Cargo Held in US Customs: How Do You Release It?

Quick Answer: Cargo held in customs by CBP usually clears in 3-10 business days when the paperwork is correct. Exam holds (VACIS X-ray, intensive CES exams, PGA flags) can run 14-30 days. CBP issues a hold code or a Notice of Action in ACE; your customs broker files the correction, pays storage, and the container releases.

Spanish-speaking shippers call this carga retenida en aduana, and the panic is always the same: nobody tells the importer first. The hold shows up in your broker's ACE queue hours before you notice the missing delivery order.

What Does "Cargo Held in Customs" Actually Mean?

Quick Answer: Cargo held in customs means CBP has blocked release of your shipment until a condition is met. A hold is not a seizure. The four levels are documentary hold, physical exam, detention under 19 CFR 151.16, and seizure. Legal abandonment is a fifth, slower outcome after 15 days in General Order.

CBP places an electronic hold in ACE or AMS. The terminal system reads that flag and refuses to cut a release. No release means no gate out, even if your truck is already in line.

Notification runs in a strange order. The broker sees the hold code first through the ABI feed. The carrier sees the manifest hold in AMS. The importer usually learns last, from a delivery that never happened.

Each level carries a different cost and a different fix. A guide published by A1 Worldwide Logistics on shipments held in customs makes the same point: the first job is naming the level correctly.

Hold, Exam, Detention, Seizure or Abandonment — Which One Is Yours?

Ask your broker to read the hold code out loud. Manifest holds sit on the bill of lading. Entry holds sit on the 7501. PGA holds belong to FDA, USDA or another agency, not CBP.

A VACIS X-ray is routine. Many clear in 24 to 72 hours with no document at all. An intensive CES exam is different: the box gets trucked to a bonded exam station, stripped, counted and restuffed.

Under 19 CFR 151.16, a formal detention gives CBP 30 days from presentation to release, detain officially or seize. That clock is your leverage when nothing seems to move.

Why Is My Cargo Held in US Customs?

Quick Answer: CBP holds cargo for ten common reasons: late or wrong ISF, HS code misclassification, undervaluation, missing PGA permits (FDA, USDA/APHIS, FCC, EPA), trademark or counterfeit suspicion, no bond on file, manifest mismatch, random exam selection, country-of-origin or forced-labor flags, and unpaid prior duties.

ISF failures lead the list. The 10+2 filing is due 24 hours before vessel loading at the foreign port. A late or inaccurate ISF can draw a $5,000 liquidated damages claim plus a manifest hold on arrival.

Classification and value come next. CBP sends a Form 28 Request for Information when the HTS line looks wrong. It sends a Form 29 Notice of Action when it proposes a rate advance.

Partner Government Agency flags are the slowest category. FDA prior notice covers food. USDA/APHIS covers plants, wood packing and animal products. EPA Form 3520-1 covers vehicles and engines, and radio devices need an FCC declaration.

Intellectual property seizures work differently. Under 19 USC 1526, a brand owner's recordation with CBP triggers automatic detention of suspected counterfeits. As the CBP public guidance on goods held by Customs explains, the agency contacts the parties in writing rather than by phone.

What Should You Do in the First 48 Hours? (7-Step Plan)

Quick Answer: Act within 48 hours. Get the hold code from your broker, identify the issuing authority, pull the full document set, answer the CBP request in writing, authorize the exam site and fees, track free time against demurrage, and document everything in one email thread with the broker.

1. Get the exact hold type — ask for the hold code, the CBP port code, and whether the hold is CBP or a PGA. That single answer changes the whole plan.
2. Build one PDF set — bill of lading or AWB, commercial invoice, packing list, ISF confirmation and entry summary (CBP Form 7501) in one file.
3. Reconcile three numbers — invoice value, declared HTS line and gross/net weight must match the manifest. Most documentary holds die right here.
4. Answer CBP in writing — a Form 28 has a 30-day window. Silence turns a question into a rate advance or a liquidated damages claim.
5. Authorize and prepay the CES exam — unpaid exam fees leave your container parked in a queue nobody is working.
6. Calculate free-time expiry — then ask the carrier in writing for a hold-related extension the same day.
7. Plan past day 15 — if release will take longer, discuss an in-bond move to a cheaper bonded CFS before CBP sends the cargo to General Order.

