after several emails to CARB and a couple of california emisions labs i was able to get a letter of exemption and am now able to move on with my process. just wanted to give an update on what i found. None of the labs in california will test anything older than 1975!! which is good news. wish me luck on the the next step at the DMV once i get my VIN verification from the CHP who has already confirmed they will grant the VIN verification

The heritage cert won't help. The problem is that after 67, the classic Mini was not sold in the US. So there is no standard, federal or otherwise to be able to test to.

The CA DMV simply trips on it's own rules, as they try to make you do impossible things. Your job is to prove it can't be done the way they think, and thus get a letter of exemption.

What I do in situations like this is go to different clerks at the counter till I can find someone who knows what they are doing. Even to an office out of your home area to find a "car guy" that knows what to do.  They ARE out there!  You can indeed register 1975 and earlier cars if you go about it right. It helps if they have been registered in another state first rather than importing directly to California.

I'm no expert but newer than 68 seems to be a problem.

need advise on what steps to take to get a ca registration, 68-74 imports seem to be a big problem in california, ive gone through the steps required but keep hitting roadblock after roadblock, ive ordered a heritage cert hopefully that will help, but any advise would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance