Can I take a leased Canadian vehicle to the States?

Hi There,

My husband and I are moving to the States for a period of one year only. We have a leased vehicle that we want to take with us for that time period.

Are you aware of any restrictions on this? We are planning on having it insured in the states of MA, getting US plates, as well as registration.

Thanks.

To get US plates, you need to import it into US federally first, regardless of length of stay. You need a manufacturers letter from canadian automaker stating that it complies with NHTSA requirements. When getting this they will likely balk at letting the car leave Canada, due to lease. You will need to convince them otherwise.

So you're saying that once I get the manufacturer's letter (i.e. compliance letter), as well as the permission letter, I should be good to go with regards to taking it to the States for a year?

Yes, but the permission may be hard-fought. At a minimum they will insist that you keep your bank account open for auto-payments (you should keep a Cdn bank acct anywyas so that should not be a problem).

But a few Cdn automakers simply refuse to allow leased cars to leave canada. period.

Also, the manufacturers letter may state that certain mods need to be made to the car to meet US standards, which may be difficult to do, or may not be advised on a car that is not your own.

All the best.

To obtain the compliance letter:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/imp ... 07032.html

I belive it is pretty difficult to do! prior to moving to the USA in 2004 (on a marriage based visa) I had a car loan with Nissan Canada. They could not simply transfer it to Nissan USA, it was like they were 2 different companies. Would not release the lien, thus not able to register it in the USA. So I sold it prior to moving!!

... and that was just a car loan (which you could have simply paid off privately). Imagine the difficulty on a lease; those contracts are well-nigh impossible to break !

But, take heart, there are some carco's out there that allow it.

.. and as to Nissan USA and Nissan canada being "like they were 2 different comapnies"? They are!

I don't think you can import a car that is leased because the title isn't your's. If you can't import it, you can't register/plate it.

If you're only staying one year on a TN, you don't necessarily need to imort it I don't think. And if you did import it, you'd only have to do the paperwork again in reverse to take it back to Canada.

Check with your insurance company to find out if they will continue to cover you for the year you're in the States, and from the leasing company if they'll let you take it across the border. Also lookup the MA DMV website to find out if you are required to register the car in the state or not if your status is only temporary.

Reba is correct that if you are going for one year or less, a tempoary importation is permissable. But this will not lead to registration, plating, and unlikely to insuability in US.

Unless you are going down as a student, your situation re registration and insurance is likely untenable, in that you will by violating either Prov or MA rules, and/or invalidate your insurance.

Reason #653 not to lease a car, eh?

Agnelson, what do you mean by your following statement:

if you are going for one year or less, a tempoary importation is permissable. But this will not lead to registration, plating, and unlikely to insuability in US.

If I take the lienholder's agreement with me to the States, I don't see why it would be so difficult to get registration, insurance, plates, etc. Do you guys think this is a huge impediment?

Also, am I correct to assume that you can just get a TN at the border? I didn't know this. Thought you had to apply in advance.

Did you get the "lienholders agreement" yet. Good luck with that. As others have posted, such agreement is not likley forthcoming.

And since you are not going for study purposes, you will be considered MA resident for DMV purposes, so you will be in the untenable position of having to resgister a car that you cannot register. This will make insuring your car difficult.


Once you've spoken to the Carco, you may need to be looking at ways to get out of your lease.

Yes TNs are given at the border, when you cross to first go to work, or just before. They are not applied for in advance, except in unusual circumstances (like CDN with non-Cdn spouse currently living abroad), which does not apply to you.