CARM
CARM (CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management) is the Canada Border Services Agency's system for assessing and collecting duties and taxes on imports. Since its transition period ended in May 2025, importers must post their own financial security to get goods released before paying.
CARM became the CBSA's system of record for commercial imports on October 21, 2024. It replaced the old model in which a customs broker's bond covered its clients: under CARM, each importer registers in the CARM Client Portal, and to use Release Prior to Payment, the normal electronic release at the border, it must post its own financial security. The transition period for posting that security ended on May 20, 2025.
The required security is based on the importer's highest monthly amount owed to the CBSA over the previous 12 months. A written security agreement must cover 50 percent of that amount, with a CAD 5,000 minimum, and the CBSA recalculates it every year.
What this means when you move freight
An importer without security posted in CARM cannot get release before paying duties and taxes, which slows clearance at the border. When a U.S. or Mexican broker takes on Canada-bound freight for a new customer, ask whether the importer is registered in CARM and enrolled in Release Prior to Payment before quoting a transit time.
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