How to Register and Use the CARM Client Portal in Canada

Registration in the CARM Client Portal is mandatory for every business that imports commercial goods into Canada, and it is done by an employee of the importer, not by a customs broker. To register, you sign in to the portal with a GCKey or Sign-In Partner credential, create a personal profile, then link that profile to your business by entering your nine-digit Business Number (BN9), your RM program account, and specific dollar figures from a recent Statement of Account or Daily Notice. The first person to complete this becomes the Business Account Manager for the company.¹

Who Must Register

Any business importing commercial goods into Canada needs an active portal account. That covers Canadian resident importers, non-resident importers operating from abroad, and customs brokers and trade consultants who represent clients before the CBSA.¹

The CARM transition measures have ended. The 180-day grace period for importers to post their own Release Prior to Payment security closed on May 20, 2025, and amendments to Section 17 of the Customs Act took effect on January 1, 2026.² A business that fails to register or comply can be hit with graduated Administrative Monetary Penalties, and repeat contraventions carry higher fines each time.³

Non-resident importers acting as the importer of record have one extra step in front of registration: they need a BN9 from the Canada Revenue Agency first. Trying to register without one triggers an error that only the CARM Client Support Helpdesk can clear. And the registration itself must be done by an employee of the importer designated as the Business Account Manager; a broker or third-party agent cannot do it for you.¹

What to Have Ready

Have the following on hand before you start. A mismatch between what you enter and what the CRA has on file will cause registration to fail, so verify your legal name, address, and BN9 against your CRA records first.

Your Business Number (BN9). Most new resident businesses can obtain one during portal registration, but non-resident businesses and certain entity types like trusts must register with the CRA in advance.¹
Your Import/Export Program Account (RM), the six-digit identifier such as RM0001 issued when you enrol in a CBSA commercial program.
A recent Statement of Account or Daily Notice. The portal asks for exact dollar amounts from these records to confirm you have authorized access to the business account.⁴
A sign-in credential. Either a GCKey (a Government of Canada username and password) or a Sign-In Partner credential that uses your existing Canadian online banking login. Whichever you choose, use the same one every time.⁵

The Registration Steps

Registration runs in two stages. First you create a personal profile, then you link it to your business.

Go to the CARM Client Portal login page and sign in with GCKey or a Sign-In Partner. On your first visit, the system walks you through creating a personal user profile automatically.⁶
Choose your path. If nobody from your company has registered yet, you register the business. If someone has, you request access to your employer’s existing business account.¹
Enter your BN9 and any RM program account numbers to link your profile to the business.
Answer the security questions. The portal asks for specific financial figures: a past duties and taxes payment amount with transaction number, a payment amount on a particular date, or a Statement of Account balance on a particular date. Keep your Daily Notice or Statement of Account in front of you.⁴
Accept the terms and conditions covering data accuracy and security responsibilities.

Whoever registers a business first automatically becomes its Business Account Manager (BAM), the highest-authority role in the system.¹ You cannot skip or reassign this during setup. When the dashboard loads with your business account linked, registration is done.

Assigning Roles and Authorizing a Broker

Once you are in as BAM, you decide who else gets access and at what level. The portal has four internal roles: Business Account Manager (full access across the business and all its program accounts), Program Account Manager (full access to one specific program account), Editor (operational tasks such as payments, rulings, and declarations, but no user management), and Reader (view-only). Every business needs at least one BAM, and designating a second is worth doing for redundancy.⁷ Employees get roles by first creating their own personal profiles, then requesting access to the business account for the BAM to approve.

