What documents do you need to import goods into Canada? A 2026 checklist

If you’re importing commercial goods into Canada for the first time, the paperwork can feel like a wall. It isn’t — there’s a short list of documents that covers most shipments, and the rest depends on what you’re bringing in and where it’s coming from.

This is the practical version: what the documents are, what they’re for, and the questions importers ask us most.

The core documents

For a straightforward commercial import, you’ll almost always need:

• Commercial invoice — the seller’s bill of sale. It states who’s buying and selling, a description of the goods, the quantity, the price, the currency, and the terms of sale (the Incoterm). This is the backbone of the entry: the value for duty is built from it.
• Bill of lading or airway bill — the transport document from your carrier. It proves the goods were shipped and describes the freight.
• Packing list — how the shipment is packed: cartons, pallets, weights and dimensions. Customs and your carrier both use it.
• Commercial Accounting Declaration (CAD) — the entry itself, submitted in the CARM Client Portal to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). It declares the tariff classification, the value for duty, and the duties and taxes owed. Under CARM (the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management system, live since October 2024) the CAD replaced the legacy B3 Coding Form. Your customs broker usually prepares and files this.

For most shipments, that’s the set. Everything else is conditional.

What you need sometimes

• Certification of origin (CUSMA) — if your goods qualify as originating in the CUSMA region and you want the preferential (often zero) duty rate, you need to certify origin. Without it, you pay the standard rate even if the goods came from the US or Mexico.
• Import permits or other-government-department requirements — food, plants, health products, some chemicals, textiles and controlled goods can require permits or inspection from agencies beyond CBSA. This is commodity-specific.
• A business number with an import/export (RM) account — you register this with the Canada Revenue Agency before your first commercial import.
• Registration in the CARM Client Portal — since CARM, the importer of record registers here, and to release goods on your own account you post financial security. Your broker can guide the setup.

The two decisions that drive everything

Behind the documents, two answers shape your whole entry:

1. How are the goods classified? The tariff classification (an HS code) determines the duty rate and whether any permits apply. Getting it wrong is the most common — and most expensive — import mistake.
2. What’s the value for duty? Usually the transaction value (what you paid), but adjusted for certain costs. It’s the base the duties and taxes are calculated on.

Get those two right and the rest is process.

Why importers ask the same questions over and over

Notice that none of this is exotic. The questions above — “do I need a broker?”, “what’s the CAD?”, “does CUSMA remove duties?” — are the same handful, asked by nearly every new importer, over email and phone, one at a time.

That’s exactly the kind of repetitive, answerable-from-your-own-knowledge workload that pulls a logistics team away from moving freight. It’s also the kind of thing an assistant trained on your procedures — your commodities, your lanes, your standard advice — can handle on your website, day or night, and hand off to a person the moment a shipment needs real judgment.

This article is general information, not customs or legal advice. Requirements change and depend on your specific goods — confirm with CBSA or a licensed customs broker before you import.