CBP Info Center FAQ: How to import your car
V1 0 Written by Dirk Sieber, 13 March 96 v1 1 Updated by Dirk Sieber, 3 July 2 - The changes include updated information on fees, contact information for MIR, notification requirement of US Customs.
Dirk C. Sieber, 1996.2002 Feel free to redistribute this document as I am credited as the author and the document remains intact.
This document is based on my experience in importing a 1993 Toyota MR2 Turbo in the province of British Columbia in February March 1996 I make no guarantee that any or all of these provisions will apply to you, or the process will work for you in the same way for me to Canada Customs dE bEFORE wHAT ANY Ec.
The following sections explain the process, as explained to me by Canada Customs and Transport Canada is also a section at the end detailing my own experiences, and how they are different from what I was told would happen .
The first thing you need to do is find out if the car you are considering is even importable in Canada Many cars for the US market does not meet Canadian safety standards in particular the most recent, and are therefore not importable from any note in particular that the person at the border was very surprised that my MR2 was acceptable, it seems that many Toyota late model vehicles are not eligible.
Transport Canada has an agreement with a private company, Livingston International, which now operates as the Registrar of Imported Vehicles accessible 1-888-848-8240 If you call them, and give them the year, make and model of the vehicle, they will tell you if the car is legally allowed to import into Canada Note that this list is also available on the website of Transport Canada, at the bottom of this page.
If the car is acceptable, you will also need documents -US Next track at -Bill marketing vehicle ownership transfer.
In addition, you will need a written notice not only the vehicle manufacturer dealer indicating reminders that may be in force were carried out on the car that you intend to import.
You should contact the US Customs at least 72 hours in advance, informing you export a vehicle from the rating of the United States that, according to this document, it seems that you must provide US Customs with the original title or a certified copy, and 2 additional complete copies of the title at least 72 hours before export - because of this, I strongly recommend to contact them early in the process, to make sure you have enough time to do it.
And, last but not least, the vehicle must still have the original sticker indicating that it meets federal safety standards in force at the date of manufacture.
Also note that if the car is newer than the 1990 model, you will be expected to have the car retrofitted with the equivalent Canadian Daylight System This procedure can be performed after the car is in Canada, you must have completed and inspected within 45 days of imports.
Upon taking my appointment to the Federal Inspection see below, I was also told that you would have to have mounting points for a tether strap for a child car seat it is not mentioned anywhere in the documentation I received from Transport Canada, and luckily the inspection station decided to waive the requirement because of my MR2 is a 2 seater Note that this most likely won t happen for you.
You will also need a lot of money - see the section below titled costs.
To be able to recover the vehicle and move it to the border, you will need some sort of British Columbia details of insurance coverage following check with your local insurance company for details in your province .
In British Columbia, ICBC will provide what is called an insurance binder.
35 10 days to my car, which is strictly insurance coverage, it is not a license to drive the vehicle on the road, you will also obtain a temporary permit for each state that you move the car through in Washington, it is available to any licensing office automotive my experience, the cost of 10US local service.
ICBC will issue you a temporary standard BC license until the car is physically present in BC, and you have documents indicating the border that the car was imported.
However, once you have crossed the border, you now need a permit from the temporary British Columbia, and you're supposed to stop at the first ICBC agency you can find and purchase.
The first thing you want to do is make sure you are at the correct border crossing certain input ports are designated for the process of importing vehicles The process can be completed at any port, but the costs of materials will be assessed about 50 higher if you use a non-designated port Check with Customs before arrival Note - according to updated information on the website of Transport Canada, it seems that there is more extra to go to a non-designated port, however, you'll likely that the process will be a bit faster easier if you go to a designated port.
In British Columbia, the truck crossing the Douglas Peace Arch border crossing border crossing is approved the main Peace Arch border crossing is not Note that the exact opposite of what I was told by Transport Canada.
Arriving at the kiosk, explain to the customs officer that you intend to import the vehicle you will be directed to park your car and go inside at Customs.
The process of the actual paperwork was privatized, and will be managed by a private brokerage firm Incidentally, this also paid the price to double hmmm After the customs officer told you at the start, they will direct you there for documents complete, you will need the title, bill of sale, mileage and the month and year of manufacture of vehicles not only the model year, the actual production date, which should be on a label affixed to the doorframe of the driver's door.
