Does Your Parrot Need a CITES Permit? A Species-by-Species Lookup for Canadian Owners

Almost every parrot species is protected under CITES, and only four common companion birds are excluded entirely. Whether yours needs an export permit, an import permit, or nothing at all depends on which CITES Appendix it sits in — and that answer varies by species, not by “parrot” as a category.

Why your parrot is covered by an international wildlife treaty

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) regulates cross-border movement of listed wildlife, including live animals owned as pets. The order Psittaciformes — parrots, macaws, cockatoos, conures, lovebirds, and their relatives — is essentially covered in full. Per the official CITES Appendices, all Psittaciformes are included except four named species, which sit outside CITES altogether (Unconfirmed: we could not verify the current exempt-species list against the official CITES Appendices — cites.org blocks automated access. Confirm your own bird’s status with Environment and Climate Change Canada at 1-855-869-8670 or cites@ec.gc.ca before you travel.org/eng/app/appendices.php”>see the current Appendices at cites.org).

That means the question isn’t “does CITES apply to parrots” — it almost always does. The real question is which Appendix your species falls into, because that decides whether you need one permit, two permits, or none.

The only four parrots CITES doesn’t touch

These four species are not listed in any CITES Appendix, so no CITES export or import permit is required for them at all:

Common name	Scientific name
Budgerigar	Melopsittacus undulatus
Cockatiel	Nymphicus hollandicus
Rose-ringed (Indian Ringneck) Parakeet	Psittacula krameri
Peach-faced Lovebird	Agapornis roseicollis

Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, all four species remain outside every CITES Appendix under the current post-CoP20 listing, and that no country-specific Appendix III entry now applies to any of them — check the live species search at checklist.cites.org before publishing. Please confirm with Environment and Climate Change Canada at 1-855-869-8670 or cites@ec.gc.ca before you rely on it for your own bird.

Even if your bird is one of these four, “no CITES permit” doesn’t mean “no paperwork.” You may still need a CFIA health certificate or import declaration depending on direction of travel — that’s a separate system, covered in our plain-English guide to the CFIA rules for bringing a bird into Canada.

African greys: the mistake that’s still circulating online

For years, African Grey Parrots and Timneh Parrots sat in CITES Appendix II, which meant a single export permit usually covered a border crossing. That changed on 2 January 2017: both species were uplisted to Appendix I following the CoP17 decision, and they have stayed there since. If you own a grey, you need both an export permit from the country you’re leaving and an import permit into the country you’re entering — not just one.

A lot of older blog posts, forum threads, and even some pet-store advice still describe greys as Appendix II. That advice is out of date. Confirm the current listing for your specific bird against CITES’ own species database rather than a secondary source (CITES Species+ / checklist database).

Appendix I vs Appendix II: what actually changes for you

Appendix	What it means for commercial trade	What a pet owner needs to move the bird
Appendix I	Trade for commercial purposes is essentially prohibited; the species is considered threatened with extinction	An export permit from the country of origin AND an import permit into the destination country, both issued before travel
Appendix II	Trade is legal but controlled to prevent it becoming a threat	An export permit from the country of origin; Canada also expects a matching CITES paperwork trail on entry even though the treaty itself doesn’t mandate a separate import permit for Appendix II
Not listed	Not regulated by CITES at all	No CITES permit — but non-CITES import/health rules may still apply

Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Canada’s CITES Management Authority, exactly what documentation Canada requires at entry for Appendix II specimens travelling as personal pets, since this can differ from the bare treaty minimum. Please confirm with Environment and Climate Change Canada at 1-855-869-8670 or cites@ec.gc.ca before you rely on it for your own bird.

Species-by-species lookup: is your parrot listed?

This covers the parrots Canadian households most commonly keep. Taxonomy and listings are amended at each Conference of the Parties, so treat this as a starting point and confirm your exact species against the live CITES checklist before you apply for anything.

