Rules
Canadian Silver Hallmarking Rules: What Makers Must Know Before Stamping
Canadian silver hallmarking rules stem from the Precious Metals Marking Act, not UK or US assay law. Here is what makers may stamp and the risk of errors.
What to take away
- Canada has no assay office and no government test. Under the Canadian silver hallmarking rules, quality marks are voluntary — but any quality mark you apply must be accurate and must follow the Precious Metals Marking Act and its regulations.
- Sterling silver in Canada means at least 925 parts per thousand by weight. The Competition Bureau lists sterling, STG, ster., silver, argent and .925 as accepted marks.
- The Competition Bureau enforces the Act, and a false or misleading quality mark is an offence under the Act, with a fine of up to $500 on summary conviction and forfeiture of the marked articles.
- A maker's mark is not a quality mark. It identifies who made or imported the article, and it must be applied honestly.
- When you apply a quality mark, the Act requires a Canadian trademark, already registered or applied for, applied in the same way as the quality mark. A quality mark with no trademark attached is not a complete marking.
- Records that tie a mark to a specific batch of metal are your best defence if a mark is questioned.
Who has jurisdiction over a silver mark
Canada regulates precious metal marking through the Precious Metals Marking Act, which is federal law, together with the Precious Metals Marking Regulations made under it. The Competition Bureau administers and enforces it. There is no Canadian assay office, so no government body tests your silver and stamps it for you.
This is where most confusion starts. A maker who reads UK guidance expects an assay office mark and a date letter. A maker who reads US guidance expects the National Gold and Silver Stamping Act. Neither applies in Canada. The Canadian model puts the responsibility on the person who applies the mark.
The full text sits on the Justice Laws website: Precious Metals Marking Act. The Act is the statute; the detail — how a quality mark must be applied and what has to accompany it — sits in the Precious Metals Marking Regulations, published on the same site. The Competition Bureau publishes its own plain-language guidance on precious metals marking.
What a compliant quality mark carries
A quality mark is a statement about metal content. Under the Act, a quality mark on a silver article must be one of the recognized denominations, and the article must actually meet it. The common Canadian denominations are:
Canadian Silver Quality Marks
Mark
- Sterling
- 925 parts per thousand
- Ster
- 925 parts per thousand
- 925
- 925 parts per thousand
- Fine silver
- 999 parts per thousand
Meaning
- Sterling
- Most Canadian makers use
- Ster
- Abbreviation of sterling
- 925
- Numeric form, widely accepted
- Fine silver
- Softer, less common in wear pieces
Notes
- Sterling
- Ster
- 925
- Fine silver
| Mark | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sterling | At least 925 parts per thousand silver | The standard most Canadian makers use |
| Ster. or STG | At least 925 parts per thousand silver | Accepted abbreviations of sterling |
| .925 | At least 925 parts per thousand silver | Numeric form as the Bureau lists it; 925 without the decimal point is also accepted |
| Silver or argent | At least 925 parts per thousand silver | The plain word means the same minimum fineness |
The Act and the Precious Metals Marking Regulations set out the prescribed manner for applying a quality mark. It must be applied to the article itself, not only to a tag or box. It must be legible and it must not be qualified in a way that misleads, such as a tiny "plate" or "filled" word placed where a buyer will not see it. For plated and filled articles, read the exact wording in the Precious Metals Marking Regulations before you stamp. This article summarises the rules and does not replace them.
The marking is not complete with the quality mark alone. When a quality mark is applied, the article must also carry a Canadian trademark, already registered or applied for, applied by the same method, so the claim can be traced to a business. Articles hallmarked under UK law and articles with a truthful foreign quality mark are exempt.
The quality-mark provisions themselves are in the Act, and the Bureau's guidance explains how the Act reads for anyone selling precious metal articles.
A mark is a claim. If the metal does not match the claim, the mark is false, whether or not you meant to deceive anyone.
What a home or studio operation may and may not do
There is no licence required to stamp your own silver in Canada. You do not need a permit to apply a quality mark. That freedom is the whole point of the voluntary system, and it is also the risk.
What you may do:
Stamping Your Own Silver
- Mayapply mark matching tested content
- Mayapply your own maker's mark
- Maysell without any quality mark
- May notmark silver plate or filled
- May notmark higher fineness than held
- May notcopy another maker's mark
- Use .925, ster. or STG on an article that meets the sterling standard
- Use the word silver or argent only on metal that is at least .925
- Sell a silver article with no quality mark at all
What you may not do:
- Apply a quality mark to a component that is not itself the marked metal
- Apply a quality mark without also applying a Canadian trademark, registered or applied for
- Put sterling, ster. or .925 on plated or filled silver, or on any article that does not meet the standard
Plated and filled silver fall under the same Act but under their own marking rules; for spotting them on finished pieces, see how to tell sterling from silver plate. A plated or filled article must be marked so a buyer can see that it is plated or filled — the word "plated" or "filled" belongs in the marking, where a buyer will read it — and it may not carry sterling, ster. or .925 as though it were solid silver. Silver-filled articles need silver of at least .925 making up at least a tenth of the gross weight, and silver-plated articles need a plating layer of at least .925.
If you work with alloys you have mixed yourself, the fineness question is not academic. A guide to silver alloys and fineness testing explains how composition is verified before a mark goes on.
Records to keep
Because no assay office tests your work, your records are the evidence. Keep them for every batch of metal you mark.
Records to Keep per Batch
- Record supplier, invoice date, stated fineness
- Record melt or batch number if alloying
- Record any test result, method, date
- Photograph finished article with mark visible
- Keep sales record linking article to buyer
For each batch of metal, keep these records:
- the supplier's name, the invoice number and the date
- the fineness the supplier states, ideally on a mill certificate
- the lot or batch number on the stock
- the weights of fine silver and copper, if you mixed the alloy yourself
- the date you made each piece from that batch
- any test result, such as an assay or XRF report
- a photograph of the finished mark
- the sales receipt showing what you called the piece
Keep them for six years, the period the Canada Revenue Agency generally expects for business records.
Verifying fineness before you stamp
A mark is only safe once the metal is proven. For bought stock, check that the supplier's paperwork states a fineness that matches the mark you plan to apply. For your own alloy, sterling is 92.5 percent silver and 7.5 percent copper by weight, so weigh both metals and write the weights down.
A touchstone or acid test gives a quick check on a finished piece but is not proof. For a record you can rely on if a mark is questioned, use XRF analysis or a fire assay from an independent lab, and file the report with the batch.
A receipt also matters for tax. If you sell jewellery in Canada, GST or HST generally applies, and the rate depends on the province. The CRA page on which rate to charge sets out the rates by province.
What happens if you skip it
The concrete consequence is prosecution. A false or misleading quality mark is an offence under the Precious Metals Marking Act. Section 10 of the Act sets a fine of up to $500 on summary conviction, and section 11 allows forfeiture of the marked articles. The Competition Act, which also reaches misleading claims, carries separate and heavier penalties. Check both on the Justice Laws website.
That is the legal consequence. The commercial one arrives sooner. A retailer who discovers that a marked sterling piece is actually plated will pull the line and ask for a refund. A customer who has a piece tested at a local jeweller will post the result. Both outcomes cost more than the mark was worth.
There is a second trap. If you describe a piece as sterling in an online listing but never stamp it, the description is still a representation to the buyer. The Act and the Competition Act both reach misleading representations, stamped or not. A piece described wrongly is a problem even with a clean surface.
