In 1999, one impounded Porsche rewrote the rules for US car import. Bill Gates and Paul Allen had each bought a Porsche 959, a car US regulators refused to admit because it was never crash-tested or emissions-certified for our roads. The cars sat in a customs warehouse for 13 years. The law that finally freed them is the Show and Display law, and it remains the cleanest way to import cars that were never federalized for the United States.
If you own a car that was never sold here, or you are eyeing one at an auction overseas, this is the rule that can put it in your garage. Here is how car import show and display actually works in 2026, which cars qualify, and what the application looks like.
The Show and Display law took effect on August 13, 1999. It lets the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) approve a small number of vehicles that are historically or technologically significant, even though they cannot be brought into compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).
Normally a car has to be 25 years old to skip those safety standards. Show and Display is the exception for newer cars that matter enough to make the list. There is one firm condition: an approved car can be driven no more than 2,500 miles per 12-month period. The exemption covers safety standards. It does not erase the emissions side, which we will get to below.
This is where most owners get tripped up, so it is worth slowing down. Two separate agencies set two separate age thresholds, and they do not match.
Show and Display bridges the DOT gap for cars that are not yet 25. It does not bridge the EPA gap. So the rule of thumb is straightforward:
Once a car crosses 25 years, you do not need Show and Display at all. At that point the 25-year rule gives you a full exemption from both safety and emissions standards, with no mileage cap.
The law allows two distinct entries, and they serve different goals.
This is for a car coming to the US for a specific auto show, exhibition, or display, with no intention of driving it on public roads. Think museum pieces, concept cars, and prototypes. You apply to the EPA and the DOT for a temporary exclusion, the car comes in for the event, and it leaves the country when the exhibition period ends.
This is what most collectors want. The car stays in the US indefinitely and you can actually drive it, up to 2,500 miles a year. To qualify for permanent Show and Display import:
NHTSA keeps the approved list current and refreshes it as cars are added. The most recent version was published on March 17, 2026. You can view the full list of vehicles eligible for Show or Display on the NHTSA website.
To make the list, a car has to be rare or significant enough that the public interest is served by showing it here, and it has to be a car that genuinely could not be federalized. That standard keeps the list short and the company exclusive. A few cars that have been approved over the years:
If the car you want is not on the list yet, you are not stuck. You can petition NHTSA to add it, provided you can document its historical or technological significance.
The process runs through NHTSA, and the agency has moved most of it online since the original version of this guide. There are really two questions to answer: is the car eligible, and may you import it.
Approval gets you the legal right to import cars to the US. Getting the car physically to a US port, through customs, and to your door is the other half, and it is the half we handle. We load vehicles at our own warehouses in California, Florida, and New York/New Jersey, with our own teams handling the documentation and the loading rather than handing your 959 to a third party we have never met.
For a Show and Display car, the paperwork and the physical handling both matter more than usual, because the car is rare and the customs file has to line up with the NHTSA approval. We coordinate the ocean or air booking, the customs entry, and the delivery so the car arrives ready to enjoy. You can price your lane in a minute with our US car import calculator.
The Show and Display law is one piece of the larger import picture. For everything else that goes into bringing a car across an ocean, read our complete guide to international car shipping.
Show and Display is the rule that lets a 959, an F1, or an XJ220 sit in an American garage and still see the road. It is more achievable than most owners assume once the eligibility and emissions pieces are clear.
Ready to begin your US car import? Contact West Coast Shipping's import specialists today for a personalized consultation and discover how simple bringing your dream car home can be. It's your dream car. Let's bring her home.