What Documents Do You Need to Release Held Cargo?

Quick Answer: Most holds release with six documents: commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill, HTS classification support, proof of payment, and the relevant permit or certificate. Personal shipments add CBP Form 3299 and a passport copy. Vehicles add EPA 3520-1 and DOT HS-7.

• Commercial invoice (Factura Comercial) — unit values, currency, Incoterm 2020 and full consignee data including NIT or RUT where applicable.
• Packing list — marks, numbers, gross and net weight, piece count per carton.
• Bill of lading or air waybill — matching the manifest exactly, including the house B/L under an NVOCC.
• Certificate of origin (Certificado de Origen) — required for USMCA or any FTA preference claim.
• Proof of value — wire transfer, letter of credit or purchase order. CBP tests transaction value under 19 USC 1401a.
• Commodity permits — FDA prior notice number, APHIS permit, ISPM-15 stamp on pallets, FCC or EPA declarations.

How Do You Write a Response Letter to CBP?

Keep it to one page. Open with the entry number, port code and container or AWB number. Quote the exact CBP question, give your answer in two sentences, then list numbered exhibits.

Attach a Power of Attorney and a written authorization letter so the broker can sign for you. Without those, CBP will not accept the filing.

Found your own error first? File a Post Summary Correction or a Prior Disclosure before CBP raises it. Self-reporting limits penalty exposure significantly.

How Long Can Cargo Stay Held in Customs?

Quick Answer: Cargo can legally sit on hold for months. CBP must decide within 30 days of a formal detention under 19 CFR 151.16. Unclaimed cargo moves to a General Order warehouse after 15 calendar days from arrival and may be sold or destroyed after 6 months.

Latin American importers face a mirror set of clocks at destination. Legal abandonment means one thing everywhere: after the statutory storage window, the goods become government property and go to auction or destruction.

Location matters as much as the clock. A hold at origin during export inspection stops vessel loading entirely. A hold at destination only stops delivery — the freight is already spent, and now storage runs.

How Much Does a Customs Hold Cost per Day?

Quick Answer: A customs hold costs money on four meters at once: terminal demurrage, chassis per-diem, CES exam fees, and warehouse storage. In most US ports demurrage runs $150-$400 per container per day after free time, per-diem $35-$80 per day, and a full intensive exam $500-$2,500 all-in.

Flat charges land on top: CES exam $500-$2,500, devanning and re-palletizing labor, drayage to the exam site, and a broker amendment fee of $75-$250 per filing.

Free time is tight. Most US ports give 4-5 calendar days, and peak season shortens it. Your free-time clock and your hold clock run at the same time, not in sequence.

• Request a demurrage waiver from the carrier in writing, citing the CBP hold reference.
• Move the box in-bond to a cheaper bonded CFS if the hold will run past a week.
• Book the terminal appointment the same hour the hold lifts — appointment gaps cost full days.

Need pricing to move the cargo once it clears? Use the calculator on this page. It takes your shipment details and a specialist confirms space and the exact price with the carrier, then sends your quote within one business day.

Who Pays the Storage Bill Under Incoterms 2020?

Quick Answer: Under EXW, FOB, CFR and CIF the buyer pays every customs-hold cost at destination: duties, storage, demurrage and fines. Under DAP the seller pays the freight but the buyer still clears and pays the hold. Under DDP the seller carries the import liability, including penalties.

Write the money rules into the sales contract. Name who pays exam fees, demurrage and broker amendment charges — the Incoterm alone does not settle it.

Check your insurance too. Marine cargo policies rarely cover storage or demurrage from a customs hold. Read the delay exclusion before you assume coverage.

How Do You Appeal a CBP Decision or Release Under Bond?

