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 925 parts per thousand by weight. You may also use the word sterling or the abbreviation ster.
- The Competition Bureau enforces the Act, and a false or misleading quality mark is a criminal offence with fines and possible imprisonment.
- 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 the article to also carry the name or trademark of the manufacturer or importer. A quality mark with no name attached is not a complete marking.
- Records that tie a mark to a specific batch of metal are your only 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 | 925 parts per thousand silver | The standard most Canadian makers use |
| Ster | 925 parts per thousand silver | Abbreviation of sterling |
| 925 | 925 parts per thousand silver | Numeric form, widely accepted |
| Fine silver | 999 parts per thousand silver | Softer, less common in wear pieces |
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.
The marking is not complete with the quality mark alone. When a quality mark is applied, the article must also be marked with the name or trademark of the manufacturer or importer, so the claim can be traced to a business.
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 the number 925 or the abbreviation ster on an article that meets the sterling standard
- Use the words fine silver on metal that meets the fine silver denomination
- 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 marking the article with the name or trademark of the manufacturer or importer
- 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. 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.
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
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. On conviction, the Act provides for a fine and, for an individual, imprisonment for up to two years, or both. The Bureau can also seek a prohibition order and can require corrective action.
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.
