Importing as a foreign importer of record from January 2027: what CBP's rule asks.

From January 5, 2027, a foreign importer of record can enter goods into the US for consumption only if it's validated in CBP's CTPAT program or it designates a licensed customs broker that is. That's what CBP's interim final rule, Heightened Requirements for Foreign Importers of Record (published November 6, 2026, checked November 2026), requires. CBP's analysis in the rule says only foreign importers of record that are Canadian are currently eligible for CTPAT validation, so ask your broker now whether it's validated.

This guide is for a brand based outside the US that imports its own goods, for example to hold stock in a US warehouse. It covers who the rule applies to, what changes at your customs broker, and what to ask and have ready, from the rule itself and CBP's notice to the trade. It isn't legal or customs advice. The rule is interim and open for comment, so it can change, and your customs broker is the person who tells you what your entries need.

What the rule requires, and from when

CTPAT is the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, a voluntary program in which businesses work with CBP on the security of the international supply chain. The rule (checked November 2026) describes how a company gets in: it applies, it's accepted as certified, and then it goes through a validation of its supply chain security processes. A company that passes is certified and validated, and that's the status the new requirement turns on.

The rule takes effect on January 5, 2027. From then, a foreign importer of record that's CTPAT validated, and has the right to make entry, may enter goods itself or hire a customs broker. One that isn't validated must designate a licensed customs broker that is, either to make entry or to act as the importer of record for the entry. CBP spells it out in the rule: from the effective date, being a licensed customs broker alone isn't sufficient to file entry on behalf of a foreign importer of record, unless that importer is CTPAT validated itself.

CBP has built the requirement into its systems. Its notice to the trade, CSMS 70381183 (sent November 6, 2026, checked November 2026), says CBP has added validation checks and may reject entries and entry summaries as of January 5, 2027, if a foreign importer of record attempts to file entry without being CTPAT validated or without a CTPAT-validated customs broker.

Who counts as a foreign importer of record

The importer of record is the party responsible for the import. The rule (checked November 2026) defines a US importer of record, and says an importer of record that doesn't meet that definition is a foreign one. A person qualifies as a US importer of record if they're a US citizen or lawful permanent resident. A company has to meet three conditions:

• It's located in the United States.
• It's organized under the laws of the United States.
• Either at least 51% of its beneficial owners are US citizens or lawful permanent residents and have control of the company, at all times, or the company maintains direct ownership of a significant amount of unencumbered real property in the US at all times.

A beneficial owner, in the rule's definition, is a natural person who exercises substantial control over the company or owns or controls at least 25 percent of its ownership interests, directly or indirectly.

So a US address doesn't settle the question, and neither does a company organized in the US. CBP writes in the rule that many foreign importers appear to be US-based in its system because they list a US address, which may be the address of an agent or a post office box. Under the new test, a company organized in the US still has to be located there and meet the ownership condition or the real property condition.

Whether a company qualifies is subject to verification by CBP, and the rule says the answer will vary with the circumstances. Among the things CBP may consider are whether the company's principal place of business is in the US, whether it has a physical presence there where substantial business is conducted, and whether it's sufficiently capitalized. Which side of the line your company falls on is a question for your customs broker or your lawyer.

Which entries the rule covers

The restriction applies to goods entered for consumption where a formal entry is required, or where an informal entry is filed on CBP Form 3461 or CBP Form 7501 or their electronic equivalents, according to the rule (checked November 2026). It describes formal entry procedures as generally applying to shipments valued above $2,500, and informal entries as shipments valued at $2,500 or less.

Informal entries could tighten further. The executive order behind the rule directs CBP to prohibit foreign importers of record from making informal entry, and CBP says it hasn't implemented that prohibition in this rule. A foreign importer can still file an informal entry if it's CTPAT validated or goes through a CTPAT-validated broker. CBP says it'll keep monitoring those entries, and that it may prohibit them if it decides the current approach is insufficient.

If you've been sending each order from home as its own parcel, the guide to the de minimis suspensionThe $800 duty-free rule is suspended: what changes when you ship to the US from abroad.A parcel you send a US customer from abroad now needs its own customs entry and paid duty. Stock held in a US warehouse enters once and ships domestically. covers what those parcels need today.

Your route from January 5, 2027

The table sets the rule's routes side by side. Work out which row is yours with your broker.

A footnote in the rule says the use of a CTPAT-validated broker doesn't confer CTPAT benefits on the importer of record.

