Every car exported from the US goes through an export validation check before it's cleared for shipping overseas. CBP officers review the title, any applicable lienholder release, the seller and buyer details, and the declared value on every single vehicle leaving the country. From a collector car to a full container of auction cars, the process remains the same.
The declared value now gets an even closer look. It must come from a recent bill of sale or invoice, or line up with current market rates, especially on modern vehicles where pricing data is a quick search online. Values that don't line up trigger holds every week at ports across the country. Some turn into seizures, like the five cars worth $694,000 that never left the Port of Tampa in June.
CBP's Anti-Terrorism and Contraband Enforcement Team screens Electronic Export Information filings before vehicles are cleared to load. Declared values get compared against market data, and a number that doesn't line up triggers a hold. This runs at every port of departure, every week. CBP's Baltimore office alone intercepted 250 export vehicles in 2024, and Los Angeles and Long Beach once pulled 23 cars worth $1.9 million in a single day.
The Tampa case is just the freshest example. On June 26, 2026, officers seized a 2023 Mercedes-AMG SL55, two 2025 G-Wagens, a 2022 G-Wagen, and a 2023 Corvette. The bills of sale claimed the five cars cost just over $539,000. NADA put them at more than $694,000, and CBP suspected the documents were fabricated.
Daniel Alonso, CBP's Director of Field Operations for the Miami and Tampa Field Office, put it plainly: export fraud is not a paperwork violation. It's a serious federal crime that can conceal money laundering and sanctions evasion.
Exporting a vehicle from the US comes with three standing requirements under 19 CFR 192.2:
The names on those documents matter as much as the numbers. The title, bill of sale, and EEI filing must match the actual seller and buyer, whether the car ships under your own name or your company's.
And the value must be the actual price paid. If the car wasn't recently purchased, it must reflect fair market value at the time of export. A stale purchase price from three years ago is exactly the pattern the screening catches.
Under 15 CFR 30.71, knowingly filing false export information carries up to $10,000 in fines and up to five years in federal prison per violation, plus forfeiture of the vehicle itself. Even an honest mismatch costs you the thing exporters care about most: time. A flagged filing means the car sits while CBP asks questions, and the ship doesn't wait.
For a wholesaler or auction buyer moving thousands of cars a year, every EEI filing is a separate violation. Fifty undervalued cars is not one problem. It's fifty.
The same principle applies coming into the country. Import duty is calculated on transaction value, the price actually paid. Undervaluing an import car exposes the importer to penalties under 19 USC 1592 that can reach the full value of the car in cases of fraud. Auction invoices, wire transfers, and declared values get cross-checked in both directions.
Whether you ship one car a year or a thousand, the same checks keep your vehicle moving:
We file the Electronic Export Information for every vehicle that moves through our own US warehouses, and the declared values come straight from the documentation our customers provide. Accurate paperwork is what keeps a car moving from our loading dock to the ship without a 72-hour hold turning into a longer one.
The exporters in Tampa lost five cars over a shortcut that saved them nothing. Declare what you paid, or what the car is worth today, keep the proof, and the value check becomes a formality.
Ready to move your next vehicle with the values done right? Run your route through our instant shipping calculator and see your rate in under a minute.
CBP reviews the original title or a certified copy, lienholder authorization if the vehicle is financed, the bill of sale or invoice, and the Electronic Export Information filing. The names must match the actual buyer and seller, and the declared value must reflect the price paid or current market value.
Declare the actual price paid for the vehicle. If the purchase wasn't recent, declare its fair market value at the time of export. The value goes into the Electronic Export Information filing, and CBP compares it against market data before the car is cleared to load.
Yes. Vehicles are subject to forfeiture when export documents are found to be false. In June 2026, CBP seized five cars at the Port of Tampa after bills of sale claimed $539,000 for vehicles NADA valued at more than $694,000.
At least 72 hours before export, under 19 CFR 192.2. The vehicle must be presented with its original title or a certified copy, plus lienholder authorization if the car is financed.
Under 15 CFR 30.71, knowingly filing false export information carries up to $10,000 in fines and up to five years in federal prison per violation, plus civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation and forfeiture of the vehicle itself.
Yes. Import duty is calculated on transaction value, the price actually paid for the car. Undervaluing an import exposes the importer to penalties under 19 USC 1592 that can reach the full value of the vehicle in cases of fraud.
The vehicle is held while CBP reviews the documentation, and the ship departs without it. If the wire transfer, invoice, and title support the declared value, the hold resolves. If they don't, the hold can turn into seizure proceedings.