How to Start Transmitting Pre-Arrival Information Through the CBSA eManifest Portal in Canada

eManifest is the Canada Border Services Agency's (CBSA) system for getting cargo and conveyance information electronically before commercial goods arrive in Canada, so the CBSA can risk-assess shipments while they are still en route. Electronic Commerce Client Requirements Document — Chapter 8: Advance Commercial Information (ACI)/eManifest Portal - House Bills states that eManifest is the third phase of the Advance Commercial Information (ACI) program, and that it requires carriers and freight forwarders in all modes of transportation (air, marine, highway, and rail) to electronically transmit advance commercial information within prescribed mode-specific time frames. The eManifest Portal is one way to send that information: eManifest Portal states it is an option developed by the CBSA to allow the trade community to electronically transmit pre-arrival information through the Internet, developed primarily for small- to medium-sized businesses to ease the transition from paper reporting to pre-arrival electronic data transmission.

This guide is about that commercial process only. It is not the traveller process: CBSA Advance Declaration in ArriveCAN, covered in the Related guides below, is a traveller submitting a customs and immigration declaration before flying into Canada. It is not trusted-trader membership: the Partners in Protection program, also in the Related guides, is a security-membership program with its own portal and site validation. And it is not a career guide: becoming a border services officer is a separate hiring process. If you move commercial goods into Canada as a carrier or freight forwarder, this is your process; if you are travelling yourself, or importing a single personal shipment, start with the Related guides instead and confirm who holds the transmission duty for your goods.

Work through the sections in order. Section 1 decides whether the Portal is even your transmission route, section 2 gets you the two credentials you cannot transmit without, and section 4 sets the deadline that governs every shipment after that.

1. Confirm you are the transmitter, and which route you transmit on

Transmission duty sits with carriers and freight forwarders, not with importers or with the people who only view data in the Portal. Electronic Commerce Client Requirements Document — Chapter 8: Advance Commercial Information (ACI)/eManifest Portal - House Bills states that freight forwarders are responsible for electronically submitting all applicable data within the time frames in the Reporting of Imported Goods Regulations, and that carriers who meet the regulatory definition of a freight forwarder may also transmit electronic house bill data and are liable for the data provided. eManifest Portal states the Portal is available for highway carriers and freight forwarders to transmit pre-arrival data, and that warehouse operators and brokers have access to view data they have received from the CBSA.

The route depends on your mode and your document:

• Highway carrier. Transmit through the Portal: highway cargo and conveyance documents, described in section 5. You may also transmit by EDI or through a service provider, and still use a Portal account to view status.
• Freight forwarder, any mode. Transmit house bills and Close Messages through the Portal, or by EDI. The Portal was designed for this: the ECCRD chapter states the Portal is designed for freight forwarders, or carriers acting as a freight forwarder, to submit pre-arrival secondary cargo data, send House bill Manifest Forwards, and receive Manifest Forwards from other trade chain partners.
• Air, rail, or marine carrier. Transmit your own cargo and conveyance data by EDI, after applying and completing CBSA testing, as stated in Air, rail carriers and freight forwarders for air and rail and in Memorandum D3-5-1 - Marine Pre-load/Pre-arrival and Reporting Requirements for marine, which states carriers must transmit data using the CBSA's EDI systems. Use the Portal to view the status of documents submitted electronically, including documents submitted through a service provider or EDI. The exception is the flying truck, where air cargo moves on a highway conveyance: the highway FAQ states air carriers are treated as highway carriers in the Portal in that scenario and can only submit Highway Conveyance Documents.
• Broker or warehouse operator. View-only in the Portal. Do not plan to transmit cargo or conveyance data through a Portal Business Account under a broker or warehouse identity; if your business also acts as a carrier or freight forwarder, that is the identity and code the transmission runs under.
• Importer. Not the Portal transmitter. Your carrier or freight forwarder transmits the pre-arrival data, and your broker handles release and accounting separately. Before the first shipment, get in writing from your carrier or freight forwarder who transmits what, and by which deadline in section 4.

