Canadian Trailer Pre-Clearance program

*for more information regarding trailer manufacturing please contact Transport Canada:

Information Centre, Motor Vehicle Safety
Transport Canada / Government of Canada
[email protected]
Tel: 1-800-333-0371 / TTY: 1-888-675-6863

Transport Canada has a new pre-clearance program for trailers brought into Canada.  Importers have to be distributors in Canada of the OEM, they have to meet the obligations of other government departments and they have to be using the NVIS as the only titling document for pre-clearance. Here is the full list of requirements for phase one of the trailer pre-clearance review:

The two registration documents, i.e. the Foreign Manufacturers Registration Form and the Canadian Importer Registration Form (these are the same documents requested in item 1 of the pre-clearance application).

On the U.S. company letter head, confirmation of the company being named as their Designated Importer(DI), the date that the agreement goes into effect, confirmation that the DI will be responsible for all certification documents and compliance records and the issuance of Notice of Defect (recalls) on behalf of the OEM.

Authorization from the OEM directing Transport Canada to remove all current retail dealers associated with the manufacturer on Transport Canada's pre-clearance list and replacing them with the DI and detailing how the foreign manufacturer will advise their current pre-clearance companies of the change (dealer notification letter).

A list of the retail dealers to whom the DI will be distributing vehicles to in Canada

Confirmation that the DI (with their import business number) will appear as the importer and as the purchaser on all Customs documents including the Coding Form (B3), the Canada Customs invoice and the Vehicle Import Form, (Form 1).

A copy of the NVIS document that will be sent with each vehicle instead of US titling documents such as the MSO or the COO.

The name of the technical person employed with the DI that is responsible to ensure the compliance of the imported vehicles with all applicable aspects of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act."

The application forms can be found at: http://www.tc.gc.ca/wwwdocs/forms/13-0141_0712-02_bo.pdf for the importer and http://www.tc.gc.ca/wwwdocs/forms/13-0160_0712-02_bo.pdf for the manufacturer.

Trailer Guidance Document

NMMA has created a document to help guide trailer manufacturers selling in Canada. The document outlines the federal and provincial trailer regulations. To read this guidance document click here