ISF 10+2 Filing

CBP built the Importer Security Filing to see cargo before it sails, not after it lands. The rule applies to ocean freight only. Air, truck and rail imports sit outside it.

Your ten elements

Miss the deadline and CBP can issue liquidated damages of $5,000 per violation, and a single shipment can draw more than one.

1. Seller name and address
2. Buyer name and address
3. Importer of record number
4. Consignee number
5. Manufacturer or supplier
6. Ship to party
7. Country of origin
8. HTSUS number to six digits
9. Container stuffing location
10. Consolidator name and address

The carrier supplies the remaining two, being the vessel stow plan and container status messages. You do not touch those.

The deadline that costs money

We transmit no later than 24 hours before the container loads at the foreign port. That clock runs on loading, not on sailing and not on arrival. A vessel loading Tuesday in Ningbo needs your data Monday, which lands two to four weeks before the box reaches Norfolk.

Gather the elements at purchase order stage. Chasing a Chinese supplier for a stuffing address the week of loading tends to end at a penalty.

Bond coverage

ISF needs bond coverage. A continuous customs bond covers your filings for the year. Importers without one buy a single ISF bond per shipment, which costs more across any real volume. Our page on customs bonds runs the comparison.

Amendments

CBP accepts amendments up to the point of arrival, and filing an update beats leaving a wrong element in place. Progressive filing works too, so we transmit what you have and update the container stuffing location once your supplier confirms it.