File Canada-bound cargo with CBSA in minutes. Full ACI compliance covering conveyance, cargo, and crew — with PARS integration built in.
ACI — Advance Commercial Information — is the Canada Border Services Agency program that handles electronic pre-arrival reporting for commercial trucks entering Canada. Highway carriers crossing from the US or Mexico are required to file an ACI eManifest at least one hour before arrival at the Canadian land border. The manifest reports both conveyance data (truck, trailer, driver, port of entry) and cargo data (commodity, weight, shipper, consignee, PARS barcode) so CBSA officers can pre-screen the shipment before the truck reaches the booth.
Carriers can file ACI manifests directly through CBSA's free eManifest Portal, or through certified third-party software like BorderPro. The portal works for occasional filings, but most multi-truck operations move to software once volume grows — software supports saved profiles, preflight validation, batch filing, automated Cargo Control Number (CCN) generation, and integrated PARS tracking so dispatchers know the moment a broker releases the load. BorderPro is built for highway carriers: every workflow assumes a truck crossing a land border.
If you also run southbound lanes into the United States, the equivalent US filing is called ACE eManifest — BorderPro handles both from the same dashboard. For deeper background on the cargo release documents that move alongside ACI, see our guides on PARS barcode specs and CBSA CARM.
Built to meet all CBSA eManifest requirements. Validation rules are updated whenever CBSA changes its specs.
Report both cargo and conveyance data in one workflow. Crew information and equipment details are saved to profiles.
Link your ACI cargo to PARS barcodes automatically. Track broker release status alongside your manifest in one dashboard.
Generate and email driver lead sheets the moment CBSA confirms acceptance. Drivers never have to wait on paperwork.
From conveyance entry to CBSA confirmation in four steps.
Add your carrier code, equipment, driver details, and port of entry. Saved conveyance profiles speed up repeat trips.
Enter cargo details, PARS barcodes, consignee information, and commodity data. Import from CSV for large loads.
Transmit with one click. CBSA returns a Cargo Control Number (CCN) confirming receipt. Status updates arrive in real time.
Monitor broker release status directly in BorderPro. Get notified the moment your cargo clears CBSA review.
ACI features designed for Canadian cross-border operations.
Cargo Control Numbers are generated automatically on submission, formatted to CBSA standards — no manual entry.
Full commodity-level cargo reporting including description, weight, quantity, and shipper/consignee data.
Save truck, trailer, and driver profiles so conveyance data populates automatically on every new manifest.
Submit corrections to CBSA at any point before arrival. Amendment history is fully tracked and auditable.
Add multiple cargo segments to a single conveyance — perfect for LTL loads with several different consignees.
Attach BOLs, commercial invoices, and permits to any manifest. Retrieved instantly if CBSA requests documentation.
A quick disambiguation for carriers researching the Canadian side.
When carriers in North America talk about "Canadian eManifest", "CBSA eManifest", or "e-manifest Canada", they are almost always referring to the same thing: the ACI (Advance Commercial Information) eManifest required by CBSA for highway carriers entering Canada. The naming inconsistency exists because:
All four terms point to the same filing: cargo and conveyance data submitted to CBSA at least one hour before a commercial truck reaches the Canadian border. BorderPro is a certified third-party filer for this flow and handles ACE (US) from the same dashboard, so cross-border round-trip lanes only need one tool.
CBSA enforces ACI through AMPS — per-incident penalties for late, missing, or inaccurate filings.
AMPS — the Administrative Monetary Penalty System — is how CBSA enforces ACI. Each contravention has its own code and base penalty amount, and the amount escalates if a carrier accumulates repeat offences within a defined look-back window. A single missed or late manifest can cost more than a full year of BorderPro filings — see the ACI eManifest price breakdown for context.
Common AMPS triggers carriers should design around:
BorderPro's preflight validation, ETA countdown, and amend workflow are designed to eliminate the operational gaps that cause AMPS hits. See the AMPS penalties guide and AMPS estimator.
Lane-specific guidance for the highest-volume US-to-Canada corridors.
ACI (Advance Commercial Information) eManifest is the electronic pre-arrival reporting program required by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for all commercial highway carriers importing goods into Canada. Carriers must report cargo and conveyance information before the shipment arrives at the Canadian border.
You can file ACI eManifests directly through CBSA's free eManifest Portal or through certified third-party software like BorderPro. Software speeds up filing with saved conveyance profiles, automated Cargo Control Number generation, PARS integration, and real-time CBSA status updates — useful once you're running more than a handful of trips per month.
ACI is the Canada Border Services Agency system for shipments entering Canada. ACE (Automated Commercial Environment) is the US Customs and Border Protection equivalent for shipments entering the United States. Carriers running cross-border lanes typically file both — ACI for northbound trips and ACE for southbound trips.
Yes. CBSA requires a valid carrier code to submit ACI eManifests. Canadian carriers typically use their CBSA-issued carrier code. US carriers must obtain a carrier code from CBSA before filing. Once your code is in your BorderPro carrier profile, it is applied to every manifest automatically.
CBSA requires highway carriers to transmit cargo information at least 1 hour before arrival at the Canadian border. Conveyance information must also be submitted within the same window. BorderPro's dashboard shows your estimated arrival time and flags any manifests not yet submitted with sufficient lead time.
PARS (Pre-Arrival Review System) is used for US-origin goods crossing into Canada; PAPS (Pre-Arrival Processing System) is the equivalent for Canadian-origin goods crossing into the US. ACI eManifest is associated with PARS — your broker uses the PARS barcode to release cargo before the truck arrives. BorderPro tracks both PARS and PAPS release status in real time.
Highway carriers entering Canada must submit conveyance data (truck, trailer, driver, port of entry) and cargo data (commodity description, weight, quantity, shipper, consignee, and PARS barcode) to CBSA at least one hour before arrival. Carriers also need a valid CBSA carrier code. BorderPro validates all required fields before transmission to prevent rejection at the border.
Yes. CBSA's free eManifest Portal accepts manual ACI filings one at a time. Carriers with regular volume typically move to software because the portal does not support saved conveyance profiles, batch filing, automated CCN generation, or integrated PARS tracking. Software also keeps an audit trail of every amendment which is useful during CBSA audits.
The CBSA eManifest Portal is the free web interface where carriers can manually file ACI eManifests one at a time. It supports conveyance, cargo, and crew reporting, but doesn't include saved profiles, batch filing, automated CCN generation, or PARS tracking. Carriers running regular volume typically move to certified software like BorderPro.
Login requires a GCKey or sign-in partner credential plus an active CBSA carrier code on file. If you file through BorderPro, you don't log in to the CBSA portal directly — BorderPro is a certified third-party filer and transmits manifests on your behalf using the same official CBSA channel.
AMPS (Administrative Monetary Penalty System) is CBSA's framework for issuing per-incident penalties when ACI is filed late, is missing data, or contains inaccurate cargo or conveyance information. Per-incident amounts depend on the violation contravention code and the carrier's compliance history — repeat offenders escalate. See our AMPS guide and AMPS estimator.
Yes. When Canadians say "eManifest" for trucking, they almost always mean ACI eManifest — the highway-carrier filing required by CBSA before a commercial truck arrives at the Canadian border. CBSA also runs eManifest programs for rail and marine, but the highway flow is the most common reference.
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