What It Costs to Move a Pet Bird Out of Canada: Every Government Fee, Sourced (2026)

Government fees to move a pet bird out of Canada range from close to nothing — if you’re flying a Canadian-origin pet bird to the US as accompanied baggage — to several hundred dollars once a CITES-listed species and a non-US destination are involved. Below is every published fee we could source, with the schedule and item number behind each one.

Bird Sitting Toronto boards, sits for and helps rehome birds in the Greater Toronto Area. We don’t file permits, complete applications, liaise with any agency, or act as a customs broker, and nothing on this page is immigration or export advice — it’s a reference so you know what a government office should be charging you before you call one.

Every published government fee, in one place

The two schedules that matter on the Canadian side are the CFIA Fees Notice and the CBSA Schedule of inspection fees. Both tables carry two dollar columns; the one to read is headed “Fee as of March 31, 2026” — CFIA states on the Fees Notice itself that fees “are updated annually on March 31 based on the Consumer Price Index,” so a figure copied from an older blog post is very likely stale.

Fee	Amount (as of March 31, 2026)	Source	When it applies
CFIA export certification of poultry — to the United States	$24.64 per certificate	CFIA Fees Notice, Part 11, item 23(4)(c)	A captive bird is legally “poultry” under the Health of Animals Regulations; this covers certificates for parrots and similar pets, not the ratite or gamebird rows in the same item
CFIA export certification of poultry — to any country other than the US	$30.79 per certificate ($615.92 if the destination country requires CFIA laboratory testing)	CFIA Fees Notice, Part 11, item 23(6)(d)	Any export destination that isn’t the United States
CFIA import permit application — single use	$43.12	CFIA Fees Notice, Part 11, item 1	Bringing a bird into Canada under a Ministerial permit — relevant on the return leg, not the outbound one
CFIA import permit application — multiple use	$73.90	CFIA Fees Notice, Part 11, item 1	Same as above, for a permit covering more than one crossing
CBSA border inspection, fee code 1050	$43.12 for the first animal, $7.38 for each additional animal, plus GST/HST	CBSA Schedule of inspection fees	Bringing a bird back into Canada from the US at a land, air or sea port

On the export-certificate line, whether you owe anything at all depends on where the certificate is required. Section 69(1) of the Health of Animals Regulations requires a veterinary export certificate, an official CFIA export stamp under section 69(3), for any export of poultry — and a pet parrot counts as poultry under the Regulations. Section 69(1.1) then carves out one specific case: the certificate requirement in paragraph 69(1)(b) “does not apply … destined for export to the United States if certification is not requested by the United States.” That carve-out doesn’t touch the other two paragraphs of 69(1) — evidence the bird meets the importing country’s sanitary requirements, and information on how transport rules will be met still apply — and it does nothing at all for exports to anywhere other than the US, where the certificate and the fee stand.

The USFWS side: what CITES and WBCA paperwork costs in the US

If your move involves the United States and a CITES-listed species, the 50 CFR 13.11(d)(4) user-fee table sets these amounts. They’re payable at the time you apply, in US dollars, and USFWS does not refund a fee once your application has been processed — even if it’s denied.

Permit	Fee	Notes
WBCA Personal Pet Import (50 CFR part 15)	$50	Application fee only — doesn’t include a vet exam, airline or broker charges, or the CITES side of the same move
CITES Personal Effects and Pet Export/Re-export (50 CFR part 23)	$50	For a personal pet travelling with its owner
CITES Passport for Traveling Exhibitions and Pets	$75 per animal	For a bird that will cross the border repeatedly
CITES Import permit	$100 ($50 amendment)	Non-personal-pet import route
CITES Export permit	$100 ($50 amendment)	Non-personal-pet export route
CITES Re-export / Certificate of Origin	$75 ($40 amendment)	For a bird of foreign, non-US origin leaving the US
Designated Port Exception (50 CFR part 14)	$100 ($50 amendment)	A named, priced route for asking to clear somewhere other than a designated port when the standard port rules would otherwise apply
Import/Export Licence (50 CFR part 14)	$100 ($50 amendment)	A separate licensing line that exists in the same table; whether a given move needs it is Not confirmed — ask them

Which of the CITES lines above actually applies to your bird depends on its CITES appendix and the direction of travel, and that mapping is genuinely route- and species-specific — it isn’t something a fee schedule alone can tell you. Confirm the right permit with USFWS using the contact details at the bottom of this page before you assume you know which line you owe.

