Canada Post Online Customs Forms

[coolthings123]

I had a nice trip to the post office today to ship off a package with the accompanying Small Packet form that I have used countless times before.  The person at the counter said, oh, sorry, we don't take those anymore, you will have to do it all online.  I was handed a piece of paper with the information on how to do this (Good thing I own a computer).  I will no doubt draw the scorn of many younger individuals (including but not limited to my son, whose printer I had to use)  I guess I truly am a dinosaur.   Was this new innovation something dreamed up by Canada Post or was it foisted upon us by the US Government and the governments of other countries and meekly conceded to by us?   I don't currently have a working printer nor do I own a cell phone with which I can take photos of the "barcode" that Canada Post now requires.  I guess in reality it is not a big deal to get a new printer but I really don't want a cell phone.  Regardless, I can't be the only person in Canada who doesn't have a working printer, cellphone or even a computer for that matter.  I am sure there must be many folks, young and old, who send parcels, and for whom this new policy will be very inconvenient.  My guess, Canada Post doesn't care if they inconvenience their customers.  Is Canada Post going to reduce the cost of postage because we will now be required to perform the tasks which, frankly, used to be their job.   Just curious.   My rant for the day.  Happy New Year all.  

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@coolthings123 

2 Recent discussions on that topic attached. Unfortunately not all depots have been advised causing some confusion until everyone gets onboard.

https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/No-more-manual-small-packet-forms-starting-quot-December...

https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Listing-Tools/Requirements-for-International-Mail-Canada-Post-20...

To keep updated on changes like this you need to accept notifications in your Canadapost Small Business Account.

-Lotz

[strange*highways]

I just mailed two items the old fashioned way.

One small packet USA and one small packet air to the UK

I weighed , measured and put stamps on.

I then affixed a white CN22 filled out by hand and deposited them in a Red Mail Box.

I will now see what happens. Whether the get returned to me or delivered.

These were not eBay items they were items of clothing. Birthday Presents for two great nieces.

[femmefan1946]

 I had four packages that had to go to the PO yesterday.

Stamped and the two for the States had the usual label stuck on the back.

The postal clerk said nothing about online printing.

He only asked if they were gifts or goods. 

I had put the HS numbers on the label.

Most of yesterday's shipments just went into the mailbox outside, as did today's.

[darak10]

my understanding from what I've been told is that it was forced upon Canada Post upon a change in regulation by US customs dept.  They want to know electronically everything that is coming in to the US before its sent so they unilaterally forced the change on everyone.  It doesn't concern sending stuff anywhere else but the process has been changed for everyone in the process.  Its kind of a dumb system, instead of filling out a form and signing it, you have to fill it out online, get it sent to your email, they scan it there off your phone, print out a copy, you sign it, they stick it in an adhesive see thru plastic sleeve and stick it to the front of your small packet parcel.   Thats your postage. 

As I said in a previous post on this issue is going to confuse alot of people.  There was a lady who was all ready to ship her item off to England and I could see her deflate as the clerk explained the process to her.   Nightmare.  

Theres a couple oddities about the process, they need to know the value of the item to enter before they scan the item.  Got into an abbott and Costello whos on first runaround with the clerk the first time as I said the info is on the form, I don't have it, scan the bloody form.  Lucky I had access to it on my phone.  You'll need to bring your cell with you with email access as you can have the customs form emailed to you once you complete it.   Dont bother printing it out; it'll just confuse the clerks and they'll just reprint it anyways.  Let them scan it right off your phone. 

The advantage immediately is that you dont need to to an address label anymore, its printed out there on their form.  Just mark your packages to make sure you know which one is which and you are good to go.  

I decided to use the snafu time with this new process rollout to take a bunch to Chit Chats and try them out.  Theres only a drop off here in Edmonton but all of them are already in the states (mailed Monday, across and accepted by USPS in Great Falls tonite).  Really impressed so far.   Saving close to $3 per item and you get a tracking number.  If it works well, I'm going to switch completely to them for my US stuff.  

[fergua3]

i have encountered a significant error with the online customs form.

When shipping packages to the US, the auto fill US address fills in correctly.  BUT when I go to the next step to confirm the information, the state switches to MI (Michigan). regardless of what the correct state is.  This has now happened 4 times in a row.....once a couple of days ago and all 3 times today.

I tried filling in the form manually, without using the auto fill but the same thing happens, the state switches to MI every time.  And MI is the state that appears in the address, when the barcode is scanned at the PO, so it's not just a glitch with the web page. 

Fortunately it can be changed at the Post Office by the person processing your order.  So it's fixable , if you notice it.

Anyone else have this happen to them?

[ricarmic]

I sent several yesterday and all were all ok, I won't create more until tomorrow now, but I will keep an eye on them.

That is very bizarre, if you haven't already cleared your cache it might make sense to do so, it could be something do do with your machine?

[sheehan_1963]

I'm in the same situation! -  it's ridiculous - Also don't own  a cell phone - nor a printer! - so how am I supposed to do this! ... and you are right - with the salary the postal workers are paid! ... and they keep raising the cost of stamps ... but yet - now here we are doing part of THEIR job! ... frustrating! - I've had family members who worked @ Canada Post for years .. and I seriously think there were off on "sick leave" way more then they actually worked! ....  

