Applications are now open for the 2025 SEMA Battle of the Builders Presented by Mother’s Polish at www.semabotb.com. Now in its 12th year, SEMA Battle of the Builders is the industry’s leading custom car building competition, providing SEMA Show builders with an opportunity to showcase their talents in front of a global audience.
“It’s inspiring to see SEMA Show builders continue to push the boundaries of automotive customization,” said RJ de Vera, SEMA Vice President of Marketing. “We look forward to helping them grow and progress as we celebrate standout builds that highlight the ingenuity of our industry.”
The 2025 SEMA Battle of the Builders Presented by Mother’s Polish will recognize class champions in four categories — Hot Rod & Hot Rod Truck; 4 Wheel Drive & Off-Road; Sport Compact, Import Performance, Luxury & Exotic; and Young Guns — and one of these four class winners will be crowned the overall Battle of the Builders champion. Industry experts serve as judges and review all qualifying applications, including vehicle descriptions and photos, before walking the SEMA Show floor to review the builds in-person and selecting the Top 10 finalists in each category. The finalists are then narrowed down to the Top 3 in each category, and these 12 finalists become the judges and select the winner of each category and the overall champion.
“Some of the people we look up to the most in the industry have won this award, so to appear alongside those people is really incredible,” said Noah Alexander, winner of the 2024 SEMA Battle of the Builders competition with his ‘68 Dodge Charger. “The best for us was the incredible people we met. It was just amazing to talk to all of these other builders and hear what they do.”
Supporting Young Builders
To encourage young builders to pursue their passions, the SEMA Battle of the Builders Young Guns category is open to builders who are 29 years old and younger at the time of the SEMA Show. Young Guns entries may also be selected to compete in one or more virtual Golden Ticket competitions throughout the summer for the chance to win a prize package that includes transportation of the vehicle to the SEMA Show along with travel and hotel accommodations. Once at the SEMA Show, the Top 10 Young Guns finalists, as selected by the judges, compete in their own separate competition to determine their Top 3. This unique Young Guns competition format, launched for the first time in 2024, provides yet another career exposure opportunity for the next generation of custom car builders.
“With the world’s most skilled vehicle builders coming together to compete for the title of a lifetime, the SEMA Young Guns category offers a platform unlike any other for young builders to expand their notoriety in the industry,” added de Vera.
For more information on the 2025 SEMA Battle of the Builders competition or to register, visit www.semabotb.com. The deadline to register is Oct. 17.
This story was originally published on May 29, 2025. 
