Before importing a vehicle to the states, it is obvious that it needs to be legal in your state / province before purchase abroad. Being North American there are both pros and cons to importing your Soviet dream vehicle, the pros being for the majority of us there are only two forms required, the cons being that it must be OLDER than 25 years old to legally import into the USA or 15 years if you’re Canadian. Even though this age rule seems like a pain, it is still way easier than what our Western European comrades have to go through to get their UAZs registered. The only forms you need to register your vehicle in most states, I’ll get to California, Washington, etc. in a bit, are EPA form 3520-1 , DOT form HS-7, bill of lading, a bill of sale from the seller(translated), foreign car title (translated), proof of insurance, U.S. Customs and Border Protection “Entry Summary” CBP 7501 form, and your drivers license (obviously). While this seems like a lengthy list it only differs from buying a domestic car by a few forms, the bill of lading and customs form from the port, and your 3520-1 and HS-7 form where you literally just check a box saying older than 25 years and sign your name. Eventually I will have an interactive map where the information for your individual state, province, or territory is represented, but for now I would say it is simple enough to find your local state DMV website and find their section on importing foreign vehicles. Almost every single site that I’ve seen has a simple paragraph long description of exactly everything that you will need to legally put your UAZ on the road. California is by far the strictest state when it comes to importing vehicles, basically your vehicle needs to be older than model year 1968 to get around smog rules, and trust me your UAZ will not pass. Other states such as Washington and Hawaii also have similar laws, but not to the level of California. For Canadians this process is surprisingly simpler other than the general forms required to import a vehicle, the only additional form required is customs clearance vehicle import form 1. So, before you run off to the Eastern bloc to bring back your dream car, I would strongly recommend that you check if it is even legal to register in the area where you live. I have read way too many stories about beautiful, imported cars arriving into the USA and subsequently getting crushed and turned into a large paperweight directly afterwards due to faulty paperwork, illegal modifications, or not following either the 25 or 15 year rule. You also don’t want to successfully import a vehicle and shortly find out thereafter that because of the state you’re living in you now own a gigantic lawn ornament because you will never be able to legally register it. Do your homework and don’t skip corners, there are also a plethora of companies / individuals that specialize in this very thing for this exact reason.