If you are a one-person carrier or a small freight forwarder doing a handful of crossings a week, the Portal is built for you: the Portal page states it was developed primarily for small- to medium-sized businesses. If you transmit hundreds of documents an hour, the 200-per-hour Portal limit in section 5 will push you to EDI or a service provider instead.

2. Get a carrier code and a Shared Secret before you touch the Portal

You cannot create a Portal Business Account without two things: a valid client identifier and a Shared Secret. eManifest Portal states the Business Account is set up by an authorized representative called an Account Owner, who will need a valid client identifier and Shared Secret. For highway carriers and freight forwarders the client identifier is a carrier code, a four-digit unique identifier assigned by the CBSA to a carrier, on the same page. The generic itinerant highway carrier code 77YY was eliminated on March 31, 2011, and all highway carriers must have a valid, CBSA-issued carrier code, on the same page: do not plan around 77YY.

How you get the Shared Secret depends on whether you already hold a code. eManifest Portal: Apply for a shared secret states that carriers and freight forwarders applying for a code can also apply for a Shared Secret through the CARM Client Portal from within the Carrier and Freight forwarder program enrolment process. If you already hold a valid code, the same page states you will not be required to reapply, but you must onboard on the CARM Client Portal and link your CARM Portal Account to your existing code before submitting your request to Commercial Operations Integrated Support (COIS), and existing carriers and freight forwarders apply by a signed letter request on company letterhead, sent by email as a PDF to carrier-cargo@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca, containing the company legal name, code, contact name, title, phone number, email address, official mailing address, and the signature of an authorized representative. The information on the request must match the company contact data in CBSA records, on the same page, so check your CBSA record with COIS before sending a letter that will bounce on a mismatched contact name.

Treat the Shared Secret as perishable. eManifest Portal states a Shared Secret is a temporary access code the CBSA issues to businesses that request access to the Portal, that it must be used within 90 days of the issue date, and that only the CBSA and the authorized representative of the company have access to it. The freight forwarder FAQ adds the failure mode: after five unsuccessful attempts to create a Business Account, the Shared Secret expires and a new one must be requested, as stated in eManifest Portal - Frequently Asked Questions: Freight Forwarders. Apply for the Shared Secret when you are ready to create the Business Account in section 3, not months ahead, and keep the emailed secret where only the authorized representative can reach it.

One more prerequisite check before you apply: bonded or non-bonded status. Air, rail carriers and freight forwarders states the first step in applying for a carrier or freight forwarder code is to determine whether you need a non-bonded or bonded code, that non-bonded carriers must have all shipments released at the first port of arrival, and that bonded carriers may transport in-bond goods beyond the first port of arrival and must post financial security. No bond dollar amount is carried in this guide: the amounts on that page depend on the mode and operation applied for, so read the bond section of that page for your own operation before you apply. If every shipment you move will be released at the first port of arrival, the non-bonded route is the one to confirm; if any shipment moves inland in bond, resolve bonding first, because the code application follows that decision.

3. Set up sign-in, a User Account, and the Business Account

Every person who works in the Portal needs two layers: a Government of Canada credential to sign in, and a Portal User Account. eManifest Portal states each person who works in the Portal must first set up a Portal User Account, providing information such as name, email address, and telephone number. eManifest Portal - Frequently Asked Questions: Highway Carriers states all Portal users must have a credential with either Sign-In Partner or GCKey.

Choose one credential and stay with it. The highway FAQ states Sign-In Partner lets you log in using your established online banking credential with a participating financial institution, while GCKey is a government-issued credential using a user ID, password, and password recovery questions, created on the Government of Canada GCKey site. The same FAQ recommends against alternating credentials, because the Government of Canada service only knows you by the last credential used, and logging in with a different credential offers a transfer or a new User Account instead of your existing one. Pick the credential the person who will be Account Owner can reliably keep, and use it for every sign-in.

