The de minimis suspension made most sellers importers of record. Importers of record need a bond.

Key takeaways

• A customs bond is a financial guarantee to CBP that duties, taxes and fees on your entries will be paid. It is not insurance for you — it protects the government.
• A bond is mandatory on formal CBP entries, and since July 24, 2026 CBP's postal interim final rule requires one on postal informal entries as well.
• Two shapes: a single-entry bond covering one shipment, and a continuous bond covering a year. CBP sizes a continuous bond at the greater of $50,000 or 10% of the duties, taxes and fees paid in the previous twelve months, rounded up.
• The sizing point matters more in 2026 than it did: bond amount scales with duty, and duty rose sharply on traffic that previously entered free.
• An insufficient bond causes entries to be rejected. Underwriting takes time, which is why this belongs on the pre-peak checklist rather than the emergency one.

A $50,000 continuous bond costs a few hundred dollars a year and takes days to underwrite; an entry rejected for want of one costs you the container’s demurrage while you find out. Before the de minimis suspension, most marketplace sellers never filed a formal entry and therefore never needed a bond. That changed, and the change arrived quietly inside a policy most coverage described in other terms.

01What a bond is

A financial guarantee to CBP that the duties, taxes and fees owed on your entries will be paid.

Three parties: you (the importer), CBP (the beneficiary), and a surety company that issues the bond.

It protects the government, not you. If a claim is made against the bond, the surety pays CBP and then seeks the money from you. A bond does not reduce what you owe; it guarantees that CBP receives it.

02When you need one

a customs bond as mandatory for almost all formal CBP entries — which since the de minimis suspension covers commercial shipments above the informal threshold. See the entry types guide.

And on informal entries: CBP may require a bond on informal entries valued at or below $2,500. Confirm your position with a licensed broker rather than assuming informal entry avoids the requirement.

Separately, ISF filing on ocean shipments carries its own bond or filing fee, at $25 to $75 per shipment.

03The two shapes

Single-entry bond. Covers one shipment. Sized against the value of that shipment plus duties and fees. Suits an occasional importer or a first shipment while a continuous bond is arranged.

Continuous bond. Covers a year of entries. Sizing is around 10% of annual duties paid, with a minimum — one source cites $50,000 as that minimum.

The break-even is straightforward: if you import more than a handful of times a year, a continuous bond is usually cheaper than repeated single-entry bonds, and it removes a step from every shipment.

04Why the sizing changed

This is the part that catches sellers who already had a bond.

Bond amount scales with duty paid. As the tariff stack guide covers, effective rates on many consumer categories are at 20% to 30% and higher — on traffic that, before the de minimis suspension, often paid nothing at all.

So a bond sized against 2024’s duty spend may be insufficient for 2026’s. And an insufficient bond means entries are rejected — a problem discovered at the border rather than in a renewal notice.

The action: if your import duty spend has risen materially, ask your broker whether your bond amount is still adequate before your next major shipment.

05What it costs

Bond premiums are a small percentage of the bond amount and vary by surety, importer history and risk profile. Your broker or a surety agent quotes it.

The cost that matters is not the premium. It is:

Underwriting time. A bond is credit, and it is assessed. This is not same-day.

Collateral. Sureties may require it, particularly for new importers or where the bond amount is large relative to the business.

Personal guarantees. Common for smaller importers, and worth understanding before signing — the same consideration as in the financing guide.

06Where it fits in the sequence

Against the launch sequence, this belongs with the slow-clock items rather than the shipment-day ones.

Before your first formal entry, not when the goods are on the water. A shipment arriving without adequate bond coverage does not clear, and the customs holds guide covers what waiting costs.

Before peak. Bond underwriting takes time and the requirement scales with duty, which is highest when your volume is highest. Sorting it in August is a different exercise from sorting it in October.

And review it annually, alongside the classification review in the tariff engineering guide. Both are triggered by the same thing — your duty spend changing.

07What to do

Establish whether you have one. Many sellers importing through a forwarder on DDP terms have never seen a bond because the forwarder’s arrangement covered it — which is fine until you change forwarder or the arrangement changes. Ask.

Ask whose bond is being used on your entries. If it is not yours, understand what happens if that relationship ends mid-shipment.

Compare single-entry against continuous on your actual shipment frequency.

Check the amount against current duty spend, not last year’s.

Arrange it before peak, not during it.

Read what you are guaranteeing. A bond is a credit instrument with recourse against you, and the terms are worth reading once rather than never.

Look up the bond amount on your last CBP Form 7501, then add up the duties you have paid since January. If ten percent of that number is bigger than the bond, CBP will notice before you do — and it will notice at the port.

Frequently asked

Do I need a customs bond?

one as mandatory for almost all formal CBP entries, and indicates CBP may require a bond on informal entries valued at or below $2,500. Since the de minimis suspension, commercial shipments that previously entered free now need an entry — and often a bond.

What does a customs bond do?

It guarantees to CBP that the duties, taxes and fees on your entries will be paid. It protects the government rather than you — if the surety pays a claim, it seeks the money from you.

How big does the bond need to be?

Continuous bond sizing is around 10% of annual duties paid, subject to a minimum, with one source citing $50,000 as that minimum. Because it scales with duty, a bond sized before the 2025–2026 tariff increases may now be insufficient.

Single-entry or continuous?

Single-entry suits occasional importers or a first shipment. If you import more than a handful of times a year, a continuous bond is usually cheaper and removes a step from every shipment.

What happens if my bond is too small?

Entries are rejected. It is discovered at the border rather than through a renewal notice, which is why checking the amount against current duty spend matters.

My forwarder handles it. Is that enough?

Possibly, under a DDP arrangement — but ask whose bond is being used on your entries and what happens if the relationship ends mid-shipment. The importer of record obligation is yours regardless.

Sources

1. 19 CFR Part 113 — customs bonds; CBP bond sufficiency guidance (continuous bond minimum $50,000 or 10% of duties, taxes and fees paid in the prior 12 months; single transaction bond at entered value plus duties, taxes and fees), U.S. Customs and Border Protection accessed 2026-09-05
2. Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption for Mail Shipments and New Postal Informal Entry Process (interim final rule; postal informal entry with bond from July 24, 2026; compliance date October 22, 2026; flat specific-duty option ended February 28, 2026), Federal Register / U.S. Customs and Border Protection, June 24, 2026 Primary source accessed 2026-09-05
3. Type 11, the new Section 321 (customs bond mandatory for almost all formal CBP entries; consolidated informal entry from manifest data), Jet Worldwide Secondary accessed 2026-09-05
4. US de minimis exemption for commercial goods ends (CBP potentially requiring a bond for informal entries valued at or below $2,500), BorderBuddy Secondary accessed 2026-09-05
5. Import duty from China to USA: every tariff, rate and fee (continuous entry bond typically 10% of annual duties paid with a $50,000 minimum; ISF bond and filing fee of $25–$75 per shipment), GingerControl Secondary accessed 2026-09-05
6. The end of de minimis: new US entry processes (Entry Type 11 and Type 01; formal entry required above $2,500 and for goods subject to antidumping or countervailing duties), Avalara Secondary accessed 2026-09-05