Is the export documentation checklist for exporting from Canada different from importing into Canada?

Yes — this page covers what's needed to send goods out of Canada. See our CBSA import requirements guide for the corresponding inbound process, and note that many air freight relationships on this corridor involve both directions at different points.

Does a CPTPP Certificate of Origin need to be filed with Canadian export authorities?

The Certificate of Origin is generally provided to the importer at destination to support their preferential tariff claim there — it isn't itself a Canadian export reporting requirement, though it's part of the shipment's documentation package regardless.

What happens if a required CERS declaration is missed?

This is a real compliance failure, not a minor oversight — confirm the requirement and file it before export rather than after a shipment has already departed.

Air Freight Fundamentals

Export Documentation Checklist (Canada Origin)

Canada's export reporting requirement is threshold- and destination-dependent — most shipments to the US need no export declaration at all, but that exemption doesn't extend to every destination or every good.

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CAD $2,000+

General export declaration reporting threshold

B13A

Canadian Export Declaration form, where required

CERS

Canadian Export Reporting System, electronic filing

EIPA

Export and Import Permits Act — controlled goods

Threshold- and destination-dependent, not universal

Canada generally requires export reporting for commercial goods valued at CAD $2,000 or more leaving Canada for a destination other than the United States, filed electronically through the Canadian Export Reporting System (CERS) — historically on the paper form B13A, now largely superseded by CERS's electronic filing. Shipments to the United States are generally exempt from this reporting requirement regardless of value, which is the exemption exporters sometimes wrongly assume extends to shipments bound elsewhere.

Separately from the general export declaration, certain goods are controlled under the Export and Import Permits Act and require an export permit regardless of destination or value — this includes specific categories like certain dual-use technologies, defence-related items, and some goods subject to international sanctions regimes. Confirm whether your specific product falls under a controlled category before assuming the general declaration threshold is the only requirement.

A commercial invoice, packing list, and — where relevant — a Certificate of Origin (for a CPTPP or other preferential claim at destination) round out the baseline document set for a standard commercial air export from Canada.

Baseline export documents, shipment from Canada

Standard commercial shipment — controlled goods and specific destination requirements add to this list.

Commercial invoice

Transaction value, parties, and goods description.

Export declaration (CERS)Non-US destination, value ≥ CAD $2,000

Required for non-US destinations valued at CAD $2,000 or more.

Export permitControlled goods only — confirm applicability

Required for goods controlled under the Export and Import Permits Act, regardless of value or destination.

Certificate of Origin

Required only where the importer is claiming a preferential tariff rate at destination.

Air Waybill

The contract of carriage — prepared by UAL against the shipment's specific documentation.

CBSA / Global Affairs Canada Note

The US export declaration exemption doesn't extend to shipments bound for other destinations

Confirm the applicable reporting requirement based on the actual destination country, not based on general familiarity with the common US-shipment exemption — a shipment to an ASEAN or South Asian destination valued at CAD $2,000 or more generally needs a CERS declaration even though an equivalent US shipment wouldn't.

Source: Reporting of Exported Goods Regulations; Export and Import Permits Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. E-19); CBSA/Global Affairs Canada. Last verified July 2026.

Worked example

A worked example: Canadian goods exported to an ASEAN destination

Take a shipment of Canadian-origin goods valued at CAD $8,000 being exported from Toronto to Ho Chi Minh City.

Because the destination isn't the United States and the value exceeds the CAD $2,000 threshold, a CERS export declaration is required before the shipment can be exported — UAL confirms this filing is completed rather than assuming the shipment is exempt the way a comparable US-bound shipment would be.

UAL also confirms the goods aren't subject to export permit control under the Export and Import Permits Act before booking — a step that applies independent of the value-based CERS threshold and needs to be checked on its own terms.

What UAL confirms before an outbound export

We confirm the applicable CERS reporting requirement based on actual value and destination, and flag any Export and Import Permits Act control question before booking, so the export isn't held at the point of departure over a missing declaration or permit.

CERS reporting threshold verification per shipment

Export permit control screening

Frequently asked questions

Per shipment, generally — confirm the specific current threshold and any aggregation rule directly with CBSA/Global Affairs Canada if your export pattern involves frequent smaller shipments to the same destination, since reporting rules can be sensitive to how shipments are structured.

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Export Documentation Checklist (ASEAN/South Asia Origin)

CBSA Import Requirements for Air Freight

HS Code Classification: How to Find the Right Code

Source: Reporting of Exported Goods Regulations; Export and Import Permits Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. E-19). Last verified July 2026.