Create the accounts in this order:

1. Sign in with your credential and create a Portal User Account. The highway FAQ states that once you have logged in with your credential and accepted the Portal Terms and Conditions, you may create a User Account, and you will be given a User Reference Number (URN). The URN is a system-generated number uniquely associated with your User Account, used by the Account Owner to assign you a role, and usable as identification when contacting the Technical Commercial Client Unit (TCCU). Find it under My Profile, in the confirmation email, and in the upper right corner once logged in, on the same page. Every staff member who will touch the Portal creates their own User Account and gives the Account Owner their URN, family name, and email address.
2. The authorized representative creates the Business Account and becomes Account Owner. eManifest Portal - Frequently Asked Questions: Freight Forwarders states that to create a Business Account you select Create Business Account, enter your Client Identifier (carrier code), select Business Type as Freight Forwarder, enter the Shared Secret, and submit; then enter the Account Owner information, review the business information the CBSA has on file, and select Continue if it is accurate. There is only one Account Owner per Business Account. If the CBSA-held business information is inaccurate, select Request Update and provide the corrected information: updates do not take effect immediately, and an email will be sent once the CBSA has made the changes, on the same page.
3. The Account Owner assigns roles. The freight forwarder FAQ states there are four user roles: Account Owner, Proxy Account Owner, Account User, and Account Browser, and only the Account Owner and Proxy Account Owner can create, submit, edit, or save a Trade Document, while an Account Browser can search and view but cannot create or submit one. Give dispatch staff Account User, give a second-in-command Proxy Account Owner so one absence does not strand submissions, and give view-only staff Account Browser. There is no limit on the number of users you may add to a Business Account, on the same page.

Two housekeeping rules will bite if you ignore them. First, the Portal logs you out after 20 minutes of inactivity and all unsaved data will be lost, as stated in the highway FAQ: save drafts (section 5) rather than leaving a half-finished document open. Second, a Business Account in which no associated user has logged in for two years becomes inactive, and a new Shared Secret must be requested to reactivate it, as stated in the freight forwarder FAQ. Log in regularly even in a quiet season, and keep the Account Owner role assigned to a person still with the business: transferring Account Owner rights requires the Company Contact to contact the TCCU with the new Account Owner's URN, on the same page.

Check your computer before the first sign-in. eManifest Portal states Portal users need internet access and a supported browser: Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox, with Transport Layer Security encryption, cookies enabled, and JavaScript enabled. Other browsers may work but may not have been fully tested with CBSA sign-in services, on the same page. If sign-in fails, try a listed browser before assuming the credential is wrong.

4. Know your mode deadline, and treat it as a validation deadline

The deadline is not when you start typing: the data must be received and validated by the CBSA within the prescribed time frame for the mode. Electronic Commerce Client Requirements Document — Chapter 8: Advance Commercial Information (ACI)/eManifest Portal - House Bills states house bills and Close Messages may be submitted up to 90 days in advance, and gives this chart of time frames for providing electronic advance trade data based on mode:

• Marine: 24 hours prior to loading or arrival depending on the type and the origin of goods.
• Air: 4 hours prior to arrival or at time of departure.
• Rail: 2 hours prior to arrival.
• Highway: 1 hour prior to arrival.

The carrier-side pages state the same deadlines in carrier terms. Highway mode: Transmit electronic commercial data states that in highway mode you must send the ACI at least 1 hour prior to arrival at a port of entry so the CBSA can validate the data, and if you do not, you may face delays and a monetary penalty. Air, rail carriers and freight forwarders states air carriers must transmit air cargo and conveyance data four hours prior to arrival in Canada or at time of departure if the flight is less than four hours, and rail carriers must have cargo and conveyance data received and validated a minimum of two hours before the conveyance arrives at the border.

Marine is the mode where the single-line chart is not enough. The marine chart line says 24 hours prior to loading or arrival depending on type and origin, but Memorandum D3-5-1 - Marine Pre-load/Pre-arrival and Reporting Requirements states time frames are based on the type of cargo and routing, and refers readers to Appendix A for the complete list. Appendix A, on the same page, separates conveyance transmissions from cargo transmissions and separates cargo loaded outside the United States from cargo loaded in the United States: for example, containerized cargo loaded outside the United States is 24 hours before loading, conveyances with containerized cargo loaded outside the United States are 96 hours before arrival, and empty marine containers loaded outside the United States are 96 hours before arrival, while United States-loaded empty containers are 4 hours before arrival. If your shipment moves by water, find your exact row in Appendix A — cargo type, conveyance versus cargo transmission, and load country — before the vessel loads, and do not plan from the 24-hour shorthand alone. Marine data may be transmitted up to 30 days in advance of the prescribed time frames, on the same page, so early transmission is available when the sailing schedule allows it.