The brokerage company will check the documents, look at your vehicle to make sure it is on the approved list, and then give you a document to return to the customs with.
Upon returning to the customs, they will also check the title and bill of sale, and to take copies You will need to pay a variety of fees detailed in the fees below, including fees, GST, and possibly the excise tax.
After that, your car is now legal to enter Canada The process from this point depends on the province of entry, it is the regulations, and your local insurance company The process of British Columbia is detailed below.
The following fees will be assessed at the border.
Note that all calculations are based on the Canadian value of the car The customs brochure provides that the Canadian value will be based on a value generally approved, as the Kelly Blue Book This means that even if you have an incredible deal on the price, you can still pay tax according to the Canadian average value of the car it is not what happened to me, see my experience below.
At that time, 2002, vehicles manufactured outside of Canada, the United States or Mexico are assessed Service at 6 decline of 1 January 9 from the time this article was written the current law in 2002 on vehicles built in Mexico is 0 03, and not tariff on US or Canadian-built vehicles As always, check with Canada Customs for current rates, you can access their automated information service at 1-800- 461-9999, or from outside of Canada, 204 983-3500 or 506 636-5064 only for vehicles with air conditioning Note that you may have to pay an additional excise tax if your vehicle weighs over 2007KG or 2268KG if a station wagon, van or SUV Contact Canada Customs for details This is calculated on the Canadian value plus excise charges, if any.
Once you've paid all this, you've now got a subject to Canada's automobile inspection.
Note that you can still pay PST or other fees to your provincial government If you are in British Columbia, you have to pay PST on your vehicle insurance registration.
The process described here is only for residents of British Columbia, you will need to contact your local tax office in the insurance agent if you are not a resident in British Columbia.
In British Columbia, after you have the documents of the border indicating that you have paid the fee and the car has been accepted, you must have the vehicle inspected before you are able to ensure this inspection is called PVIP and must be done in an approved testing center ICBC The list of dealers shops licensed inspection stations in your area is available from your local agent ICBC.
NOTE The fee for this inspection is not fixed I was told by my agent that ICBC can vary.
50- 250, depending on where you call around for rates.
In particular, if you are in the lower mainland, note that these inspections will BCAA their inspection center in xxxx Goring St, near Brentwood Mall on Lougheed Hwy Burnaby with a reservation two days in advance Ph xxx-xxxx Currently the fee is 69 BCAA GST for members, slightly higher for non-members.
The inspection is fairly complete, although mostly visual test They drive your car and inspect all the notes of safety equipment and emissions that this test does not count as a pass AirCare check for body and train damage, inspect the brakes, tires, etc., and many other things.
Generally, in most inspection stations, if you fail the initial test for any reason, you may have repaired the cause and bring the vehicle to a new test free Inquire to see if this is the everywhere you go.
After this review, you can now make the vehicle ICBC agent will require the title and deed transferring ownership they will keep Request copies, as well as the inspection report are also required to perform visual inspection of the vehicle, to make sure the VIN matches all the documents you will need the car to the agent noted also that all agencies will conduct the inspection at any time, due to limited staff check before arrival .
At this point, you have to pay PST due, as well as your insurance costs for any period of time you choose After that, they'll give you a set of plates, and you're off Congrats.
Shortly after putting the car through the border, you will receive a notice from the Registrar of Imported Vehicles noting that you have recently imported a vehicle in the country, and detailing that you have to take a federal inspection before final approval is given to the vehicle Note that this is different from that inspection in the section above, and contrary to the provincial inspection required, no matter where in Canada you are.
You will receive a letter indicating the date you will need to have the inspection completed by a list of inspection centers in your area, and a form detailing the requirements that you must meet to note that from 3 July 2002 to this current time, they contract with Canadian Tire to perform federal inspections, which means you should be able to inspect almost all Canadian Tire across Canada you can go here to find a location.
During this inspection is where you will have the recall notice from the car manufacturer, the safety standards of correct stickers emissions, proof of having appropriate anchors for a car seat children and show respect for DRL laws, if applicable to your vehicle year you will also need the documents that you received from the brokerage at the border.