What changes at your customs broker

Start with whether your broker is CTPAT validated. CBP's analysis in the rule (checked November 2026), which draws on entry summaries filed from October 2020 to early February 2026, counts 21% of active brokers as CTPAT validated and says 68% of foreign importers of record already use one. The remaining 32%, it says, won't be able to continue importing into the US unless they switch brokers or become CTPAT validated themselves.

CBP expects a switch to take time. It writes that there are plenty of CTPAT-validated brokers available, and that an importer will probably research several and perhaps contact them for quotes. It also assumes that some, if not most, of the cost of a validated broker's extra work is passed on to customers as higher broker fees, and says it has no estimate of the difference.

CBP also expects a validated broker to ask more of you: it writes that they'll have stricter information requirements, on average. The rule says CTPAT's security criteria require validated brokers to screen new business partners and monitor current ones. The vetting steps those criteria suggest include verifying your business address and how long you've been at it, researching the company and its principals online, checking business references and requesting a credit report. If a foreign importer refuses to give a validated broker information for screening, CBP notes, the broker may refuse to do business with it.

A broker is required to obtain a valid power of attorney before it transacts customs business on your behalf, and the rule makes clear that this includes acting as importer of record for you.

Brokers get a new duty of their own. Before a broker declares a client to be a US importer of record, it must verify that by requesting and reviewing the client's records, such as corporate charters, financial statements and documents of title. Brokers can ask CBP by January 5, 2027, to delay compliance with that verification requirement, and CBP expects all brokers to be in full compliance no later than May 6, 2027. The rule describes that delay as one for the broker's verification requirement, and the CSMS notice dates the checks on a foreign importer's entries from January 5, 2027.

What to ask a broker, and what to have ready

Say your next shipment of stock reaches a US port in the middle of January. Its entry falls after the rule takes effect, so it's worth putting these questions to your broker now, or to any broker you're thinking of hiring.

• Are you CTPAT validated today, with the certified and validated status the rule describes, and can you show me?
• Under CBP's test, is my company a foreign importer of record or a US one, and which records do you need from me to decide?
• Will you make entry with my company as importer of record, or will you act as importer of record for the entry?
• What does your power of attorney cover, and when do you need it signed?
• What do you need to screen my company: our business address and how long we've been there, references, a credit report?
• Is the importer information CBP holds for my company current, and does anything need updating before January 5, 2027?
• Will your fees change because of the rule, and by how much?
• If I file informal entries today, what would a ban on informal entry for foreign importers change for me?

Before the call, pull together your company's paperwork: where it's organized, who owns and controls it, your business address and how long you've been there, and references a broker can check. If you think you qualify as a US importer of record, expect the broker to ask for records that show it.

The step-by-step guide for brands abroadHow a brand based outside the US starts shipping from inside it.You stay the importer of record, a licensed customs broker files your entry, your stock goes to a US warehouse, and your orders then ship as domestic parcels. covers the other steps of getting stock into the US, and the inbound guideHow to send inventory to a 3PL so receiving takes fewer hours.Send the SKU list first, one SKU per carton, labeled cartons, a packing list on the pallet and notice before it lands. At YNK receiving is billed hourly. covers packing a shipment so the warehouse can receive it quickly.

The rule is interim, and CBP is taking comments

CBP published this as an interim final rule with a request for comments. The rule (checked November 2026) says comments must be received on or before January 5, 2027, which is also the day it takes effect, and they go to regulations.gov under docket number USCBP-2026-1387.

So the text can still change. We read the rule and the CSMS notice in November 2026, so read them again before you ship, or ask your broker what's changed since.

What importing looks like at YNK for a brand abroad

YNK is a 3PL in Elmwood Park, New JerseyNew Jersey 3PLThe Elmwood Park warehouse, rates, transit times and directions, about 15 miles from Manhattan., and your brand can be based anywhere in the world. You don't need a US company to work with us. You import your goods as the importer of record, and we can connect you to a customs broker. Whether CBP's test makes your company a foreign importer of record or a US one is a separate question, and it's one for you and that broker.

Your stock comes to 465 Mola Blvd, Dock 10, Elmwood Park, NJ 07407. Every unit is scanned as it goes on the shelf, and your US orders ship from here. We invoice in US dollars, and brands outside the US pay by bank transfer. You can write to us in your own language, and we'll reply in it. Calls are in English. The page for brands based outside the USBrands outside the USUS fulfillment for a brand based anywhere. You don’t need a US company to work with us, you import as the importer of record, and we invoice in US dollars. has the rest, including the form.

Questions brands abroad ask about the foreign importer of record rule