Canada Border Services Agency · September 2026
Moving to Canada: the BSF186 (former B4) settlers' effects form
As of September 2026, household goods entering Canada with a new resident are declared on Form BSF186, the Personal Effects Accounting Document that replaced the B4, with BSF186A for goods that follow later. The rules live in CBSA Memorandum D2-2-1, Settlers' Effects. Goods must have been owned, possessed, and used before you arrive.
Call +1 (866) 961-9682Settlers' effects is the customs term for the contents of your home when you move to Canada to live. Furniture, clothing, books, tools of a hobby, and a car you already own can enter free of duty and tax under tariff item 9807.00.00 if they were yours and in use before the move. A new sofa bought the week before the flight is not a settler's effect.
You declare at the first port of entry, in person, with two lists: what is with you and what is coming later by container. The officer stamps BSF186 for the goods with you and BSF186A for the goods to follow. The stamped copy is what the ocean mover's customs broker needs when the container lands. Losing it is the expensive mistake.
Goods declared as settlers' effects cannot be sold or given away for twelve months after import without paying the duty and tax that were waived. Alcohol and tobacco have their own limits and are not free. A vehicle needs Transport Canada's Registrar of Imported Vehicles as well as CBSA.
This is an official-source note. We do not fill in the form and we will not predict what an officer decides at the booth.
Official source: Canada Border Services Agency.
What you do this week
- Write the two lists: goods with you and goods to follow. Serial numbers for electronics, make and model for appliances, a value for each line.
- Print BSF186 and BSF186A from the CBSA site and fill them before the flight or the border.
- Ask the international mover which broker clears the container and send them a copy of the stamped forms the day you get them.
- Read D2-2-1 for the twelve-month no-sale rule before you plan to sell the car on arrival.
More notes: official notes hub.
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