How to Fill Out and Submit the Canada Declaration Form (E311)

The Canada declaration form E311 is the customs card every traveler entering Canada must complete, listing who you are, where you came from, and what you’re bringing with you. Airlines, rail operators, and some bus services hand it out before you reach the border, and you can also complete the same declaration at an airport kiosk or through the ArriveCAN app. Everyone entering Canada fills one out, regardless of citizenship, residency, or length of stay.¹

What the Card Asks You to Fill In

The E311 is a single card with four parts. Knowing the layout before it’s handed to you on a bumpy descent makes the whole thing faster.

Part A: Who You Are and How You’re Arriving

Part A covers up to four people living at the same home address. For each person you write last name, first name, initials, date of birth in year-month-day format, and citizenship. Below that goes one shared home address: street number, city, province or state, country, and postal or zip code.¹

The travel section asks how you’re arriving (air, rail, marine, or highway), your airline and flight number or vessel name, and the purpose of your trip (study, personal, or business). You also mark where you’re arriving from: the U.S. only, another country directly, or another country via the U.S. That routing question matters because it affects which customs exemptions apply.

The Yes-or-No Declaration Block

The core of the card is a set of yes-or-no checkboxes. You must indicate whether anyone on the card is bringing any of the following into Canada:¹

Firearms or weapons, including switchblades, mace, and pepper spray.
Commercial goods: anything intended for sale, plus samples, tools, and equipment for business use.
Food, plants, and animals: meat, fish, seafood, eggs, dairy, fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, plants, flowers, wood, animals, birds, insects, and any parts or by-products of these.
Currency or monetary instruments totaling CAN$10,000 or more.
Cannabis or goods containing cannabis.

Two further questions ask whether you have unaccompanied goods (items shipped separately that haven’t arrived yet) and whether you’ve visited a farm and will be visiting one in Canada. The farm question helps CBSA screen for soil-borne diseases and invasive species.

Parts B, C, and D: Visitor, Resident, and Signature

Part B is for visitors. It asks how many days you’ll stay in Canada and whether anyone on the card exceeds the duty-free allowance. Part C is for Canadian residents returning home: the date you left Canada and the total value of goods you purchased or received abroad, including gifts, alcohol, and tobacco. Part D is the signature block. Everyone on the card aged 16 or older signs and dates it.¹

Filling Out the Paper Card Without Mistakes

Use a pen, not a pencil. Write your name exactly as it appears on your passport or travel document. Even a middle-initial mismatch can trigger extra questions. For the home address, use your permanent residence, not a hotel where you happen to be staying. One card covers a family of four or fewer at the same address; families of five or more need a second card for the remaining members.

The date format catches many travelers off guard. Canada uses year-month-day, so January 15, 1990 is written 90-01-15. Flight numbers should include the airline code (for example, AC 845, not just 845). Picking the wrong option on “arriving from” is another common mistake. If you flew from London but connected through Chicago, you’d check “other country via U.S.” rather than “U.S. only.”

When in doubt on any yes-or-no question, check yes. Declaring something you didn’t need to declare costs a few extra minutes at the booth. Failing to declare something you should have can cost you the item, a penalty, or worse.²

Kiosks and ArriveCAN as Alternatives

At major Canadian airports, self-service kiosks have largely replaced the paper card. You select your language, scan your passport, take a photograph, verify fingerprints if prompted (only for certain foreign nationals and permanent residents), then answer the same declaration questions that appear on the paper E311. The kiosk prints a thermal receipt that replaces your handwritten card for the rest of the border crossing. You still hand this receipt to a CBSA officer before leaving the customs hall.³

The ArriveCAN app lets you submit the same customs and immigration declaration up to 72 hours before your flight lands at a participating airport. If you don’t confirm your declaration at a kiosk or eGate within 72 hours of submitting it, it expires and you’ll need to start over.⁴ Participating airports include Vancouver, Toronto Pearson, Montréal-Trudeau, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Halifax, Québec City, and Billy Bishop Toronto City.⁵

What You Actually Have to Declare

Food, Plants, and Animals

Canada takes biosecurity seriously. You must declare any meat (raw or cooked), fish, dairy, eggs, fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, plants, flowers, wood products, and live animals, including pets. Less obvious items also trigger the requirement: homemade articles made from plant materials, hiking boots with soil on them, fishing bait, and firewood.⁶ Declaring an item doesn’t automatically mean it will be confiscated. A CBSA officer decides whether it poses a risk. But a forgotten apple in your bag can bring a penalty, so check yes if there’s any chance you’re carrying food.

Currency of CAN$10,000 or More

If you’re carrying CAN$10,000 or more in currency or monetary instruments (traveler’s cheques, money orders, stocks, bonds, or similar), you must check yes and report the amount to a border officer. The threshold applies to the combined total for your travel group, not per person, and equals CAN$10,000 or its equivalent in foreign currency at the Bank of Canada’s exchange rate at the time of entry.⁷

Carrying large amounts of cash is not illegal. Failing to report it is. If CBSA discovers unreported currency, the money is seized and a penalty is calculated as a percentage of its value. For a first offense without concealment, the penalty is 5% of the seized amount up to a maximum of $2,500. Concealment or a false statement raises it to 25%. Using a hidden compartment in a vehicle, or having a previous seizure involving concealment, pushes the penalty to 50% of the total.⁸

Firearms and Weapons

Every firearm must be declared to a border officer on arrival. The officer will verify that you have a valid reason for bringing it in, check that it’s stored properly for transport, and review your documentation. Undeclared firearms can be seized, and you may face criminal charges or monetary penalties on top of the seizure.⁹ The same checkbox covers non-firearm weapons like switchblades, mace, and pepper spray. Items that are legal to carry in some countries are prohibited or restricted in Canada, so check yes if you have any doubt.

