Car shipping across the border, on our own truck
A car crossing the border between Canada and the United States is the easy part of the trip. The hard part is the paperwork: each country has its own rules for which cars may enter, which forms the owner files and when. A car that arrives at the border without the right documents waits there — or goes back. We ship cars between Montreal and the United States in both directions on our own truck, and before we book, we go through the rules with you so the car leaves with what it needs.
The documents are yours as the owner of the car; nobody can sign them for you. Our part is to check admissibility with you before the trip, give you a clear checklist, schedule the pickup around the deadlines, and carry the car.
From the United States to Canada
Bringing a car from the US into Canada goes through the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV), Transport Canada’s program for vehicles imported from the United States. In order:
- Admissibility. The car must be on Transport Canada’s list of vehicles admissible from the US. Check the exact make, model and year first — some cars cannot be brought in at all, and others need modifications.
- Recalls. The car must have no open safety recalls. Most owners get a recall clearance letter from a dealer of the brand; it should be recent when the car crosses.
- US export, 72 hours ahead. US Customs and Border Protection must receive the car’s title (and the export information it asks for) at the port where the car leaves the US at least 72 hours before it crosses. We schedule the pickup around this deadline.
- The Canadian border. The CBSA checks the documents and issues Form 1, the vehicle import form, and you pay the RIV fee and any duty and taxes.
- Inspection within 45 days. The car must pass the RIV inspection within 45 days of import, with any required modifications done. Then you register it in your province — in Quebec, with the SAAQ.
Vehicles 15 years and older are generally exempt from the RIV, but they still go through customs. Vehicles made in North America generally enter duty-free under CUSMA; GST is charged on import, and provincial sales tax usually at registration.
From Canada to the United States
A Canadian car entering the US is checked against two sets of US standards — safety and emissions — and the importer files two forms with CBP at the border:
- EPA Form 3520-1, for emissions;
- DOT Form HS-7, for safety.
Many cars sold in Canada are built to the same specifications as their US versions but do not carry the US certification label. In that case the manufacturer can usually issue a letter of compliance confirming that the car conforms to US standards — ask for it early, as it can take weeks. Duty depends on where the car was made, and the state where you will live sets its own registration and inspection rules.
Canadians who spend part of the year in the US as visitors, and use a car there, are in a different situation from people who move to the US for good. If you are a snowbird, tell us how you use the car and check your case with CBP before the trip.
Ship the car with your move
If you are moving house across the border, the car can travel on the same trip as your furniture, with one pickup and one delivery. It is still declared on its own forms — a car is not part of the household goods on CBP Form 3299 or on the BSF186 list of goods to follow — so we prepare the inventory and the car checklist separately.
Condition report and preparation
Before loading we walk around the car with you, photograph it and note existing marks; you sign the report and get a copy, and we repeat the walk-around at delivery. Prepare the car as for any trip: wash it, leave about a quarter of a tank, remove personal belongings and toll transponders, and keep the title, registration, recall letter and any compliance letter in a folder that travels with the car’s paperwork — not inside the car.
Common mistakes
- Booking the truck before checking admissibility. Some cars cannot be imported into Canada at all. Check first.
- Forgetting the 72-hour rule. A title that has not reached US Customs in time keeps the car on the US side.
- Packing boxes in the trunk. Goods inside a car complicate the crossing; they belong on the household inventory.
- Missing the 45-day RIV inspection. The clock starts at the border, not when the car is registered.
For routes, transit times and planning in both directions, see Canada–USA moving. For cars moving within Canada, see car shipping to and from Montreal.
