Importing a vehicle

There are certain requirements that must be met before a vehicle can be imported into Canada from the United States. For full details on these requirements, you should check with:

• Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV)
• Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
• Transport Canada

Before you buy

Before buying a vehicle from the United States, check the vehicle’s status with CARFAX. CARFAX is an American company that provides vehicle history reports. The Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) uses CARFAX reports to check on the status of American vehicles.

To determine if the vehicle is eligible to be registered in Saskatchewan, SGI uses the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) you provide to check for any VIN status reported through RIV.

How a vehicle status affects registration

A vehicle status means the vehicle has been given a specific classification, with rebuilt, stolen, non-repairable or total loss being the most common. If no special circumstance applies, then the vehicle will not have a status.

If your imported vehicle is found to have a certain VIN status, SGI may not register the vehicle.

For example, a vehicle with a “salvage” status can be registered in Saskatchewan, provided the vehicle passes the required inspections. However, some states may report a “salvage” status differently. For example, some states report a "salvage" status as a "junk" status, whereas other states might report "junk/non-repairable" or "salvage/repairable."

RIV considers a "junk" status as "non-repairable." As a result, Saskatchewan and other Canadian jurisdictions will refuse to register a vehicle with such a status. In addition, if there is any mention of flood damage in the vehicle’s history (even if the vehicle has been repaired and registered since) it will prevent registration in Canada.

In most cases, as long as the VIN does not have either a "junk" or "non-repairable" status, Saskatchewan will likely allow registration. However, we do reserve the right to revoke a registration or require further inspections if information on a vehicle’s condition is brought to our attention at a later date.

Contesting a vehicle status

If your vehicle is unable to be registered due to one of the statuses listed above, follow these steps:

1. Contact the state Department of Motor Vehicles that applied the status and get it in writing that the vehicle is repairable.
2. Advise CARFAX to change the incorrect status on the vehicle so the RIV status can be updated.

Then, once all CBSA and Transport Canada requirements have been met to bring the vehicle in to Canada, you will be able to register the vehicle in Saskatchewan, provided it passes federal and Saskatchewan inspection requirements.

Please note: Provinces, states and CARFAX are under no obligation to change any record they have for a particular vehicle.