Build your internal cutoff earlier than the CBSA deadline. Transmissions can be rejected for validation reasons, and a rejected document does not count as validated data on file. For highway work, send corrections as soon as you become aware of them, as the highway page requires, and remember that changes do not restart the highway clock: only cancelling and resubmitting restarts it, as stated in Highway mode: Transmit electronic commercial data. A correction sent 30 minutes before arrival that is itself rejected leaves you past the deadline with no validated data, so treat the CBSA deadline as the last acceptable validation time, not the time to start.

5. Create and submit the Trade Document for your role

What you submit, and in what order, depends on whether you are transmitting as a highway carrier or as a freight forwarder. Submit all information in English or French, as the ECCRD chapter requires, and use clear, detailed commodity descriptions: the highway page warns the CBSA may use AMPS penalties for unclear descriptions of cargo, among other incorrect or incomplete data.

Highway carriers: cargo first, then conveyance. eManifest Portal - Frequently Asked Questions: Highway Carriers states the Portal has three Trade Document types for highway carriers: a Highway Cargo Document, also known as a Cargo Control Document and identified by a Cargo Control Number (CCN), representing the initial record of a shipment; a Highway Conveyance Document, identified by a Conveyance Reference Number (CRN), providing information about the vehicle; and a Combined Highway Document merging both into a single document for easier data entry, split by the CBSA system into separate documents on submission. Use a Combined Highway Document only if there is one CRN, one CCN (one consignee and one shipper), and cargo located in the tractor, trailer, or container; anything else requires separate cargo and conveyance documents, on the same page. If you are not using a Combined document, your Highway Cargo Documents must be in Accepted status before submitting a Highway Conveyance Document, unless it is an empty conveyance or only carrying goods qualifying as an exception, or the conveyance document will be rejected, on the same page. Link cargo documents to the conveyance document by entering their CCNs in the tractor or trailer tab, depending on where the cargo is located.

Freight forwarders: house bill first, then Close Message. eManifest Portal - Frequently Asked Questions: Freight Forwarders states the Portal has two Trade Document types for freight forwarders: a House bill, the initial record of a shipment that will arrive in Canada, identified by a Cargo Control Number (CCN); and a Close Message, linking various house bills together, identified by a Close Message Number (CMN). Your house bills must be in Accepted status before submitting the associated Close Message, or the Close Message will be rejected, on the same page. A Close Message may link no more than 999 house bills, as stated in the ECCRD chapter. Link house bills to the Close Message by entering their CCNs manually or selecting from unassociated house bills submitted under your carrier code, on the same FAQ page. If other trade chain partners need the house bill data, send a Manifest Forward: identify recipients as Secondary Notify Parties by business type and client identifier, up to 99 SNP IDs per house bill, on the same page. A freight forwarder must be bonded to submit a consolidated house bill, as stated in the ECCRD chapter: confirm your bonded status before submitting a consolidated house bill, and note the non-bonded exception on that page for house bills destined inland where the previous CCN was submitted by a bonded carrier or freight forwarder to the same location.

Creating, drafting, and fixing documents. In either role, create a Trade Document from the Trade Documents tab by selecting Create Trade Document, or from the Show Trade Documents Shortcuts sidebar, as stated in both FAQ pages. Save unfinished work as a draft with Save and Finish Later: you may save up to 100 Draft Documents per Business Account, on the same pages. Do not have two users work on the same Trade Document at the same time, as only one user's data can be saved or submitted, on the same pages. To fix a submitted document, select its document number and Edit Document to submit a Change or an Amendment, or Cancel Submission to cancel it; cancelling cancels all submitted documents of the same type sharing that document number, on the same pages. A rejected submission keeps the previously Accepted version in process until you correct and resubmit, on the same pages, so read the rejection reason in the Status History before changing anything. House bill numbers (CCNs) must not be duplicated for a three-year period plus the current year, as stated in the ECCRD chapter: if a CCN must change before arrival, cancel and resubmit the house bill. For the full list of data elements on each Trade Document screen, consult the ECCRD chapters linked below (Chapter 7 for highway, Chapter 8 for house bills) rather than guessing at a field: this guide does not reproduce the field lists.

