VACIS, Tailgate and CET Exams on US Car Imports | 2026

US Customs and Border Protection can examine any shipment entering the country, and a car in a container is no exception. Three exams come up most often on car imports: a VACIS scan, a tailgate exam and an intensive exam by the Contraband Enforcement Team (CET). Each one adds cost and days before the car is released, so it pays to know which is which.

 

 

 

What is a CET Exam? CET is the acronym for the US Contraband Enforcement Team that is authorized to do an in-depth cargo search of vessels known as an Intensive Exam. It is one of several including VACIS, the Vehicle and Cargo Inspection Systems Exam, and the Tailgate/Backdoor Exam.

 

 

How do the exams differ? The VACIS uses gamma rays to image cargo and is used on every kind of international shipment, cars included, whether it arrives by truck, plane, tanker or container. Container seals are not broken and typically are X-Rayed ship-side or within a port facility. The importer pays for the exam and must settle it before release, even when Customs sends the container on for a closer look. Tailgate exams are a bit more intrusive as the back of a container is opened and the seal is removed although the cargo is not handled. Either the cargo is then released or recommended for further inspection after the shipper pays the fee.

What distinguishes the CET exam? This exam is both intrusive and expensive. It is usually recommended after a VACIS exam for which the shipper has already been charged. The container moves off-port to a Centralized Examination Station (CES), a privately operated facility that bills its fees directly to the importer's side, where the cargo is physically unloaded and inspected. At this point, since the cargo has not been officially released, a shipper has to employ bonded carriers to move its load. After the cargo is transferred, it can take days for the exam to occur depending on the volume of shippers waiting in line. During this wait time it’s possible for a shipper to rack up fees, known as demurrage or detention, which can add to the total cost of the exam.

Who determines which container ships to examine? Since the Customs and Border Protection agency is authorized to examine any shipment entering the US, they have great latitude in making their selection. In theory, any container can be opened. The part an importer controls is the paperwork.

 

What can importers and exporters do to reduce the chances of a CET exam? Random selections always happen. Importers with no customs history tend to see more exams until they build a clean record, so an accurate bill of sale, title and vehicle description from the first shipment matters. Our own team loads every car and handles every document, so the paperwork describes the car that is actually in the container.