PARS and PAPS explained for Saskatchewan shippers

If you ship across the border more than once, you will hear the words PARS and PAPS a lot. They are simply the two pre-arrival review systems the Canadian and U.S. border agencies use to clear commercial freight before the truck shows up.

PARS: northbound into Canada

PARS stands for Pre-Arrival Review System and belongs to the Canada Border Services Agency. Before a truck carrying your goods reaches North Portal, your customs broker files the entry electronically and attaches it to a barcoded PARS label on the paperwork. When the driver hands over the documents, the officer scans the barcode, sees the entry has already been reviewed, and releases the load.

PAPS: southbound into the U.S.

PAPS is the U.S. Customs and Border Protection equivalent, the Pre-Arrival Processing System. Same idea, opposite direction: the broker files ahead, the carrier transmits an ACE e-manifest, and the shipment is matched to the truck before it arrives at Portal, ND.

What you actually have to do

Very little, if your carrier and broker talk to each other. For every cross-border shipment we need:

• A commercial invoice with the shipper, consignee, description, quantity, value and country of origin.
• Your customs broker's name (or let us introduce you to one).
• Anything unusual about the goods: used equipment, food, wood packaging, controlled items.

We label the paperwork, transmit the e-manifest and check with the broker that the entry is accepted before the truck leaves Estevan. If something is missing we call you from Estevan, not from the border.

Why it matters

A truck with a rejected or missing entry gets sent to the secondary lot and waits until the broker fixes it. On a scheduled run that means every other shipper's freight waits too. Getting the paperwork right the day before is the single biggest thing you can do to keep your freight moving.