Volume and visibility limits. A maximum of 200 Trade Documents per hour can be submitted through the Portal per Business Account, as stated in both FAQ pages. If you regularly approach that rate, move to EDI or a service provider. Documents submitted through EDI or a service provider are still visible in the Portal for viewing, changing, amending, cancelling, and verifying status, on the same pages, so the Portal remains your status check even when it is not your transmission route. Release documents are not viewable in the Portal, and Release Notification System messages cannot be viewed there, on the same pages: do not expect the Portal to confirm release.

6. After transmitting: confirm status, present the lead sheet, and keep your own records

Transmission is only done when the CBSA has accepted it. eManifest Portal lists verifying the status of trade data, confirming receipt, and receiving notifications among the Portal's functions. Check the Status column on the Submitted Documents sub-tab, and select a status to view its Status History and details, as described in the freight forwarder FAQ. Accepted means the Trade Document passed validation checks and was accepted by the CBSA; Rejected means it was rejected with a reason provided, on the same page. Do not dispatch a highway truck on a Submitted or Updating status: wait for Accepted, and correct and resubmit a Rejected document before the mode deadline in section 4.

At the border, highway carriers present the lead sheet. eManifest Portal - Frequently Asked Questions: Highway Carriers states the lead sheet carries a machine-readable bar code to help the CBSA retrieve the advance information, and recommends printing the Portal-generated lead sheet once the Highway Conveyance Document has reached Accepted status. After arrival, print or download the Section 12(1) Report from the Trade Document Status History as proof the goods have been reported, on the same page. Note that transmitting ACI data is the pre-arrival step, and arrival reporting is a further step: in marine mode, the Conveyance Arrival Certification Message must be transmitted on arrival at the First Port of Arrival through EDI, in addition to the pre-arrival data, as stated in Memorandum D3-5-1 - Marine Pre-load/Pre-arrival and Reporting Requirements. Confirm the arrival-reporting step for your mode in the mode memorandum linked below before the first crossing; this guide does not state the air and rail arrival-message windows, because they were not verified on the pages.

Keep your own records from day one. Both FAQ pages state submitted documents move to the Historical list 24 hours after reaching a terminal status and remain there approximately 60 days, and that you are responsible for keeping records and should print or download Submitted Documents as needed because the Portal is not to be used as a record-keeping tool. Save the Accepted document, the lead sheet, and the Section 12(1) Report into your own shipment file, under your own retention schedule, and do not rely on the Portal Historical list as your archive.

If the Portal is down, do not wait it out at the deadline. Both FAQ pages state that in the event of a Portal outage, users should refer to the System Outage Contingency Plan page on the CBSA website, and contact the Technical Commercial Client Unit (TCCU) if a system or procedural problem is discovered, with contact information on the eManifest Portal - Help and Support page. The ECCRD chapter gives the TCCU phone number as 1-888-957-7224 for calls within Canada and the United States, and 1-613-946-0762 for overseas callers. Keep the contingency plan and the TCCU contact details printed where dispatch can reach them without the Portal, and follow the plan rather than improvising a paper submission: paper processes are the exception the Portal was built to replace, and the contingency plan, not habit, governs an outage.

