CBSA Border Declarations: What to Declare

Yes. You must declare ALL food items, including commercially packaged goods, fresh produce, meat, dairy, and snacks, when entering Canada. The CBSA officer and CFIA will determine whether your items are admissible. Many packaged, commercially processed foods from the US are fine; fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats may be restricted or require documentation. Failure to declare food, plant or animal items can result in the goods being seized and a CBSA penalty; the official traveller tiers are $500 (minor), $800 (serious) and $1,300 (very serious), reducible 50% if paid within 15 days. Verify the current tiers on cbsa-asfc.gc.ca.

All travellers arriving by air must complete a declaration form regardless of whether they have goods to declare. At some airports, travellers who believe they have nothing to declare may proceed through a Green Channel (expedited lane), while travellers with goods to declare use a Red Channel. However, CBSA can refer anyone to secondary inspection at any time, choosing the Green Channel when you have undeclared goods is a violation of the Customs Act.

Yes. Gifts received while abroad are considered acquired goods and must be declared. They count toward your duty-free personal exemption. If the value of all your acquired goods (including gifts) exceeds your exemption, you pay duty and tax on the amount over the exemption. There is no special "gift exemption" at the Canadian border.

Generally yes, for personal use quantities. Bring the original pharmacy-labelled container and your prescription documentation if possible. Controlled substances (narcotics, certain psychotropics) may require additional documentation. For large quantities, bringing a letter from your doctor is advisable. Certain medications legal elsewhere may be restricted or controlled in Canada, check Health Canada's drug schedule.

Commercial goods are items intended for resale, use in a business operation, or imported as business samples, as opposed to goods for personal use. Commercial goods are not eligible for the personal exemption and must be cleared through a formal commercial accounting declaration. Since CARM became the CBSA system of record in October 2024, the old Form B3 has been replaced by the Commercial Accounting Declaration (CAD), filed in the CARM Client Portal. If you are bringing products to sell at a craft fair, samples to show clients, or stock for a home business, those are commercial goods even if they are small in quantity.

If you realize immediately (while still in the customs area), return to a CBSA officer and make the declaration voluntarily. Voluntary disclosure before CBSA discovers the issue may result in reduced or waived penalties. If you have already left the port of entry, contact CBSA for guidance. Voluntarily coming forward is always better than being caught later: CBSA does random post-entry audits and packages are scanned at mail facilities.

Using the Advance Declaration feature in ArriveCAN (the free app or the web version), you can submit your customs and immigration declaration up to 72 hours before you arrive in Canada by air. You then confirm (certify) it at a kiosk or eGate when you land. If you do not certify within 72 hours of submitting, the declaration expires and you simply complete a new one on arrival. CBSA reports the feature can cut the time spent at a kiosk or eGate by roughly one third. Advance Declaration is optional and is available at participating Canadian international airports, verify the current list on canada.ca before you fly.

They are different programs. The $200/$800 personal exemptions apply to residents (and some non-residents) returning from a trip abroad and cover goods you acquired while away. People moving to Canada are different: under the appropriate Customs Tariff classification, settlers and returning former residents can generally import owned personal and household goods duty- and tax-free, listing them on a Personal Effects Accounting Document (form BSF186), with a separate list for goods that will follow later. Which tariff item applies depends on your situation, so verify with CBSA which one fits. See our BSF186 guide for the settling-in process.

No. There is no personal exemption for absences under 24 hours. If you cross for a same-day trip and bring back purchases, you pay full duty and applicable taxes on those goods regardless of value, and you must still declare them. The $200 exemption begins only after a full 24-hour absence (and excludes alcohol and tobacco), and the $800 exemption after a full 48-hour absence. Whether goods qualify is based on the actual time you were outside Canada, not the calendar date.

