US Customs Bond: Single Entry vs Continuous, Amount, Insufficiency

What a customs bond is and when you need one

A customs bond is a contract in which a surety company guarantees the importer's obligations to CBP: to pay duties, taxes and fees, produce required documents, return goods to CBP when told to, and file the Importer Security Filing (ISF) correctly (19 CFR 113.62). The importer is the principal; principal and surety are jointly and severally liable, the surety up to the bond amount. The bond protects CBP, not the importer.

A bond must be on file before goods are released on a formal entry, generally any shipment over USD 2,500: a single transaction or continuous bond, or cash or US government obligations in its place (19 CFR 142.4, 113.40). Informal entries, generally up to USD 2,500, are paid for when the entry is presented and usually need no bond, but CBP can require a formal entry for any goods (19 CFR 143.21, 143.22, 143.28).

The USD 800 de minimis exemption has been suspended for all countries since 29 August 2025, indefinitely since 24 June 2026, and by law it ends on 1 July 2027, so low-value shipments also need an entry. The bond is in the name of the importer of record: on DDP that is the seller or its appointee, and a nonresident corporation needs a bond with a resident corporate surety and a resident agent for service of process (19 CFR 141.18).

Single transaction bond or continuous bond

A single transaction bond, often called a single entry bond, covers one entry and is filed with it. A continuous bond stays in force for one year from its effective date and for each following year until terminated (CBP Form 301), and an importer can have only one continuous bond for a given activity (19 CFR 113.12).

A single transaction bond can suit an occasional shipment, but it is based on the full value of the goods, so it grows with high-value or restricted goods. If you import several times a year or ship by sea, a continuous bond is usually simpler. The premium for each type is set by the surety, so compare quotes.

• Single transaction: one entry; at least the entered value plus duties, taxes and fees, and more for restricted goods.
• Continuous (activity code 1): all your entries for a year, renewing each year; 10% of duties, taxes and fees over 12 months, at least USD 50,000; also covers the ISF.

How CBP sets the bond amount (bond calculator)

CBP's guide "How CBP Sets Bond Amounts" (February 2024), which replaced its 1991 bond directive 3510-004 for public reference, sets a continuous importer bond at USD 50,000 or 10% of the total estimated duties, taxes and fees in the previous 12 months, whichever is greater. Amounts go up in steps of USD 10,000 to USD 100,000 and then in steps of USD 100,000. A new importer uses its own estimate for the next 12 months, and CBP adds amounts for unpaid bills.

A single transaction bond is generally at least the entered value plus all duties, taxes and fees. Unconditionally duty-free goods may need only 10% of the entered value; restricted goods need three times their value, at least USD 100; goods under other agencies' rules, such as FDA, have their own amounts in the guide's Appendix A; and CBP can ask for extra security on goods subject to antidumping or countervailing duties.

Example with illustrative figures: an importer that paid USD 900,000 in duties, taxes and fees over the last 12 months needs a continuous bond of at least USD 90,000, and at USD 2 million, USD 200,000. One entry worth USD 20,000 with USD 3,000 of duties, taxes and fees needs a single transaction bond of at least USD 23,000, or USD 60,000 if the goods are restricted.

CBP also weighs the importer's payment and compliance record and the kind of goods, and can set a higher amount (19 CFR 113.13).

Insufficient bond notices and rising tariffs

CBP has said it reviews active continuous importer bonds monthly (CSMS 18-000664, 2018). If a bond is inadequate, CBP notifies the principal and the surety in writing, and the principal has 15 days from the notice to remedy it (19 CFR 113.13(c)). Until then CBP may require a cash deposit or a single transaction bond for each of the importer's entries, and it can demand extra security at once if the revenue is at risk (19 CFR 113.13(d)).

The usual remedy is a larger continuous bond from your surety that replaces the old one, so contact your broker or surety as soon as the notice arrives.

Because the bond is 10% of duties, taxes and fees, higher tariffs raise it: the Section 301 duties of 10% or 12.5% on most goods since 24 July 2026, Section 232 duties of up to 50% on metals and the Section 301 duties on Chinese goods all count. CBP advises importers to forecast the next 12 months and consider a bond above the minimum.

ISF bond for ocean shipments

For goods arriving by ship, the ISF importer, the party causing the goods to arrive, which can be a foreign company, must file the Importer Security Filing no later than 24 hours before the cargo is loaded on the vessel bound for the US (19 CFR Part 149).

The ISF must be covered by a bond. A continuous bond for activity 1, 2, 3 or 4 already does this; otherwise use a stand-alone ISF bond (activity code 16) of at least USD 10,000 as a single transaction bond or USD 50,000 as a continuous one. A late or inaccurate ISF can lead to liquidated damages of USD 5,000 per violation (19 CFR 113.62(j)).

How to get a bond and what it costs

Bonds are written by surety companies listed in the Treasury's Circular 570 (19 CFR 113.37), usually arranged through a licensed customs broker or a surety agent. The surety or its agent files the bond with CBP on CBP Form 301 or electronically through eBond in ACE; a continuous bond can be filed up to 60 days before its effective date (19 CFR 113.26). The principal is identified by its importer number: an IRS EIN or a CBP-assigned number from CBP Form 5106.

The premium you pay is set by the surety or its agent, not by CBP, so ask more than one. Instead of a surety, CBP can accept a cash deposit or US government obligations equal to the bond amount (19 CFR 113.40).