Figures this guide does not state

No fee for using the eManifest Portal, no AMPS penalty dollar amount, and no processing turnaround for a carrier code or Shared Secret application is stated in this guide, because none was stated on the official pages. No field-by-field list of data elements for any Trade Document is reproduced, because the authoritative lists are in the ECCRD chapters and their appendices, linked below. No air or rail arrival-message window is stated, because the arrival-message rules verified on the pages cover the marine Conveyance Arrival Certification Message only. No marine timeframe beyond the ECCRD house bill line and the Appendix A rows summarized in section 4 is stated as a single figure: marine time frames depend on cargo type, transmission type, and load country, so check your row in Appendix A of Memorandum D3-5-1 before loading. Check the Portal, Help and Support, and mode pages linked below before your first transmission, since the CBSA states Portal content is subject to revision and notifies clients of major changes through System Messages in the Portal.

Related guides:

• How to Start a Trucking Company in Canada — setting up the highway carrier business itself; this guide assumes the carrier already exists and covers only the pre-arrival transmission
• How to Import and Export Goods in Canada — the wider import and export process around a shipment; this guide covers only the carrier and freight forwarder pre-arrival transmission, and the Portal does not support export activity
• How to Become a Licensed Customs Broker in Canada — the broker role, which is view-only in the eManifest Portal; brokers handle release and accounting separately from the pre-arrival transmission
• How to Start Applying for the CBSA Trusted Trader (Partners in Protection) Program in Canada — the separate Trusted Trader membership program with its own portal; eManifest transmission is a shipment-by-shipment obligation, not a membership
• How to Start Using CBSA Advance Declaration in Canada — the traveller declaration in ArriveCAN; a different CBSA system for people arriving by air, not for commercial cargo and conveyances

Sources

• Canada Border Services Agency, eManifest Portal — what the Portal is, who transmits and who views only, Business and User Accounts, the four-digit carrier code, the 90-day Shared Secret, browser and technical requirements, and the Portal's status and notification functions
• Canada Border Services Agency, eManifest Portal - Frequently Asked Questions: Highway Carriers — GCKey and Sign-In Partner credentials, User Reference Numbers, the four user roles, the 20-minute logout, the three highway Trade Document types and their sequence, drafts, the 200-per-hour limit, lead sheets, Section 12(1) Reports, and the outage contingency reference
• Canada Border Services Agency, eManifest Portal - Frequently Asked Questions: Freight Forwarders — freight forwarder Business Account creation, the five-attempt Shared Secret expiry, the two-year inactivity rule, house bill and Close Message types and sequence, Manifest Forwards and Secondary Notify Parties, drafts, statuses, and the 200-per-hour limit
• Canada Border Services Agency, eManifest Portal: Apply for a shared secret — Shared Secret applications through CARM enrolment for new code applicants and by signed letter for existing code holders, for highway carriers, freight forwarders, warehouse operators, and customs brokers
• Canada Border Services Agency, Electronic Commerce Client Requirements Document — Chapter 8: Advance Commercial Information (ACI)/eManifest Portal - House Bills — eManifest as the third phase of ACI, the mode time frame chart for house bills and Close Messages, the 90-day advance submission window, the 999 house bill Close Message limit, the three-year CCN rule, the bonded consolidation rule, no export support, and TCCU contact details
• Canada Border Services Agency, Highway mode: Transmit electronic commercial data — true, accurate, and complete highway ACI, AMPS penalties for incorrect or late data, corrections as soon as known, the cancel-and-resubmit clock rule, the 1-hour highway deadline, and the post-arrival BSF673 form
• Canada Border Services Agency, Air, rail carriers and freight forwarders — bonded and non-bonded carrier and freight forwarder codes through the CARM Client Portal, the air 4-hour and rail 2-hour deadlines, and the EDI application and testing phase
• Canada Border Services Agency, Memorandum D3-5-1 - Marine Pre-load/Pre-arrival and Reporting Requirements — marine cargo and conveyance time frames by cargo type and routing, Appendix A pre-arrival time frames, EDI transmission for marine carriers, the 30-day advance window, and the Conveyance Arrival Certification Message on arrival
• Canada Border Services Agency, eManifest Portal - Help and Support — the Quick Reference Guide, glossary, Terms and Conditions, and the highway and freight forwarder ECCRD chapters and FAQ links
• Canada Border Services Agency, Cargo and warehouse business requirements — the requirement for carriers and freight forwarders to enrol for a carrier code, and EDI and eManifest Portal as the two submission routes