[15westcoast]

I replied to an almost identical problem some time ago.  I fill out the small package form for

customs CN22 at home ( I asked for several from the postal outlet) and have used them to

ship items to the USA in the past month.  No problem !  The girl at the Postal Outlet told me that

the problem was with customers arriving to post a package to the USA and not having the form

filled out ahead of time--therefore creating a line up and work for the Postal Clerk.  Hence, the

request to fill the form out online.  It is not mandatory to do this.  Some postal outlets may have

misinterpreted the message.  Fill the form out correctly at home and you should have no problems.

Address of sender and receiver.

Value in Cnd dollars.  Description of item (keep it simple)  Gift or Sample ( your choice)   Sign and Date. That's it !

[15westcoast]

Hi,  There is an area on the CN22 that is to be filled in by the postal clerk prior to shipping.

which is the gray area at the top right of the form.

[magbloss]

What a nightmare!  I sell earrings on Etsy, and most of my customers are in the US. I had no problem with the old CN22 forms and always filled them out before going to the PO. Yesterday I did a trial run, trying to generate a customs form on-line.  First, I discovered I would need a scale to weigh my packages (I don't have one, so I just guessed the weight). I was surprised to see that my customer's postal code wasn't required, but her telephone number was!  (I made up the latter.) I do have a printer, but when I eventually managed to generate and print a Small Packet CN22 form, the 'square' barcode was incomplete -- cut off at the top and right hand side.  In other words, what I printed was unusable. Even if it had been usable, the sleeve in which it was supposed to be placed was too large for the padded envelopes I use. I noticed that it was possible to cancel the transaction and apply for a refund.  My 'new' CN22 form said Manifest Not Required, so when I went to apply for a refund I checked the 'cancel shipping label only' box. That got me nowhere.  After several failed attempts I clicked on the 'cancel entire manifest' box, and that worked -- a ticket was generated. I received an email to that effect, but 24 hours later CP still hasn't confirmed that it will refund my money.  Finally, I don't use a smart phone, so I don't have the option of using it to create a CN22 form and taking it to the PO for scanning.   

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

---

@magbloss wrote:

What a nightmare!  I sell earrings on Etsy, and most of my customers are in the US. I had no problem with the old CN22 forms and always filled them out before going to the PO. Yesterday I did a trial run, trying to generate a customs form on-line.  First, I discovered I would need a scale to weigh my packages (I don't have one, so I just guessed the weight). I was surprised to see that my customer's postal code wasn't required, but her telephone number was!  (I made up the latter.) I do have a printer, but when I eventually managed to generate and print a Small Packet CN22 form, the 'square' barcode was incomplete -- cut off at the top and right hand side.  In other words, what I printed was unusable. Even if it had been usable, the sleeve in which it was supposed to be placed was too large for the padded envelopes I use. I noticed that it was possible to cancel the transaction and apply for a refund.  My 'new' CN22 form said Manifest Not Required, so when I went to apply for a refund I checked the 'cancel shipping label only' box. That got me nowhere.  After several failed attempts I clicked on the 'cancel entire manifest' box, and that worked -- a ticket was generated. I received an email to that effect, but 24 hours later CP still hasn't confirmed that it will refund my money.  Finally, I don't use a smart phone, so I don't have the option of using it to create a CN22 form and taking it to the PO for scanning.   

---

The CN022 sticker was turfed beginning of 2021. Now it's either print yourself or bring the QC with phone which not everyone has. When you attempt to print the generated form you can go to settings and shrink print size slightly. 80% usually will do the trick. If you use shippo for your printing needs, their setup has options for printing the label, detailed customs form (what I use when there is VAT tax involved for shipping to EU/AU/NZ etc and adding any additional info. You can also print a packing slip that you can customize. This way you can print a copy of everything for your records. Because system does not port UR### ### ### CA (with no spaces you can manually enter into the ebay tracking field. Tracking will update from eBay for US shipments. It will NOT update in CP/USPS.

-Lotz

https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/blogs/business/shipping/changes-to-u-s-and-international-ship...

[cutie.loves.beauty]

oh no! you too?

i had same issue, i prefer filling in the paper form because I find it easier (for me)
they have been gently reminding me for sometime now that " you can do it all online" and i just smile and nod, then fill in my custom slips. it was all going fine till a lady i dont normally see says, "oh, we actually dont do paper forms anymore" and so I said, oh, its completely online? and she goes, "no. they got rid of all of that. its a completely new system you give us all the info verbally now" I said oh..that seems like a step backward. Any way, so fast forward a week or so and i stop at a post office at noon as i recently found out theres a small shop is close to my work. the guy doesnt speak good english, but he gave me a look and immediately hands me 4 customs forms and shuffles me off to the side. Talk about spreading false info.. I was so peeved!

To followup, Ive mailed one more parcel with the standard custom form since and nobody has since told me I cant do it like that anymore.

So confusing.

[dinomitesales]

Paper customs forms are 100% still acceptable to use. Any post office telling you otherwise should be reported (fill out the survey on your receipt). Not everyone has the technological know-how to figure out the online customs form and Canada Post would never want to turn away a paying customer simply because they have an international package but haven't filled out an online customs form. There is nothing in the new computer system that prevents them from using the paper forms - the clerk you were speaking too was either lazy or misinformed.

Source: work at an authorized dealer post office.

[kh-leslie]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.