Commercial carrier and freight forwarder identification and eligibility

Carriers

To transact business with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), carriers require a carrier code, regardless of how often they cross the Canadian border with commercial goods.

A carrier code is a four-character unique identifier that is assigned by the CBSA to identify a carrier. Only one carrier code is issued to each legal entity (corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship) per mode of transport (highway, marine, air or rail).

For the purpose of assessing carrier code eligibility, a carrier is a person involved in international commercial transportation who operates a conveyance used to transport specified goods to or from Canada. To operate a conveyance means to have legal custody and control of the conveyance as:

• an owner
• a lessee under a lease or agreement of hire
• a charterer under an agreement of hire
• as a purchaser under a conditional sale or hire purchase agreement that reserves to the vendor the title to the conveyance until the purchase price is paid or certain conditions are performed, or
• a mortgagor

Specified goods means:

• commercial goods
• empty cargo containers to be imported into Canada and that are not for sale, and
• any other goods to be transported to Canada for a fee

Note: Specified goods does not include Hand Carried Goods (HCG) — goods being transported into Canada by a person other than a commercial carrier. For more information on HCG, refer to D17-1-4: Release of Commercial Goods.

Freight forwarders

The CBSA also issues four-character unique codes to eligible freight forwarders. Only one freight forwarder code is issued to each legal entity (corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship).

A freight forwarder is defined as an agent who arranges for the transportation of goods, and who may provide other services such as consolidation and deconsolidation of shipments, de-stuffing containers, customs brokerage and warehousing.