Importing
a car into Canada from the U.S.
Importing a car, truck, van,
motorcycle and most other vehicles into Canada from the U.S.A. is a
fairly straightforward process. There are no hidden catches as long
as you follow the steps we describe below.
- The first thing
to do, if you haven’t already, is check the car against the Registrar
of Imported Vehicles’ This can be
done by going to Vehicle Admissibility List.. Find out if the vehicle will need
any modifications in order to pass federal inspection requirements,
and how much it will cost. Make sure the vehicle is admissible at the
VERY start to save yourself a lot of time, grief and money.
- Check to see if
your vehicle will be charged a high emissions
excise tax. These could typically run from $1000 to $4000 on high
emissions vehicles. Your vehicle can be searched at the Natural Resources
Canada Website.
- Check the list
of vehicles with safety recalls. You may also verify this by going
to a local dealership and providing them with the VIN number of the
vehicle you wish to purchase and ask them to make sure it has no outstanding
vehicle recalls.
- Get an AutoCheck
vehicle history report online and/or order an inspection from Carchex.com to be done on the vehicle to make
sure there is nothing wrong with the vehicle that you aren’t expecting.
- If all is good
you can buy the car and prepare for it’s
shipping.
- Get the seller to
FedEx you the vehicle title, the bill of sale, sales receipts and recall
clearance letter (if they are the vehicle’s manufacturer’ dealership,
if not contact your nearest dealership and have them get you one for
your vehicle.)
- Fax in a copy of
the vehicle title to the U.S. border crossing where you intend
to cross. This needs to be done at least 72 hours in advance
of when you plan to cross. Sometimes it takes longer that 72 hours.
The sooner you can fax the document to the border the better. Note that
this does not include weekends. Give them a call to make sure everything
is in order. Possibly try to get confirmation that your title was processed.
- If you are picking
up the vehicle yourself arrange for insurance on the vehicle, or get
a vehicle trailer to tow the vehicle home.
- Meet with the dealer
or person selling the vehicle. Check to make sure the VIN on the bill
of sale matches the one on the vehicle. Also make sure there is a North
American compliant sticker on the vehicle. This is usually located on
the beam in the driver’s side door. If there is a dealer ask them
to show it you.
- If you are purchasing
the car privately and will be driving it home, you will need to go get
a temporary permit from the local motor vehicle office.
- Drive to the
US border crossing where you faxed your title to, and identify yourself
with your passport and driver’s license. They will check out your
vehicle title, bill of sale, and the VIN number on the vehicle. All
should be good and they will stamp your vehicle’s title to release
it to Canada Customs.
- Stop at Canadian
customs, again identifying yourself with driver’s license and
passport. Tell them you are importing the vehicle and they will have
you pull in and park to go fill out Vehicle Import Form 1 (they
will provide this).
- You will have to
pay your RIV fee ($195+GST in all provinces, plus QST if you
are importing into Quebec) GST (5%), possible Air Conditioning excise
tax ($100CAD), possible high emissions excise tax, and possible
duty (6.1%) if the vehicle was not build in North America (ie. Mexico
for some American brand cars, and sometimes Germany for some VW’s).
Make sure you have you’re a credit card with you for most Canadian
Customs offices do not accept cash or cheque.
- If all is good
and once everything is paid up, they will verify your insurance coverage,
stamp your Vehicle Import Form 1 and send you on your way. Keep
this form in your vehicle along with your temporary American permit
in case you get pulled over on the way home - these will be used to
verify that you are legally compliant.
- Within 10 days
of submitting Vehicle Import Form 1 at the border, Canadian customs
will send you Form 2 - federal inspection.
- You have 45
days from the day you submitted to get any required modifications
done to your vehicle (such as daytime running lights, child tether anchorages
and metric speedometer conversions) and have your vehicle inspected
at Canadian Tire.
- When you take the
car in to get inspected, bring all supporting documents with you such
as the title, bill of sale, Import Forms 1 & 2, and the outstanding
recall letter.
- Canadian Tire will
do all necessary inspections free of charge as per the RIV program.
- If the vehicle
passes they will put a sticker on the drivers side door frame stating
that the vehicle is Canadian Safety compliant. They will fill out your
Form 2 and provide you with the necessary paperwork you will need to
register the vehicle in your province.
- You can now take
it right over to your provincial vehicle licensing office along with
all the paperwork you’ve accumulated to get it registered, where you
will pay whatever your
- provincial sales
tax is on the sale price of the vehicle!
Numbers
you'll need
Registrar of Imported Vehicles
1-888-848-8240
Fax: (416) 626-0366
info@riv.ca
Hours of service
Mon. to Fri.: 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight (EST)
Sat. and Sun.: 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EST)
Canada Border Services Agency
In Canada: 1-800-461-9999 (English) ; 1-800-959-2036 (French)
Outside Canada: (506) 636-5064
(English) ; (506) 636-5067 (French)
www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca
Transport Canada
In Canada: 1-800-333-0371
Outside Canada: (613) 998-8616
Fax: (613) 998-4831
www.tc.gc.ca
If you are unable to transport
your vehicle yourself ABR Shipping can take care of the transport for
you. We ship vehicles from the U.S. into Canada and from Canada back
to the U.S. on a weekly basis.
We offer door-to-door auto
transport service in bonded and insured open car-carriers, and enclosed
trucks for your peace of mind. We can also arrange the transport of
your vehicle to bonded warehouses, to minimize your customs brokerage
costs.
Call 1-(866)-309-6948 (TOLL FREE) today
to obtain further information and a free auto transportation quote.
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