Customs Self-Assessment Program
Approved carriers

Participating carriers have the option of clearing CSA-eligible goods more quickly at the border once identification confirms that the importer, carrier and driver have been pre-approved.

With this streamlined clearance process, data transmissions for eligible goods are not needed.

Benefits

The CSA program provides many benefits to participating carriers:

• it ends the transactional transmission of data elements
• it increases the certainty of expedited customs processing
• it makes it easier for carriers to meet their obligations, and
• it streamlines the process for legitimate trade

Eligibility

Carriers eligible to apply to the CSA program must meet these requirements.

Residency requirements

• if the carrier is a corporation, the carrier has its head office in Canada or the United States or operates a branch office in Canada or the United States
• if the carrier is an individual, the carrier ordinarily resides in Canada or the United States or, if the carrier is a partnership, the carrier has at least one partner who is an individual who ordinarily resides in Canada or the United States

Legislative requirements

• the carrier has not contravened program legislation as defined in section 2 of the Canada Border Services Agency Act
• the carrier gives security in accordance with the Transportation of Goods Regulations

Operational requirements

• the carrier does not have a criminal record
• the carrier is solvent
• the carrier has transported commercial goods to or from Canada at least once prior to the 90 days before the day on which the application was received
• the carrier's books, records and business processes have the internal controls necessary to permit the agency to determine if the carrier is in compliance with the act and its regulations
• the carrier owns and controls their own dispatch system

A dispatch system, be it manual or electronic, is a cornerstone of the CSA program. Only carriers that own and control their own dispatch system are eligible to apply. Applications from carriers who have contracted a third party or service provider to manage their dispatch system may be refused.

Carriers must demonstrate that they track and record all shipment details (pick-up location and date, delivery location and date, description of goods, etc.) and control all their shipments with an internally generated sequential trip/pro/control number that is assigned to a shipment the moment the order is booked.

Application process

There is a two-part application and approval process for carriers.

Part I: Risk assessment

Carriers will have to give detailed information such as the following:

• a complete corporate structure and all relevant registration identifiers
• details about their business specialty, clients, equipment and drivers
• security measures for freight facilities and personnel policies
• terminal and warehouse locations, and
• the location of all their divisions

Part II: Books, records and dispatch systems

Carriers will be asked to illustrate the following:

• a demonstration of an international Canada-bound shipment
• the current business process for all shipments, starting from the order through to billing
• how the carrier assigns an internal control number for each order accepted
• detailed dispatch procedure and systems
• sample documents, descriptions and the appropriate linkages for each step in the shipping process
• how CSA-approved importers, drivers and eligible shipments will be identified in the systems
• their reporting system to trace all Canada-bound shipments, including CSA-approved shipments

CARM is the official system of record for trade chain partners and serves as the only way to apply to the CSA program. Through the CARM Client Portal, you will receive notifications, messages and documents from the CBSA, as well as view all your transactions and make payments.

To apply for the CSA program, Access the CARM Client Portal.

CSA-approved carrier responsibilities

These are the requirements you must meet as a CSA-approved carrier.

Reporting

CSA reporting requirements support a streamlined border clearance process and vary by mode. CSA clearance is used to request the "authority to deliver" CSA-eligible commercial goods that are imported by a CSA-approved importer. A distinctive feature of the CSA environment is that cargo documents are not required to clear CSA-approved shipments. However, when requested by a border services officer, the reporting CSA-approved carrier must provide satisfactory evidence concerning the discharge of goods imported into Canada. The CSA-approved carrier is required to have the records, systems, audit trails and linkages in place to support the CSA process.

Carriers and importers participating in the CSA program have demonstrated to the CBSA that they are low-risk clients. Drivers must present the following bar codes at the primary inspection line (PIL) to a border services officer. An officer scans the bar codes which the CBSA system validates to authorize the shipment for CSA clearance and delivery.

Required information in approved bar-code format:

• the CSA-approved carrier's identification: a four-character carrier code
• the CSA-approved importer's identification: a 15-digit business number, and
• the registered driver's identification number: highway mode only

CSA clearance facilitates the direct delivery of eligible goods to the importer, owner or consignee. For more information regarding the presentation of bar codes at the PIL, see Memorandum D23-2-1, Customs Self-Assessment Program for Carriers.

Sealing requirements

Carriers that are Partner in Protection (PIP) members must always seal their loads, whether they are CSA only goods or not.

Since CSA-approved carriers who are not PIP members have been risk assessed and deemed to have adequate internal control procedures, they generally are not required to seal the conveyance when moving goods inland. However, sealing may be required in some instances, for example when a carrier moves high-risk goods or when a shipment has been selected for an examination by the CBSA.

Date modified:

2024-04-15