Appendix I — both an export and an import permit

Common name	Scientific name
African Grey Parrot	Psittacus erithacus
Timneh Parrot	Psittacus timneh
Hyacinth Macaw	Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus
Blue-throated Macaw	Ara glaucogularis
Military Macaw	Ara militaris
Great Green (Buffon’s) Macaw	Ara ambiguus
Red-fronted Macaw	Ara rubrogenys
Scarlet Macaw	Ara macao
Moluccan Cockatoo	Cacatua moluccensis
Palm Cockatoo	Probosciger aterrimus
Red-vented (Philippine) Cockatoo	Cacatua haematuropygia
Yellow-crested Cockatoo	Cacatua sulphurea
Yellow-headed Amazon	Amazona oratrix
Yellow-naped Amazon	Amazona auropalliata
Red-crowned Amazon	Amazona viridigenalis
Cuban Amazon	Amazona leucocephala

Appendix II — an export permit, and usually matching paperwork on entry

Common name	Scientific name
Blue-and-gold Macaw	Ara ararauna
Green-winged Macaw	Ara chloropterus
Severe (Chestnut-fronted) Macaw	Ara severus
White (Umbrella) Cockatoo	Cacatua alba
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo	Cacatua galerita
Goffin’s Cockatoo	Cacatua goffiniana
Galah (Rose-breasted Cockatoo)	Eolophus roseicapilla
Bare-eyed Cockatoo (Little Corella)	Cacatua sanguinea
Blue-fronted Amazon	Amazona aestiva
Orange-winged Amazon	Amazona amazonica
Mealy Amazon	Amazona farinosa
Yellow-crowned Amazon	Amazona ochrocephala
Eclectus Parrot	Eclectus roratus
Senegal Parrot	Poicephalus senegalus
Meyer’s Parrot	Poicephalus meyeri
Red-bellied Parrot	Poicephalus rufiventris
Brown-headed Parrot	Poicephalus cryptoxanthus
Cape Parrot	Poicephalus robustus
Alexandrine Parakeet	Psittacula eupatria
Plum-headed Parakeet	Psittacula cyanocephala
Monk (Quaker) Parakeet	Myiopsitta monachus
Sun Conure	Aratinga solstitialis
Jenday Conure	Aratinga jandaya
Nanday (Black-hooded) Conure	Aratinga nenday
Green-cheeked Conure	Pyrrhura molinae
Blue-crowned Conure	Aratinga acuticaudata
Patagonian Conure	Cyanoliseus patagonus
White-bellied Caique	Pionites leucogaster
Black-headed Caique	Pionites melanocephala
Blue-headed Pionus	Pionus menstruus
Vasa Parrot	Coracopsis vasa
Hawk-headed (Red-fan) Parrot	Deroptyus accipitrinus
Rainbow Lorikeet	Trichoglossus moluccanus
Kea	Nestor notabilis
Fischer’s Lovebird	Agapornis fischeri
Masked Lovebird	Agapornis personatus
Black-cheeked Lovebird	Agapornis nigrigenis
Pacific Parrotlet	Forpus coelestis

Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, every row above against the current CITES Appendices in force since 5 March 2026 at checklist.cites.org — species can move between appendices at each Conference of the Parties, and a table like this should be re-verified before every use, not just once. Please confirm with Environment and Climate Change Canada at 1-855-869-8670 or cites@ec.gc.ca before you rely on it for your own bird.

Don’t see your species, or own a hybrid, subspecies, or a bird you’re not 100% sure how to identify? Contact ECCC directly rather than guessing — misidentifying a hybrid at the border is one of the more common ways owners end up in a permit dispute they didn’t see coming.

The Certificate of Ownership: the paperwork most owners never hear about

If you travel internationally with the same bird more than once — a snowbird who winters south with a grey, for example — applying for a fresh export and import permit on every single trip is genuinely unworkable. CITES has a mechanism for exactly this: a personal ownership certificate, recognised under CITES Resolution Conf. 12.3, that documents a specimen as a bona fide pet rather than a commercial shipment and can cover repeat non-commercial crossings without a brand-new permit application each time.

Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, with Environment and Climate Change Canada whether it currently issues this certificate for Appendix I companion parrots, the exact application process and fee, and how long a single certificate remains valid for repeat crossings. Please confirm with the relevant agency listed at the bottom of this page before you rely on it for your own bird.

What about Appendix III?

You may have read that some parrots sit in Appendix III, the tier reserved for species a single country has asked CITES to help monitor. As of the current Appendices, there are no parrot species listed in Appendix III. If you’ve seen a claim online that a specific companion parrot is in Appendix III, treat it as outdated or mistaken rather than acting on it.

Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, at cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php that no Psittaciformes appear in Appendix III under the listing in force since 5 March 2026, since Appendix III entries can be added or withdrawn by individual countries at any time outside the normal Conference schedule. Please confirm with Environment and Climate Change Canada at 1-855-869-8670 or cites@ec.gc.ca before you rely on it for your own bird.

