87 Vehicles; other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof
The broadest level of the Harmonized System. Pick the heading below that fits your goods, then the six-digit code under it — that last one is what you declare.
Section XVII, Vehicles & Transport — railway stock, road vehicles, aircraft, ships and transport equipment.
- 87 Chapter Vehicles; other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof
- —— Heading Pick one of the 16 headings below
- —— Subheading Six digits, the level every country shares
Chapter 87 covers vehicles; other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof: cars, trucks, motorcycles, trailers and tractors. Vehicle classification typically depends on engine type, seating capacity and cargo function, each of which maps to a different subheading and duty rate. Classification tip: Electric and hybrid vehicles are classified under the same broad headings as internal-combustion vehicles but split into their own subheadings by propulsion type, and EV import incentives vary widely by country, so check current schedules rather than assuming parity with combustion-engine duty rates.
16 headings in chapter 87
Four-digit groups. Pick the one that fits, then the six-digit code inside it.
- 87.01 Tractors; (other than tractors of heading no 8709) 12 codes
- 87.02 Vehicles; public transport passenger type 5 codes
- 87.03 Motor cars and other motor vehicles; principally designed for the transport of persons (other than those of heading no. 8702), including station wagons and racing cars 14 codes
- 87.04 Vehicles; for the transport of goods 13 codes
- 87.05 Special purpose motor vehicles; not those for the transport of persons or goods (e.g. breakdown lorries, road sweeper lorries, spraying lorries, mobile workshops, mobile radiological units etc) 5 codes
- 87.06 Chassis; fitted with engines, for the motor vehicles of heading no. 8701 to 8705 1 code
- 87.07 Bodies; (including cabs) for the motor vehicles of heading no. 8701 to 8705 2 codes
- 87.08 Motor vehicles; parts and accessories, of heading no. 8701 to 8705 15 codes
- 87.09 Works trucks, self-propelled, (not fitted with lifting or handling equipment), for factories, warehouses etc, for short distance transport of goods, tractors used on railway station platforms; parts thereof 3 codes
- 87.10 Tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles; motorised, whether or not fitted with weapons, and parts of such vehicles 1 code
- 87.11 Motorcycles (including mopeds) and cycles; fitted with an auxiliary motor, with or without side-cars; side-cars 7 codes
- 87.12 Bicycles and other cycles; including delivery tricycles, not motorised 1 code
- 87.13 Carriages for disabled persons; whether or not motorised or otherwise mechanically propelled 2 codes
- 87.14 Vehicles; parts and accessories of heading no. 8711 to 8713 9 codes
- 87.15 Baby carriages and parts thereof 1 code
- 87.16 Trailers and semi-trailers; other vehicles, not mechanically propelled; parts thereof 7 codes
Other chapters in Section XVII
The wording above is the Harmonized System nomenclature as published by the World Customs Organization, HS 2022 edition. It is a classification reference, not a tariff: it carries no duty rates, and it stops at six digits — the importing country adds its own beyond that.
Classification is decided by the General Rules of Interpretation and the section and chapter notes, and it is the importing country’s customs authority that makes it binding.
Shipping goods from chapter 87? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipmentChapter 87 FAQ
Chapter 87 covers vehicles; other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof: cars, trucks, motorcycles, trailers and tractors. Vehicle classification typically depends on engine type, seating capacity and cargo function, each of which maps to a different subheading and duty rate. Classification tip: Electric and hybrid vehicles are classified under the same broad headings as internal-combustion vehicles but split into their own subheadings by propulsion type, and EV import incentives vary widely by country, so check current schedules rather than assuming parity with combustion-engine duty rates.
Pick the heading below that describes the goods, then the six-digit subheading under it. Six digits is the level the Harmonized System defines and the level customs everywhere recognises; anything beyond that is added by the importing country.
The General Rules of Interpretation, read together with the notes to Section XVII and to chapter 87. A description that reads right is not enough on its own — the notes routinely pull goods out of the chapter they obviously belong to and put them somewhere else. Where duty or licensing turns on the answer, ask the importing country’s customs authority for a binding ruling.
A wrong or missing code is one of the common reasons customs holds a container, and a hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving. Watch for it in the container tracking app, on the air waybill in the air cargo tracker, or through the tracking API.