Paper powers of attorney no longer authorize a customs broker to act for you. Authority must be delegated digitally inside the portal. The broker sends a relationship request from their own account; you receive it in your notification center, review the permissions requested, and accept or decline.⁷

Two relationship types are available. A Business Management relationship lets the broker view and edit information across the entire business account. A Program Management relationship limits the broker’s access to specific trade programs and transaction filings. You choose which fits. Without a digital delegation in place, the system blocks a broker from acting on your behalf.⁷

Posting Financial Security for Release Prior to Payment

Release Prior to Payment (RPP) lets you take possession of imported goods before you pay the duties and taxes owed on them. To qualify, you must post financial security through the portal.⁸ Skip this and you pay all duties and taxes at a CBSA office before your goods are released at the border.⁹

The system calculates how much security you need based on your import value over the previous 12 months. New importers with no transaction history see a calculated requirement of $0.00. Two bond options are available.¹⁰

A cash bond covers 100% of the calculated requirement with no minimum. You pay directly through the portal by debit or credit card. Credit card payments are capped at $4,999.99 per program account per billing cycle.
A non-cash bond (surety) covers 50% of the calculated requirement with a $5,000 minimum, which the system doubles to reach the full security amount. You arrange the bond with an approved surety provider outside the portal, then enter the surety details in the system. Maximum required security is $10 million.

To enrol, go to your Program Account Profile, open the Sub-Programs tab, and select “Enrol in a sub-program” then “Release Prior to Payment (RPP).” The prompts walk you through adding your bond type and either completing payment or entering surety details.¹⁰

Filing Declarations, Corrections, and Adjustments

The Commercial Accounting Declaration (CAD) is the digital document that replaced the paper B3 (Customs Coding) and B2 (Request for Adjustment) forms. Instead of separate filings for the original and any changes, the CAD uses version management: one document of record carrying its full history of corrections and adjustments.¹¹

A CAD must be accepted by the CARM system within five business days of the CBSA releasing the goods. That count excludes Saturdays, Sundays, federal statutory holidays, and provincial civic holidays.¹² Duties and taxes are calculated automatically from the tariff classification, value, and origin information you enter, then posted to your accounts receivable sub-ledger.

Changes made before the payment due date are corrections. They are interest-free, auto-approved, and create a new version of the CAD. You can modify invoice details, tariff classification, value for currency conversion, or tariff treatment. At least one reason code is required, and up to three can be provided.¹³

Changes made after the payment due date are adjustments. They may incur interest and require CBSA approval before taking effect; the duty and tax amounts shown after saving are not final until the CBSA processes the request.¹³ The transaction number from the original filing carries through every version.

Paying the CBSA

The financial dashboard shows your current balance, transaction history, Statement of Account, and CBSA invoices in real time. Only post-launch transactions appear; older records from the pre-CARM system are not visible.¹⁴

You can pay through the portal by credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), debit card (Visa Debit or Debit Mastercard), or pre-authorized debit. Credit cards are limited to $4,999.99 per billing cycle per program account. Debit cards have no CBSA-imposed limit.¹⁵

The payment due date falls 10 weekdays (holidays included) after the 17th of each month. Miss it and the CBSA’s collections process starts with a late payment penalty and collection letters, followed by notifications in your portal account. If the balance stays unpaid for 30 days, the CBSA issues a notice of arrears and transfers the account to the Canada Revenue Agency for further collection, which can complicate your wider tax relationship with the government.¹⁵

1
Canada Border Services Agency. Get started with CARM
2
Canada Border Services Agency. Customs Notice CARM October Implementation – Transition Measures
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Canada Border Services Agency. Memorandum D22-1-1 Implementing the Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS)
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Canada Border Services Agency. CARM Assess and Pay Duties and Taxes on Imported Commercial Goods
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Canada Border Services Agency. Access the CARM Client Portal
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Canada Border Services Agency. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – CARM
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Canada Border Services Agency. User Guide – Delegation of Authority in the CARM Client Portal
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Canada Border Services Agency. CARM Features and Benefits
9
Government of Canada. Extension to Submit Financial Security During CARM Transition Period Ends on May 20
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Canada Border Services Agency. User Guide – Post Financial Security for Release Prior to Payment (RPP) Privileges
11
PCB. CARM B3 and B2 Will Be Replaced by CAD
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Canada Border Services Agency. Memorandum D17-1-5 Accounting for Commercial Goods
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Canada Border Services Agency. User Guide – Request a Correction of a Commercial Accounting Declaration
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Canada Border Services Agency. Financial Information, Payment Processing and Tariff Tools in the CARM Client Portal
15
Canada Border Services Agency. Commercial Import Payments Duties, Taxes and Other Customs Dues