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Before attempting to import a vehicle from the United States, you should check to see if your vehicle qualifies for importation with Transport Canada's Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) program, which ensures that imported vehicles meet Canadian safety standards. A link to the RIV's vehicle admissibility page is provided in the resources section. This website displays which vehicle models are admissible or inadmissible and what modifications the manufacturer may have to make to your vehicle before it may be imported.
If your vehicle is admissible, you must register it with the RIV, and you will then have 45 days to make any needed modifications to your vehicle prior to inspection. Once the inspection is complete, you will be able to license your vehicle.
72 hours before exporting your vehicle, however, you must first submit the vehicle's original certificate of title to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and present the vehicle to the CBP at the time of exportation. -
Your vehicle may bypass RIV registration if it is more than 15 years old or if your vehicle is a bus and was manufactured on or after January 1, 1971. The vehicle's age is determined by the date of manufacture, not the model year. Other exemptions exist if your vehicle was originally manufactured in accordance with Canadian safety standards or if your vehicle is entering Canada on a temporary basis for a specific purpose, such as vehicles imported by diplomats and students.
If your vehicle is allowed under the last exemption, however, you cannot sell or dispose of it in Canada, and the vehicle may not stay in Canada past the time allowed to you by your customs or immigration document. Also, if your temporary status ends, you must either export or permanently import your vehicle. - Because any vehicle imported into Canada must meet the motor vehicle safety standards of Canada or the United State at the time of that vehicle's manufacture, vehicles manufactured for sale in any country other than Canada or the United States cannot be imported, even if modified. However, exceptions are made for vehicles older than 15 years, buses manufactured on or after January 1, 1971, and vehicles entering Canada on a temporary basis, which bear the same restrictions as vehicles imported from the United States.
- Importing a vehicle into Canada can incur several costs, the first of which is for RIV registration, a $195 fee. Import assessments may include duty, excise tax and the GST. Additional taxes may apply if your vehicle enters Canada through a port in Quebec or if you license your vehicle in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick or Newfoundland and Labrador. If your vehicle is being imported from a country other than the United States or Mexico, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will assess a duty. Other fees can be incurred if your vehicle has air conditioning or if its fuel consumption exceeds 13 liters per 100 kilometers, although pickup trucks, passenger vans, ambulances and hearses are exempt from these considerations.
- Due to concerns regarding pests that could be brought into Canada and disrupt that country's agriculture, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency requires that all sand, soil, earth and plant residue be washed from any used vehicle before it may be imported.
