Crossing into Canada: PARS, PAPS and the one-hour rule

Notes from the yard — published September 3, 2026 by the dispatch desk at Long Road Transportation.

Two systems, one trip

Every land crossing runs on an electronic manifest filed by the carrier before arrival. Which system depends on the direction of travel, and a round trip out of Puget Sound touches both.

ACE is the U.S. system, filed with CBP for anything moving into the United States. ACI eManifest is the Canadian equivalent, filed with CBSA for anything moving north. The manifest is the carrier's document. The customs entry beside it is the broker's.

PARS and PAPS are barcodes, not filings

This is where most shippers get lost, because the two acronyms look interchangeable and are not.

A PARS number is a barcode on a Canada-bound shipment. The carrier puts it on the invoice and the ACI eManifest; the Canadian broker uses it to file the entry with CBSA before the truck arrives, so the driver gets a release rather than an inspection bay.

A PAPS number does the same job southbound into the United States: it goes on the ACE manifest and the commercial invoice, and it is the common thread CBP uses to tie the manifest, the entry and the physical truck together at the booth.

The one-hour rule is the whole game

Both the manifest and the broker's entry have to be on file at least one hour before the driver reaches the primary booth. Not one hour before the appointment, and not one hour before the truck leaves — one hour before it is physically at the crossing.

That single rule is what dictates the schedule on a northbound load. A container pulled from Husky at 09:00 does not cross at noon unless the broker had the package that morning. When a customer sends the commercial invoice late, the truck stages instead of crossing, and the day is gone.

• Commercial invoice with correct values, weights and country of origin.
• Bill of lading and the PARS or PAPS barcode, matching what the broker filed.
• Broker name and contact — a barcode with no broker behind it is an inspection, not a release.
• For duty-unpaid freight crossing the U.S., the in-bond entry under a carrier's bond.

The crossings we actually use

From Seattle and Tacoma the practical routes north are the Pacific Highway commercial crossing at Blaine, with Sumas as the alternative when Blaine is backed up or when the destination sits east of the Fraser Valley. Both are roughly two and a half to three hours from our Kent warehouse on I-5, before any wait at the line.

Because we run our own tractors and chassis, a container that clears late still moves the same night rather than waiting on somebody else's power. Freight continuing past the border rides our long-haul fleet rather than being handed off.

Questions we get asked

What is the difference between PARS and PAPS?

PARS is the barcode used for shipments entering Canada, filed against an ACI eManifest with CBSA. PAPS is the equivalent for shipments entering the United States, filed against an ACE manifest with CBP. Same idea, opposite directions.

How early does the paperwork have to be filed?

The carrier's eManifest and the broker's entry both have to be on file at least one hour before the truck arrives at the border. Anything later and the driver is sent to secondary.

Do you haul in-bond freight across the border?

Yes. Cargo that crosses U.S. territory and exits to Canada moves on a Transportation and Exportation entry under our custodial bond.

Read next

• In-bond freight: IT, T&E and IE, and who carries the liability
• Oversize in Washington: what triggers a permit, and what triggers escorts

Long Road Transportation is an asset-based carrier operating its own trucks, chassis and heavy-haul equipment out of Kent and Tacoma, Washington. USDOT 3388302, MC 113242, SCAC LRDP.