The physical marking of the carcass with the grade is done as clearly and neatly as possible so that the grade name is easily recognizable.

When beef is fabricated into wholesale and/or retail cuts, the grade label on the box must correspond to the carcass grade stamp. Although the expression "or higher" is also allowed if the box contains more than one of the Canada A, Canada AA, Canada AAA, and Canada Prime Grades (i.e. Canada AA or higher).

The minimum marbling standards for USDA Prime, Choice and Select are identical to those used in Canada for Canada Prime, Canada AAA and Canada AA respectively. Although there may be some differences between Canada and the U.S. for other grade criteria, the Canadian industry believes that grade equivalency is a realistic and desirable objective.

Beef which enters Canada from outside Canadian boundaries is inspected but does not have to graded. The Canadian Grading Regulations require that the containers of all beef imported to Canada must have the grade from the country of origin identified or marked as "ungraded beef".

Grading symbols are recorded to describe the reason for a lower grade.  The following are the official symbols and their description.