Entering the U.S. from Canada by Car: Documents and Declarations

Entering the U.S. from Canada by car means arriving at the port of entry with three things ready: a document that proves both your identity and your citizenship, papers for the vehicle, and an honest accounting of what’s inside it. The exact document depends on your nationality, and the rules for children, pets, and goods have their own quirks. Get any piece wrong and you’re looking at delays, fines, or a turnaround.

Travel Documents You Need at the Booth

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requires every traveler entering the U.S. by land to present a document establishing identity and citizenship. Saying you’re a citizen is not enough.¹

If You Are a U.S. Citizen

Any one of the following will get you through a land crossing:

A U.S. passport, or a U.S. passport card (the wallet-sized version, valid for land and sea only).
An enhanced driver’s license from a participating state.
A Trusted Traveler card: NEXUS, SENTRI, or FAST.
A U.S. military ID with official orders, a Merchant Mariner document on official business, or a Form I-872 American Indian Card.²

If You Are a Canadian Citizen

A valid Canadian passport, a provincial enhanced driver’s license, or a NEXUS card all work.¹ Canadians visiting the U.S. don’t need a visa for stays of up to six months and generally aren’t handed a paper I-94 at the land border. The CBP officer can still admit you for a shorter period, so ask how long you’re authorized to stay if it isn’t clear.

If You Are a Lawful Permanent Resident

Carry your Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551, the green card) or a reentry permit.³

If You Hold Another Nationality

Bring a valid passport and the appropriate nonimmigrant visa. Visa Waiver Program travelers need an approved ESTA before they arrive at the land border.⁴ Non-citizens crossing at a land port also need a Form I-94 arrival/departure record. The fee is $30 for fiscal year 2025 and rises annually with inflation.⁵ You can file the I-94 up to seven days before arrival through the CBP One mobile app, which saves time at the booth.⁶

Officers can ask non-citizens to show enough money for the trip or evidence of ties back home. A letter from a U.S. host offering to cover expenses can help, but it doesn’t guarantee admission.⁷

Crossing with Children

U.S. and Canadian children under 16 don’t need a passport at a land crossing. Proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, is enough, and the birth certificate can be an original, a photocopy, or a certified copy. Children under 19 traveling with a school, religious group, or other youth group get the same exception.²

If a child is traveling with only one parent, with a grandparent, or with any other adult who isn’t a parent or legal guardian, carry a signed consent letter from the absent parent. U.S. law doesn’t technically require one, but CBP officers routinely ask when the situation raises questions, and Canada requires one to leave the country.⁸ The letter should give the child’s name, the absent parent’s name and contact information, the accompanying adult’s name and relationship to the child, and the travel dates and destinations. Get it notarized and carry the original.⁹

What the Vehicle Needs

Three items for the car: current registration, proof of insurance valid in the U.S., and, if the vehicle isn’t yours, written permission from the owner to take it across.

The registration proves legal ownership. If the car is borrowed, leased, or rented, carry a letter from the owner or leasing company authorizing you to bring it into the United States. Major rental companies usually build this authorization into the agreement, but confirm before you leave the lot.

Insurance must cover you in the U.S. for the full length of the trip. Most Canadian insurers issue a Canadian Non-Resident Inter-Province Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance Card, which is what U.S. law enforcement wants to see if you’re stopped. Keep it with your other vehicle documents, not buried in luggage.

A Canadian-registered vehicle can stay in the U.S. for up to one year without formal importation, as long as it stays with the owner and is used only for personal purposes. Vehicles that don’t meet U.S. safety and emissions standards must leave by the twelve-month mark. No extensions.¹⁰

Declaring Goods and What You Can Bring

You must declare everything you’re bringing into the country. Honest declarations protect you. Undeclared items create problems even when the items themselves are legal.

Duty-Free Allowances

Returning U.S. residents who were out of the country for at least 48 hours qualify for the $800 personal exemption. Trips under 48 hours, or trips within 30 days of using a full exemption, drop the limit to $200.¹¹

Alcohol and tobacco have sub-limits. If you’re at least 21, you can bring back one liter of alcohol duty-free for personal use, provided it doesn’t violate the laws of the state where you enter. Tobacco is capped at 200 cigarettes and 100 cigars. Anything over these amounts is taxed even if you’re still under your overall dollar exemption.¹²

Family members traveling together can pool their $800 exemptions to cover a single higher-value item, say a $2,000 piece of art. They cannot combine the $200 exemptions.