Why the commonest case costs almost nothing in government fees

If your bird is going the other direction — a personally owned pet bird travelling with you from Canada into the United States — the picture above is largely irrelevant. 9 CFR 93.101(c)(1) gives that exact situation its own route, and three separate sections of the same regulation exempt it from the things that normally cost money: no APHIS import permit, no US veterinary health certificate, and no 30-day quarantine. What it does require is a port-of-entry veterinary inspection, caging the bird before release, entry at a listed port such as Buffalo or Detroit, and a signed statement that you’ve owned the bird for at least 90 days with no contact with poultry or other birds.

On the Canadian side, section 69(1.1) removes the export-certificate fee for exactly this same route, because the US isn’t requesting the certificate. Add it up and the government cost of the single most common move — a Canadian pet owner driving their bird across a land border into the US — can genuinely be zero in permit and certificate fees. It’s the CITES-listed bird, or the bird headed somewhere other than the US, that starts accumulating the line items above. For the mechanics of that specific crossing, see our Canada-US border walkthrough.

What this page can’t put a number on

A few things sit outside any published fee schedule, and guessing at them is exactly how a reader gets a wrong number stuck in their head. We’re not going to do that here:

• No fee appears to be prescribed. The Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act says an application must be accompanied by “the prescribed fees” and lets the Governor in Council make regulations prescribing them — but the only regulation made under that Act, the Wild Animal and Plant Trade Regulations, contains no fee provision at all. That is why ECCC states no figure: there is none to state. This is a statement about what the law prescribes, not ECCC confirming it charges nothing, so ask them before you budget on it.
• Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, fee and validity period for the CITES Certificate of Ownership. 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. — and note this document is for a round trip (vacation, exhibition, or living part of the year abroad), not for a one-way move; a relocating owner needs the export or re-export application instead.
• Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, USDA port-of-entry veterinary inspection charge, if any, on the 9 CFR 93.101(c)(1) route. Please confirm with USDA APHIS Veterinary Services at aphis.usda.gov/pet-travel before you rely on it for your own bird.
• The accredited veterinarian’s exam and any health certificate they issue — Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, cost of the export health exam and certificate — your veterinarian. Please confirm with the relevant agency listed at the bottom of this page before you rely on it for your own bird.
• Airline, courier or customs broker charges. No major Canadian passenger airline currently accepts a pet bird as checked or cabin baggage, which is a real cost and routing problem for a relocating owner, but it’s an airline policy question, not a government fee, and it isn’t listed here.

Get a written quote for each of these rather than trusting a number from a blog — this one included.

If you’re also planning the return trip

Fee schedules quietly assume one direction. If this move is temporary — a posting abroad, a working holiday, a year overseas — you’ll also want to budget for bringing the bird back into Canada: the CBSA border inspection fee above, and possibly a CFIA import permit if your situation calls for one. Our guide to the CFIA import rules covers that side in plain English, and the complete Canadian relocation guide is the best starting point if you’re still mapping out the whole move rather than pricing one leg of it.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the cheapest way this can go, fee-wise?

A Canadian-origin pet bird travelling with its owner across a land border into the US under 9 CFR 93.101(c)(1), with no CITES listing in play, can have $0 in Canadian and US government permit or certificate fees. It still needs the 90-day ownership statement, port-of-entry inspection and caging that the route requires.

Do I need a CFIA export certificate for my parrot?

