of issue.

If the vehicle fails, Alberta gives 10 days to complete repairs, then re-inspection. Its example of a required replacement is headlights that used to tilt toward the ditch and now tilt toward an oncoming driver.

British Columbia

British Columbia's 2025 Vehicle Inspection Manual has an appendix for RHD vehicles. It rejects a headlamp beam pattern not directed toward the right hand side of the roadway, and a convex left exterior mirror on passenger cars and light trucks, which must have a flat (unit magnification) left exterior mirror. It also warns that RHD vehicles may not have neutral and clutch safety switches.

Controls

Torchinsky writes that manual shift patterns and pedal arrangement are the same in an RHD car as in a left-hand-drive one, with the shifter in the other hand. He also writes that he often used the wrong hand to indicate or switched on the wipers after changing between cars.

He says the indicator stalk is almost always the outside one. Jalopnik's Doug DeMuro writes that in an RHD car sold in Europe the turn signals are in the normal configuration, and in one sold in Asia they are reversed. The two accounts differ, so check the actual car's controls before moving off.

Lane position and the curb

DeMuro writes that drivers used to left-hand drive place the driver's seat in the left part of the lane, which in an RHD car puts roughly half the vehicle toward oncoming traffic. He found he had drifted a foot or two into the lane to his left on the drive home from buying his Skyline.

Torchinsky suggests looking out the right window to the curb and holding a comfortable distance from its edge.

Passing and left turns

Alberta says RHD vehicles require changes in how you drive. For passing, you must go further into the left lane to see whether it is safe; for left turns, you must let the vehicle ahead clear the intersection before you have a clear view.

California's driver handbook says not to pass when you cannot see whether other traffic is approaching, or unless you have enough space to return to your lane. If the view is blocked, stay behind the vehicle ahead.

For turning left from a center left turn lane, the handbook says to keep your wheels pointed straight ahead until it is safe to start the turn, because a vehicle that hits you from behind could push you into oncoming traffic.

Blind spots

California's handbook says every vehicle has blind spots that mirrors do not show. It says to check them by looking over your right and left shoulders and to turn only your head, not your whole body or the steering wheel.

Drive-throughs, gates and passengers

DeMuro wrote that taking his Skyline through a US drive-thru was no easy task, and that he went through in reverse, which this page does not recommend. Torchinsky describes a parking-garage card sensor on the far side of his RHD car.

He also notes that a passenger dropped off at a curb on the right exits into traffic, and suggests choosing a driveway or side street.