Cash Over $10,000

Carrying more than $10,000 in cash or other monetary instruments? You must report it on FinCEN Form 105. The threshold applies to the combined total for a group or family traveling together, not per person. Failing to report the full amount can mean seizure of the entire sum.¹³

Food, Plants, and Soil

Declare all fruits, vegetables, meats, plants, seeds, and soil. Innocent-looking items can carry invasive pests or diseases. If you declare something and it turns out to be prohibited, the inspector takes it and you owe nothing. Fail to declare a prohibited item and the civil penalty for a first offense can reach $1,000 for personal quantities.¹⁴ Commercial quantities carry far steeper fines. The penalty is for not declaring, not for having the item, so there’s no upside to staying quiet.¹⁵

Firearms

Importing a firearm into the U.S. generally requires an approved ATF Form 6 import permit. Nonimmigrant visitors bringing in personally owned firearms temporarily use ATF Form 6NIA.¹⁶ One exception: bringing back a firearm you previously took out of the U.S., which you can establish to CBP without a new permit. Start the paperwork well before your trip; processing takes time.¹⁷

Cannabis

Bringing cannabis across the border in either direction is a federal crime. Full stop. Legality throughout Canada and in many U.S. states doesn’t change that. The border is federal jurisdiction and cannabis remains a controlled substance under federal law. This includes edibles, oils, and any THC product. Consequences can include vehicle seizure, criminal charges, fines, and, for non-citizens, permanent inadmissibility.

Prescription Medications

Keep prescriptions in their original, labeled containers. Importing drugs from abroad is generally illegal because foreign products may lack FDA approval, but the FDA uses discretion for personal supplies. Foreign nationals visiting the U.S. may bring a 90-day supply of personal medication. For U.S. residents bringing back medication purchased in Canada, the FDA may allow it in limited circumstances, particularly for serious conditions where no domestic treatment is available.¹⁸

Criminal Records Can Stop You at the Border

A criminal record can make you inadmissible no matter how clean your paperwork looks. CBP officers see criminal databases from both countries and will flag things you might not expect.

Under federal immigration law, a person is inadmissible if they’ve been convicted of, or admit to committing, a crime involving moral turpitude or any controlled substance offense.¹⁹ “Moral turpitude” is a vague concept but generally covers fraud, theft, or intent to cause serious harm. A standard DUI typically does not qualify, though an aggravated DUI may.²⁰ Any drug-related conviction, though, is a hard ground of inadmissibility with very limited exceptions.

Two or more convictions of any kind whose combined sentences totaled five years or more of confinement also render a person inadmissible.¹⁹ A narrow exception exists for a single offense committed under age 18 if more than five years have passed, or a single crime whose maximum possible penalty was a year or less and whose actual sentence was six months or less.

If you have any criminal history and aren’t a U.S. citizen, talk to an immigration attorney before you attempt the crossing. Being turned away at the booth creates problems that are harder to fix than addressing them beforehand.

What to Expect at the Port of Entry

You’ll pull into a primary inspection lane. Have travel documents, registration, and the insurance card within reach. The officer will ask about the citizenship of everyone in the vehicle, why you’re coming, and how long you’re staying. Answer directly. Declare everything you’re bringing in.

If you cross often, a NEXUS membership can cut the wait. NEXUS members use dedicated lanes because they’ve been pre-screened by both governments. Everyone in the vehicle must have a valid NEXUS card to use the lane.²¹ Enrollment is $120 for five years; children under 18 are free.²²

Sometimes the officer sends you to secondary inspection. That happens for many routine reasons: verifying a document, processing a detailed declaration, or random screening. Expect a closer look at your papers, belongings, and the vehicle. Stay calm and cooperative. Most secondary referrals wrap up without incident; they just take longer.

Wait times swing wildly by crossing, time of day, and day of week. CBP publishes real-time waits on its Border Wait Times site and through a free BWT app for iPhone and Android.²³ Checking before you leave can save hours on holiday weekends and summer Fridays.

Bringing Pets Across

Dogs come with the tightest rules. Every dog entering the U.S. must have a CDC Dog Import Form receipt, completed online before travel. For dogs that have been only in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S., the form is the only CDC paperwork required. It’s valid for six months and covers multiple entries as long as the departure country doesn’t change.²⁴

Every dog must be at least six months old, appear healthy on arrival, and have a microchip. Dogs that have been only in Canada aren’t required to show a rabies certificate, but dogs coming from or recently in other countries face much stricter documentation, including proof of a valid U.S.-issued rabies vaccination.²⁴

Pet birds from Canada need a health certificate endorsed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. No import permit is required for pet birds entering by land as long as the bird doesn’t originate from or pass through a region restricted for avian influenza.²⁵

1
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) Frequently Asked Questions
2
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
3
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Traveling Outside U.S. – Documents Needed for Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR)/Green Card Holders
4
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13
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14
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15
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16
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17
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18
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19
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20
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21
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22
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23
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24
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25
USDA APHIS. Import Restrictions on Canada Due to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza