Customs exams and holds: what to expect

A customs exam or hold means U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) wants to check your shipment before releasing it. It's a routine part of importing — not an accusation — and any importer can be selected, including experienced ones. Most exams are resolved in a few days, but they can add cost and time, and the importer generally pays the exam charges. Complete, accurate documents are your best protection against both being selected and being delayed.

• A hold means customs has stopped the release of your cargo pending something — a document review, a question about the entry, or a requirement from another government agency.

• An exam is a specific kind of hold where customs physically or electronically inspects the goods.

In practice you'll often hear both words used together. The effect is the same: your cargo can't move until customs clears it.

Some selection is essentially random — customs samples shipments to keep the system honest. Beyond that, common triggers include:

• Regulated goods — food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, animal or plant products, and anything overseen by a Partner Government Agency (like the FDA or CPSC).

• Vague or mismatched paperwork — a product description that isn't a real description, or quantities that don't match between the Commercial Invoice and Packing List.

• Classification or valuation questions — an HTS code or declared value that looks off. See Customs duties and HTS codes.

• Importer history — a poor compliance record, or being a new, unknown importer.

Exams vary a lot in how invasive — and how slow — they are:

• Document review — customs asks for more information or supporting documents. Often the quickest to resolve.

• X-ray / non-intrusive (VACIS) — the container is scanned without being opened. Relatively fast.

• Tailgate exam — the container doors are opened and the load is inspected at the terminal.

• Intensive / devanning exam — the cargo is moved to a Centralized Examination Station (CES), fully unloaded, and inspected. This is the slowest and most expensive, and can take significantly longer.

• Timing — a scan can clear in a day or two; an intensive exam can take a week or more, depending on the port and how busy the exam facilities are.

• You can't rush it — the timing is in customs' hands. Neither you nor your broker can speed up a physical exam.

• Clear communication helps — respond quickly to any document request, because a hold waiting on paperwork ends the moment customs has what it needs.

The importer generally pays the costs of an exam. Depending on the type, that can include:

• Moving the container to and from the exam site (drayage).

• Unloading and reloading (devanning) at an intensive exam.

• The exam facility's charges.

• Knock-on charges — while your container sits waiting for or undergoing exam, demurrage and detention can accrue. These are often the largest cost of a delayed exam.

Note: You can't prevent being selected, but you can limit the fallout. Clean documents reduce your odds of a paperwork hold, and moving quickly on any request keeps a hold as short as possible.

If your shipment is selected, we'll tell you as soon as customs or the terminal notifies us, explain which type of exam it is, and coordinate the logistics — drayage to the exam site, any devanning, and re-delivery once it's released. We'll also flag any related demurrage or detention exposure so there are no surprises on your invoice. The best prevention is on your side: send us a complete, accurate Commercial Invoice and Packing List up front.

• The customs clearance process

• Customs duties and HTS codes

• ISF, POA and IOR basics

• Demurrage and detention

• Freight & shipping glossary