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Home > Guides > Self-clear a package at CBSA
Yes. When a courier like UPS, FedEx, or DHL brings a parcel into Canada, you can clear it yourself at a CBSA inland office and pay only the government duty and tax, skipping the courier's brokerage fee entirely. One honest note up front: this guide is about inbound courier shipments, which LetterAgent cannot help with; our labels are Canada-only Canada Post Xpresspost for outbound parcels up to 5 kg.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1. Do not pay the courier yet | When tracking shows the parcel is held for clearance, or the driver arrives with a brokerage bill, decline to pay. This is your window to self-clear. |
| 2. Tell the carrier you want to self-clear | Call the courier and say you will clear the shipment yourself. Ask them to send you the commercial invoice and the cargo control document or waybill number. |
| 3. Visit a CBSA inland office | Bring the carrier's documents, your tracking number, and government ID. Go to an inland office that handles casual imports, not the airport passenger hall. |
| 4. Pay only duty and tax | The officer assesses what the government is owed. You pay by cash, debit, or card and receive a stamped B15, the casual goods accounting document. |
| 5. Send the B15 back to the carrier | Email or fax the stamped B15 to the courier's brokerage desk. They release the parcel for delivery with no brokerage charge. |
Self-clearing applies to courier shipments: UPS, FedEx, DHL, and similar. Those companies act as your customs broker by default and charge for the privilege, which is exactly the fee you are avoiding. What you cannot self-clear this way is anything in the postal stream: a parcel that came through USPS and Canada Post is cleared by CBSA agents working with Canada Post for a small handling fee, and there is no separate broker to cut out.
There is also a practical limit. Self-clearing means a trip to a CBSA office during business hours, which might be across town. On a low-value parcel where the brokerage fee is small, the drive can cost you more in time than it saves. The math gets compelling on higher-value shipments, where brokerage fees scale with the value and the government charges stay the same either way.
Timing matters most. Tell the carrier you want to self-clear before they complete the clearance themselves; once they have acted as your broker and paid the government on your behalf, unwinding it is much harder. If a driver shows up with a bill, you can refuse the delivery and start the self-clear process, though that adds days.
Paperwork matters second. The carrier is required to give you the documents for your own shipment, but front-line phone agents do not always know the self-clear procedure, so be politely persistent and ask for the brokerage or customs department if needed. Keep copies of everything: the invoice, the waybill, and the stamped B15. If the carrier later claims the fee anyway, the B15 is your proof that you cleared it yourself.
And know the edge cases. Some goods need permits or inspections beyond a simple B15: food, plants, and certain electronics can involve other agencies. If the officer at the counter flags your item, that is not a failure of the process; it means your parcel genuinely needs the extra step.
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