If you pass this inspection, Transport Canada will send an approval sticker that you will put on your copy of the paperwork you received at the border and the French versions of some of the security stickers on your car, and a sticker for your odometer indicating it is in miles.
The good news is that one, it is a very short inspection in my experience, and 2, it is free, it's covered by the fees you paid at the border.
The above is how the process is supposed to work, according to Customs Canada, Transport Canada and ICBC That's what happened in my experience.
I took my car just south of Seattle, after first buying a license 3 days from a VM licensing office in Washington, I continued to drive the Douglas border crossing Peach Arch, where I was informed by the booth I was customs officer made the wrong intersection see my note above the items approved re entry boundary They allowed me to change my mind and go to the other way, but note that you will not be allowed to pass through Canada to another border crossing I had to turn around, back across the US, then go to another border crossing.
Arriving at the correct border, I waited in a long line just to be told that I would have to go to first brokerage office for paperwork This ended up being a lengthy form that requires the name and address of the seller and buyer, certain statements on vehicle condition and mileage and the date of manufacture After checking to make sure that the vehicle was on the approved list, they took the fresh, stamped documents, and back through customs I went.
After waiting in line, the officer asked the shape of the brokerage house, as well as the title and deed transferring ownership, he inspected them and made copies, asked if the car had air conditioning, and informed me of my total charges due Note that if you want to know how it breaks down, now ask, not the cash register because they can t tell you where I paid my money, and I am free to go.
Note that at any time someone at the border does look as the car that I could import a trailer, and they wouldn t have known; They also requested the declaration never re reminders long after I reached, the customs officer will inspect it.
In addition, people at customs was no problem with my steering wheel of the car with just the temporary permit Washington and did not the police officer who followed me closely 2 days later although he inspected well enough; , So I decided to do it and save me a few days worth of temporary permit fees in BC Note that if you have a current insurance binder on the car already, ICBC will charge you licensing fees for a temporary permit currently 3 day 10 min.
I then made an appointment for PVIP and took my car for inspection several days later Surprisingly, the only thing that failed was the rear brake pads were too worn out, so I ended up getting working brake fastest in history, the guy at the BCAA inspection station decided to hold the report without marking it as a failure as long as I could make it back the same day to this.
January 30 in the afternoon; L'brought, taken my past inspection report, and ensured the car.
At ICBC agent, they requested copies of the title to the car they keep transferring ownership ditto The paperwork of the border inspection The inspection report PVIP lot of money.
After that, they happily handed me a set of plates and an insurance sticker, and I was leaving.
Note one thing I always try to understand after reading the documents on the federal inspection is whether they were supposed to ensure the car before the federal inspection was complete parts of the text index that shouldn t be possible, but it doesn t come and say everywhere, and I didn t have problems.
Federal inspection was to call one of the locations on the list provided, and try to make an appointment, I basically told that it takes a few minutes, just drop during the hours of work I did exactly that, and basically threw a copy of every piece of paper I got far on their desk They examined the recall notice, receipt of I obtained from a store to the LOD and stickers of security compliance on the car, and he was the paperwork was stamped, I was told that I would be receiving a sticker to include the Government in the mail, and the process finally was complete.
I do not feel that the import process was terribly difficult There were many details that I had to know and support, but we hope that this document will help someone else make this process a little easier The main thing you need is time to time to pick up the car, fill all the documents that I was at the border for about an hour and a half and have the vehicle inspected maybe twice Add up all the costs, including your time, and make sure it still makes sense for you to import the vehicle against buying locally Personally, I saved about 3000 Can, as well as having the advantage of having a car that both single color and options that are not available in Canada, however, this is mainly due to the scarce supply current 2nd generation MR2s Vancouver esp 93s as always, YMMV.
Good luck if you have questions about the process, please send me an email.
Registrar of Imported Vehicles - 1-888-848-8240 toll free in the United States in Canada Other regions, call 416 626-1803 Automated Information Service ACIS Customs - 1-800-461-9999 Outside of Canada, 204 983-3500 or 506 636-5064 Transport Canada - 1-800-333-0371 outside of Canada, 613 998-8616.
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