US Customs and Border Protection has proposed requiring a basic importation bond for all informal entries worth $2,500 or less. Entries without a bond would not be released. Filers would have to submit entries electronically on or before the date of import, instead of within 15 days after arrival. Comments are due Dec. 7.
The proposal would also:
require freight forwarders, carriers and postal operators that do not own the goods to appoint a licensed customs broker as importer of record
replace the monthly mail duty worksheet with a new electronic mail entry, type 13
treat mail left unentered 15 days after arrival as abandoned
The bond requirement is already in place for postal informal entries under a June rule. The proposal would extend it to type 11 entries, which cover other low-value shipments.
Between August 2025 and July 2026, 68,701 importers filed about 2.3 million type 11 entries without a bond, according to CBP. Those entries accounted for 3.31% of the agency’s projected type 11 entries for 2026.
CBP estimates that 59,148 of those importers would find single-transaction bonds cheaper than continuous bonds. For this group, bond premiums would equal about 73% of the duties, taxes and fees on their entries filed without a bond. CBP estimates the proposal’s net cost at $9.3 billion from 2026 through 2035, using a 3% discount rate.
CBP says filing by the time a shipment arrives, instead of potentially weeks later, would give it time to properly assess whether informal entries can be admitted.
