Traveling into the United States From Canada at Land Borders

Travelers may bring the following types of fresh (chilled, frozen), cooked, cured, or dried meats from Canada: beef, bison, veal, sheep (lamb, mutton), goat, swine, and camelid. Travelers may also bring personal-use amounts of foods containing beef, veal, or bison. There is a limit of 50 pounds of meat per traveler.

Travelers may also bring personal-use amounts of cervid meat (deer, elk, moose, caribou), including hunter-harvested cervid meat, provided they present the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer with evidence that the product is cervid meat, such as a valid hunting license, commercially prepared labels found on unopened packages, or other official documents. Hunter-harvested meat is not subject to the 50-pound limit, but allowable amounts are determined based on the hunting license.

Before you travel, be sure to check for any temporary restrictions. APHIS may implement temporary restrictions when certain avian diseases are present in North America. 

In the absence of temporary restrictions, travelers may bring back personal-use amounts of poultry meat from Canada. 

There is a limit of 50 pounds of meat per traveler. Hunter-harvested meat is not subject to the 50-pound limit, but allowable amounts are determined based on the hunting license.

Travelers may bring back milk and other dairy products from Canada with proof of Canadian origin, such as a package label, written documentation, proof of travel (passport or travel itinerary), origin of flight, sales receipt, or a certificate.

Before you travel, be sure to check for any temporary restrictions. APHIS may implement temporary restrictions when certain avian diseases are present in North America. 

In the absence of temporary restrictions, travelers may bring back personal-use amounts of eggs or egg products from Canada.

• The items must be in unopened retail packaging.
• If the items are raw (not shelf-stable without refrigeration), dehydrated, freeze-dried, or sun-dried, then the items must be labeled as a product of Canada or the U.S.
• Before you travel, be sure to check for any temporary restrictions. APHIS may implement temporary restrictions when certain livestock or poultry diseases are present in North America. 

Trophies from Canada may enter with documentation that proves country of origin, including a bill of lading; certificate of origin; invoice; document on official letterhead prepared by the manufacturer, seller, outfitter, Provincial government, Tribal Nation, or shipper; or an official certificate issued by a veterinarian representing the Canadian national government certifying the country of origin. The trophies must be fully finished or receive special processing upon entry. 

Learn More About Trophies and Approved Establishments

You may bring live plants produced in Canada to the United States if they meet the following conditions:

• You have a phytosanitary certificate from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
• You have an import permit for plants that are designated as restricted or prohibited. These plants may potentially pose a threat to the health of U.S. agriculture.
• Your plants are bare rooted or in an approved growing medium. 
• Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists at the U.S. port of entry determine that the plants are free of pests and diseases and meet all entry requirements.

Plants that are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) may require special documentation. Call USDA’s Plant Import Information Line at 877-770-5990 (toll free) or email us at plantproducts.permits@usda.gov for more information about bringing plants into the United States, and about importing plants that are not produced in Canada.

Because all imports of seeds for planting that are produced in Canada require some form of documentation, we strongly suggest that you buy your seeds in the United States. If you want to transport seeds from Canada into the United States, you will need to present either a phytosanitary certificate from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency or a Small Lots of Seeds permit issued by APHIS.

Some seeds require other kinds of permits or documentation. Call USDA’s Plant Import Information Line at 877-770-5990 (toll free) or email us at plantproducts.permits@usda.gov for more information about bringing seeds into the United States, and about importing seeds that are not produced in Canada.

USDA defines cut flowers as the fresh, cut portion of a plant that is imported for decoration or ornamentation. Common additions to cut flower bouquets such as most ferns, baby’s breath, and many ornamental grasses produced in Canada are generally admissible.

Generally, you can bring cut flowers from Canada into the United States if they meet the following conditions:

• Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists at the U.S. port of entry determine that the flowers are free of pests and diseases and meet all entry requirements. Some flowers that are not produced in Canada may have to meet special requirements.
• The flowers are not mixed with prohibited plant materials. These materials require permits that are granted only under extremely limited circumstances.

To determine the entry status of other plant materials, and for more information about entry or permit requirements, call USDA’s Plant Import Information Line at 877-770-5990 (toll free) or email us at plantproducts.permits@usda.gov.

Due to the risk of transporting forest pests from Canada to the United States, travelers cannot bring cut conifer trees, such as Christmas trees (white pine, Scotch pine, Scots pine, fir, spruce, hemlock, and Douglas fir) across the border. Requirements for boughs, wreaths, or garlands can vary greatly, depending on the Canadian province of origin. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists at the U.S. port of entry will determine whether the greenery or plant material is free of pests and diseases and meets all entry requirements.

Call USDA’s Plant Import Information Line at 877-770-5990 (toll free) or email us at plantproducts.permits@usda.gov for more information about entry status or permit requirements.

Travelers crossing a land border into the United States may bring, for personal consumption, some (but not all) fresh fruits and vegetables that were grown on a commercial orchard or farm in Canada, if all the conditions below are met and confirmed by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists at the border:

• Produce is free of soil, pests, and diseases.
• Produce variety is not listed as prohibited.
• Traveler has sufficient documentation to clearly demonstrate that the item(s) was grown in Canada and not just sold there. Sufficient documentation includes sales receipts and individual stickers on produce or fruit and vegetable bags commercially labeled as “Produce of Canada”. For produce purchased at a commercial pick-your-own farm, you must have a dated receipt showing the farm’s name and address.
• Traveler is entering the United States during the Canadian growing season (May 1–October 31) if produce is field grown. Field-grown produce presented for inspection before or after that date range may be refused entry. However, fresh cucumbers, eggplant, lettuce, squash, and strawberries commercially labeled as greenhouse grown in Canada may enter the United States year-round. Sea buckthorn berries may also enter year-round.

Travelers may not bring U.S.-grown produce they previously took into Canada back across the border unless the items are whole and still in their original packaging. Any item listed as prohibited—such as citrus, tomatoes, or peppers—even if U.S.-grown, may not re-enter the United States.

Homegrown or backyard-grown fruits and vegetables (as well as any produce lacking a commercial label) grown in Canada are, in general, prohibited entry into the United States, because in almost all cases there is no way to prove that the produce was actually grown and harvested in Canada.

Exception: Homegrown fruits/vegetables of nonprohibited fruits and vegetables may be allowed entry if the gardener arranges and pays for an onsite inspection of their garden or orchard by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). CFIA may then issue the travelling gardener a phytosanitary certificate certifying that the produce was grown and harvested in Canada. For more information, contact the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Most fruits and vegetables grown in Canada that were commercially dried are allowed entry into the United States. All such products must be declared and presented at entry, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists will make the final determination as to what products may enter.

Travelers may bring certain commercially packaged frozen fruits and vegetables grown in Canada if the product does not contain any meat products and is frozen solid (that is, 20 degrees Fahrenheit or -6.6 degrees Celsius) when presented for entry at the border. However, most produce varieties listed above as prohibited when fresh (allium, citrus, peppers, tomatoes, etc.) are also prohibited when frozen. All such products must be declared and presented at entry, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists will make the final determination as to what products may enter.

Travelers may bring commercially canned fruits and vegetables (not containing any meat products) into the United States. All such products must be declared and presented at entry, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists will make the final determination as to what products may enter.