A captive bird counts as poultry under the Health of Animals Regulations, so section 69(1) requires one by default. It’s waived only for exports to the US where the US doesn’t request it, under section 69(1.1); for every other destination the certificate and its $24.64–$615.92 fee, depending on destination and testing requirements, apply.

Is the CFIA import permit fee relevant to an outbound move?

Only indirectly. That fee is charged for bringing a bird into Canada under a Ministerial permit, so it matters on the return trip, not the leg where you’re taking your bird out of the country.

Are USFWS permit fees refundable if I’m turned down?

No. USFWS fees under 50 CFR 13.11(d)(4) are payable at the time you apply and aren’t refunded once the application has been processed, whatever the outcome.

Why don’t you list a fee for the Canadian CITES Certificate of Ownership?

Because ECCC doesn’t publish one in the sources we checked. Rather than guess, we’ve flagged it for you to confirm directly, and it’s also worth knowing that document is meant for round trips — a one-way relocation needs the export or re-export application instead.

Does Bird Sitting Toronto handle any of these permits or fees for me?

No. We board and sit birds, and we help with rehoming when a bird genuinely can’t travel — we don’t file paperwork, deal with any agency on your behalf, or advise on immigration. Everything on this page is for your own reference when you contact the agencies directly.

Why does this figure differ from what I’ve read elsewhere?

Most of what circulates online either quotes an old fee — CFIA and CBSA both re-index annually on March 31 — or mixes up direction (import fees quoted for an export move, or vice versa). Every figure here names its schedule and item number so you can check it yourself rather than take our word for it.

If your paperwork is going to take weeks or months to clear and your bird can’t travel with you in the meantime, monthly boarding is one part of this we can actually help with — rates run from $360 for a small bird up to $720 for an extra-large bird (rates current at time of writing — check /pricing/ for today’s). Get a boarding quote for the dates you need.

Related guides in this series

• Moving Abroad and You Can’t Take Your Bird: Board, Rehome, or Wait
• Importing a Pet Bird to Canada: The Complete CFIA Guide (2026)
• Long-Term Bird Boarding While You Relocate: 30, 60 and 90+ Days
• Taking Your Bird from Canada to the United States: Driving vs Flying
• Which Parrot Species Are Hardest to Move Internationally (CITES Tiers Explained)
• When to Start: The Clocks That Decide Your Bird’s Earliest Travel Date

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.

Every number below was checked against the agency’s own website on
27 July 2026. Government phone numbers and web pages still change without notice.
If one does not connect, find the agency through its own official site rather than trusting
what is printed here.

• Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) — import and export of live
  birds, health certificates, permits: 1-800-442-2342 from
  Canada and the US, or 1-613-773-2342 local and
  international, 8 am to 7 pm EST Monday to Friday except holidays. CFIA names
  services related to travelling with pets as something its area offices handle —
  for the GTA that is the Mississauga animal health office,
  289-247-4100, 8 am to 4 pm
  · inspection.canada.ca
• Environment and Climate Change Canada — CITES permitting — export and
  import permits for CITES-listed species, and what documents exist for repeat crossings:
  1-855-869-8670
  · cites@ec.gc.ca
• Canada Border Services Agency — what happens at the border itself,
  declarations and inspection fees: 1-800-461-9999, Monday to
  Friday 8 am to 4 pm local time. Press 0 to reach an agent; CBSA’s published
  service standard is to answer within 20 minutes
• USDA APHIS — the US pet-travel hub, with separate paths for import,
  export and interstate movement, and the list of which birds count as pets at all:
  aphis.usda.gov/pet-travel
• US Fish & Wildlife Service — CITES and Wild Bird Conservation Act
  permits, applied for through the ePermits portal at
  fws.gov/permits. The agency
  contact centre is 1-800-344-9453
  · info@fws.gov

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 boarding clients ask us about it constantly, and
because the answer is genuinely hard to assemble from the primary sources.