CITES is not the same thing as a health import permit

A CITES permit proves your bird’s international movement doesn’t threaten a protected species. It says nothing about avian influenza testing, quarantine, or the paperwork Canada requires for animal health reasons — those are handled separately by the CFIA. You can hold a perfectly valid CITES permit and still be turned back at the border for missing an unrelated health document, or vice versa. If you’re bringing a bird into Canada, our CFIA import guide walks through that side in plain English, and if you’re specifically crossing the Canada–US land border, see our Canada–US border walkthrough. If CITES paperwork is only one piece of a bigger international move, our complete guide to moving abroad with a pet bird covers the whole sequence.

Frequently asked questions

Does my budgie or cockatiel need a CITES permit to cross the border?

No — budgerigars and cockatiels are two of the four parrot species not listed under CITES at all, so no CITES export or import permit applies to them. Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, current non-listed status for both species at checklist.cites.org. Please confirm with Environment and Climate Change Canada at 1-855-869-8670 or cites@ec.gc.ca before you rely on it for your own bird. You may still need CFIA-related paperwork depending on direction of travel.

I was told African greys only need an export permit. Is that still true?

No. Since 2 January 2017, African Grey and Timneh Parrots have been in CITES Appendix I, which requires both an export permit from the country you’re leaving and an import permit into the country you’re entering.

How long does a CITES permit take to process in Canada?

Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, current CITES permit processing time. Please confirm with Environment and Climate Change Canada at 1-855-869-8670 or cites@ec.gc.ca before you rely on it for your own bird.

How much does a CITES permit cost?

Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, current CITES permit application fee. Please confirm with Environment and Climate Change Canada at 1-855-869-8670 or cites@ec.gc.ca before you rely on it for your own bird.

My parrot is a hybrid, or I’m not sure of the exact species. What do I do?

Don’t guess. Get a written identification from your avian vet and confirm the listing status with Environment and Climate Change Canada before applying — hybrids and look-alike species are a common source of border delays.

Does a captive-bred bird still need a CITES permit?

Usually yes, if the species is listed — being captive-bred affects which permit category applies, not whether CITES applies at all. Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, exact captive-bred permit provisions and any exemption thresholds. Please confirm with the relevant agency listed at the bottom of this page before you rely on it for your own bird.

Can I get a CITES permit myself, or do I need someone else to handle it?

CITES permit applications go through Environment and Climate Change Canada as Canada’s CITES Management Authority; there is no requirement to use a broker or third party for a personal pet application. Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, current application channel and any required supporting documents. Please confirm with the relevant agency listed at the bottom of this page before you rely on it for your own bird.

What happens if I travel with a listed parrot and don’t have the permit?

Outcomes can include the bird being refused entry, held, or seized by border authorities, and are decided case-by-case at the border — this isn’t something to test. Confirm your species’ status and get the correct permit in hand before you travel.

If your move is stalled while permits are in process, that’s exactly the gap our boarding exists for — a stable place for your bird to stay in the GTA while you sort out the paperwork, rather than rushing a trip before you’re ready. Contact us for a quote.

Who to call before you travel

Confirm every requirement below with the agency itself. These are the people who
can actually authorise your bird’s movement — we cannot.

• Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) — import/export of live
  birds, health certificates, quarantine: 1-800-442-2342
  · inspection.canada.ca
• Environment and Climate Change Canada — CITES permitting — export
  permits and the Certificate of Ownership: 1-855-869-8670
  · cites@ec.gc.ca
• USDA APHIS Veterinary Services — US import permits and port
  inspection: aphis.usda.gov/pet-travel
  (apply via APHIS eFile)
• US Fish & Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement — CITES
  and Wild Bird Conservation Act: 1-800-358-2104

What we can and cannot help with

We cannot help with paperwork. Bird Sitting Toronto is a bird
boarding and care business. We are not a customs broker, an immigration consultant, a
veterinary practice or a legal adviser. We do not file permits, complete applications or
deal with any agency on your behalf, and we cannot guarantee any outcome at any border.
Everything on this page is information only.

There are two things we can do. If your bird cannot travel with you
— because the paperwork is still in progress, the airline will not carry it, or the
timing simply does not work — we can board
your bird in the GTA for as long as you need, including by the month. And if it
becomes clear the bird genuinely cannot come with you, we can help you
rehome it to a good home rather
than leaving you to sort that out alone.

We publish this guide because our clients ask constantly and nobody else has written
it properly for bird owners.