Quick Answer: You have three formal routes. File a protest under 19 USC 1514 within 180 days of liquidation to dispute classification, value or rate. File a petition for relief under 19 USC 1618 within 30 days of a seizure notice. Or post a single transaction bond and release the goods under protest.

A protest goes in on CBP Form 19 or through ACE e-protest. It challenges classification, valuation, rate and exclusion decisions. It cannot challenge an exam you simply disliked. You may also request Further Review by CBP Headquarters.

On seizures and liquidated damages, file a petition for relief or an offer in compromise. CBP publishes mitigation guidelines, and first-time violations are often reduced substantially.

Sometimes you can move the cargo while you argue. An increased or single transaction bond can support a conditional release, getting the box out of the terminal and off the demurrage meter.

• Export in-bond to a third country when the goods cannot legally enter the US.
• Destruction under CBP supervision when admissibility is hopeless.
• Voluntary abandonment to stop the storage meter before GO fees pile up.
• A binding ruling request to CBP's National Commodity Specialist Division to fix a recurring classification fight.

How Do You Stop Cargo From Being Held Again?

Quick Answer: Prevention is a filing discipline, not luck. File ISF 24 hours before loading, lock the HTS code with a binding ruling, match invoice value to the wire transfer, pre-clear PGA permits, keep a continuous bond active, and give the broker complete documents 72 hours before vessel arrival.

• ISF filed and confirmed 24 hours before vessel loading at origin.
• HTS code locked by a binding ruling or a broker-signed classification database.
• Invoice value equal to the wire transfer amount, with assists, royalties and commissions handled per 19 USC 1401a.
• PGA permits issued before the booking, not after arrival.
• Continuous bond active and sufficient for current duty volume.
• ISPM-15 stamped pallets on every wood-packed shipment.
• Complete document set to the broker 72 hours before arrival.
• Consignee tax ID verified — NIT, RUT, RFC or RUC as applicable.
• CTPAT in the US, or OEA/AEO certification in Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Chile.
• One signed pre-shipment checklist before the booking releases.

Timing discipline matters as much as paperwork. Port cut-off and vessel ETD are not the same date. Documents that land at cut-off create manifest mismatches that reappear as holds at destination.

Keep origin filing, the ocean leg and destination clearance with one party. Every document handoff is a chance for a translated invoice to disagree with itself. Practical guidance on US customs procedures reaches the same conclusion: single-source data beats re-keyed data.

How Do You Get a Quote to Move Cargo After Release?

Quick Answer: Use the calculator on this page. Enter your origin, destination, cargo type and container size, and a specialist confirms space and price with the carrier, then sends your exact quote within one business day. Price depends on lane, gateway, equipment, commodity and current surcharges.

Five things drive the number: your gateway, equipment size (20', 40', 40HC, 45HC) or CBM for LCL, the commodity and HS code, the Incoterm, and surcharges such as BAF, CAF, ISPS and peak season surcharge.

Your region decides your gateway. Florida ships through PortMiami. Texas and the central states move through Port Houston. California and the Southwest use Los Angeles/Long Beach. The Northeast uses New York/New Jersey, the Southeast uses Savannah, and the Midwest railheads through Chicago. The Pacific Northwest ships through Seattle. In Canada, Ontario uses Toronto, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces use Montreal, and Western Canada uses Vancouver.

Common lanes we run: Houston to Puerto Cortés, Los Angeles to Acajutla, New York to Caucedo, Miami to Cartagena, and Toronto to Kingston. Transit and price change with the gateway, so the calculator prices your exact origin.

Have your commercial invoice, packing list, HS code, pickup address and ready date on hand. Complete data means a faster carrier confirmation. Project cargo, breakbulk, oversized RoRo and dangerous goods go through the custom quote form instead.

Cargo held in customs — carga retenida en aduana — is a process problem with a documented fix, not a dead end. Name the hold level, answer CBP in writing, watch the demurrage clock, and keep your bond and permits current. When the box releases and you need it moving again, use the calculator on this page: submit the details once and a specialist confirms space and your exact price with the carrier within one business day.