Cannabis

Despite being legal within Canada, cannabis is illegal to bring across the border in either direction. If a CBSA officer finds undeclared cannabis, it can be confiscated and you may face a penalty of up to $2,000. The amount depends on whether you failed to declare it, provided inaccurate information, or actively concealed it, plus your history of past infractions. A cannabis penalty can also cost you your NEXUS or FAST trusted-traveller membership.¹⁰

Prescription Medications

You can bring prescription drugs into Canada for personal use, within limits. For standard prescriptions, the allowed quantity is one course of treatment or a 90-day supply based on the dosage directions, whichever is less. For narcotics and controlled substances, the cap drops to a 30-day supply or a single course of treatment, whichever is less. Keep medications in the original pharmacy packaging with the label showing the product name and contents.

Commercial Goods

Anything you’re bringing for sale, distribution, or business use, including samples, tools, and equipment, must be declared. These items may need additional permits and will be assessed separately from personal goods.

Duty-Free Allowances

Alcohol and Tobacco

If you’ve been away from Canada for 48 hours or more, you can bring in one of the following amounts of alcohol free of duty and taxes. Not all three, just one:¹¹

Wine: up to 1.5 litres.
Spirits: up to 1.14 litres.
Beer or ale: up to 8.5 litres.

Tobacco allowances after 48 hours abroad are more generous. You can bring all of the following: 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, 200 grams of manufactured tobacco, and 200 tobacco sticks. Products without a “DUTY PAID CANADA DROIT ACQUITTÉ” stamp may only qualify for a partial exemption and can attract a special duty.¹²

Personal Exemptions for Returning Residents

Returning Canadian residents get a personal goods exemption that scales with how long they were away:

Under 24 hours: no exemption at all.
24 to 48 hours: up to CAN$200 in goods, with alcohol and tobacco excluded. If your goods exceed $200, you pay full duty on the entire amount, not just the overage.
48 hours or more: up to CAN$800, including alcohol and tobacco within the limits above.
7 days or more: the same CAN$800 limit, but non-alcohol and non-tobacco goods can follow you by mail or courier rather than being in your luggage at the border.

Anything over your exemption is assessed at regular rates, including duties, federal and provincial taxes, and any applicable surtaxes.¹²

Visitors

Visitors don’t get a personal exemption in the same way returning residents do. Personal effects you’ll use during your trip and take home with you (clothing, cameras, laptops, sports equipment) generally enter duty-free as temporary imports. Part B asks visitors whether they exceed the duty-free allowance and how long they’ll stay. If you’re bringing gifts for someone in Canada worth more than CAN$60, duty applies to the excess amount.¹³

Handing It Over at the Border

Whether you completed a paper card, used a kiosk, or submitted through ArriveCAN, the final step is the same. You hand your card or receipt to a CBSA officer at a primary inspection booth. The officer reviews what you’ve declared and may ask a few questions: how long you’re staying, what you purchased abroad, or where you’ve traveled recently. Most encounters last under a minute.

If the officer wants a closer look, you’ll be directed to secondary inspection. Secondary can involve a bag search, a review of receipts, or questions about specific items. The process moves faster when your declaration is complete and legible.

Penalties for a False or Incomplete Declaration

CBSA has broad authority to seize goods that aren’t properly declared. If you don’t declare, or declare inaccurately, you may lose the items permanently or have to pay a penalty to get them back.²

Making a false or deceptive statement on any declaration, paper or digital, is an offense under the Customs Act. On summary conviction, the maximum fine is $50,000 with up to six months’ imprisonment. If prosecuted as an indictable offense, the maximum rises to $500,000 and up to five years.¹⁴

Misrepresentation on immigration questions carries its own consequence. Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, a person found to have misrepresented or withheld material facts is inadmissible to Canada for five years following the determination.¹⁵

The practical takeaway is straightforward. Declare everything, even items you think are allowed. Over-declaring costs a few extra minutes. Under-declaring can follow you for years.

1
Canada Border Services Agency. E311 – Declaration Card
2
Travel.gc.ca. Be Sure . . . Declare Everything
3
Canada Border Services Agency. Declare Your Travel Information at an Airport Kiosk or eGate
4
Canada.ca. How to Submit Your Advance Declaration
5
Government of Canada. Use Advance Declaration to Save Time at the Border
6
Canada Border Services Agency. Bringing Food, Plant and Animal Products Into Canada
7
Canada Border Services Agency. Memorandum D19-14-1 – Cross-Border Currency and Monetary Instruments Reporting
8
Justice Laws Website. Cross-Border Currency and Monetary Instruments Reporting Regulations – Section 18
9
Canada Border Services Agency. Firearms and Weapons – Canadian Border Requirements
10
Canada Border Services Agency. Penalties for Cannabis-Related Offences
11
Canada Border Services Agency. Travellers – Alcohol and Tobacco Limits
12
Travel.gc.ca. Personal Exemptions Mini Guide
13
Canada Border Services Agency. Importing by Mail or Courier – Determining Duty and Taxes Owed
14
Justice Laws Website. Customs Act RSC 1985 c 1 2nd Supp
15
Justice Laws Website. Immigration and Refugee Protection Act SC 2001 c 27 – Section 40