It depends on which exemption you are claiming. The $200 exemption (24 to 48 hours away) is all or nothing: per CBSA, if your goods total more than $200 CAD you cannot claim it at all, and duty and taxes apply to the entire amount, not just the part above $200. The $800 exemption (48+ hours away) works differently: you declare the full value and pay on the amount above the exemption, so a $1,000 purchase means duty and tax apply to the $200 over the limit. Above the $800 exemption, CBSA generally applies a beneficial flat 7% duty rate to the next $300 of goods (alcohol and tobacco excluded); beyond that, normal duty rates and the GST/HST plus any provincial taxes apply. Big-ticket items like vehicles have their own import rules (often through the Registrar of Imported Vehicles). Verify current rates with CBSA, as duty depends on the goods and their country of origin.

After a full 48-hour absence you can claim goods worth up to $800 CAD without paying duty and taxes. The goods generally have to be with you when you enter, though some may follow by mail, check CBSA. Specified amounts of alcohol and tobacco can be included in that $800. Above the exemption, CBSA generally applies a beneficial 7% duty rate to the next $300 of goods, with alcohol and tobacco excluded; beyond that, normal duty rates and the GST/HST plus any provincial taxes apply. Shorter absences are treated differently: there is no exemption at all under 24 hours, and the 24 to 48 hour tier is $200 with no alcohol or tobacco included. Verify current figures on cbsa-asfc.gc.ca and travel.gc.ca before you travel.

The alcohol and tobacco allowances apply on the 48-hour or longer exemption. For alcohol you choose one category only: 1.5 litres of wine (about two standard 750 ml bottles), OR 1.14 litres of spirits (about one standard 40 oz bottle), OR 8.5 litres of beer or ale (about 24 cans or bottles of 355 ml). For tobacco the allowance is 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, 200 grams of manufactured tobacco and 200 tobacco sticks. Vaping products are limited to 120 mL of liquid or 120 g of solid, to a maximum of 12 devices. You must meet the minimum age of the province or territory where you enter, generally 18 or 19. Tobacco limits apply to stamped product marked DUTY PAID CANADA DROIT ACQUITTE; unstamped tobacco above a small allowance attracts a special duty. Anything above these amounts is subject to duty and applicable provincial liquor or tobacco taxes, and you must declare alcohol and tobacco even when you are within the limits.

No. Cannabis is legal for adult use inside Canada under the Cannabis Act (S.C. 2018, c. 16), but it is absolutely prohibited from being transported across any international border, in either direction. That holds whether or not cannabis is legal in both countries, for example entering from a US state with legal recreational cannabis; it holds regardless of quantity, since even a small amount is a criminal border violation; it holds if you have a medical cannabis prescription; and it holds for CBD-only products without a Health Canada exemption. Attempting to bring cannabis across a Canadian border can result in arrest, criminal charges under the Cannabis Act and the Customs Act, seizure of the substance and potentially the vehicle, and a finding of criminal inadmissibility that affects future entry to Canada.

For individual travellers, undeclared goods are generally handled under the Customs Act through seizure and ascertained forfeiture rather than as flat administrative penalties. Failing to declare goods over your personal exemption typically carries a penalty in the range of 25% to 70% of the value of the goods. A false declaration about goods carries the same seizure terms and, for alcohol, tobacco or vaping products, a penalty up to $1,300; it can also be a criminal offence under Customs Act s.153. Undeclared prohibited or restricted food, plant or animal goods fall into CBSA penalty tiers of $500 (minor), $800 (serious) or $1,300 (very serious), reducible by 50% if paid within 15 days. Failing to declare firearms is a criminal offence under the Customs Act and the Criminal Code. Consequences generally escalate for repeat incidents, and you can dispute a CBSA enforcement action through its formal review process. Verify current terms on cbsa-asfc.gc.ca.

Yes. You must declare currency, monetary instruments and negotiable instruments (cash, cheques, money orders, traveller's cheques) totalling $10,000 CAD or more, and the threshold is the combined total, not a single item. You can carry any amount legally; the requirement is to report it. Failure to declare over $10,000 can result in seizure under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. CBSA applies graduated terms of release of $250 for a first contravention, $2,500 for a second or where false information was given, and $5,000 for a third, and withholds the full amount only where it suspects proceeds of crime. Verify the current figures on cbsa-asfc.gc.ca.