Release from manifest is gone. Your parcels now need a customs entry, and there are two of them.

Key takeaways

• ACE now rejects Entry Type 86 cargo release transactions, and the Section 321 manifest option was removed from the Truck Manifest Trade Portal. The route is closed at the system level, not merely discouraged.
• Two entry types remain for goods that used to clear on de minimis: informal Type 11 for shipments at or under $2,500, and formal Type 01 above that.
• Formal entry means a customs bond. CBP may also require a bond on informal entries at or below $2,500 — a cost that did not exist on this traffic before.
• Congress repealed Section 321 for commercial shipments effective July 1, 2027, so the current arrangement is a transition, not an endpoint.
• Postal shipments follow a separate track: since July 24, 2026 they need a postal informal entry with a bond and a 10-digit HTS code, assessed ad valorem. The $80 / $160 / $200 flat per-package option ended on February 28, 2026, and CBP's voluntary Entry Type 13 test for mail shipments starts September 22, 2026.

Every parcel that used to clear on a manifest line now clears on an entry, and there are two kinds. The de minimis guide covers what changed and why. This one covers the part that actually lands on your desk: the paperwork your goods now need to enter the country, and what each option costs.

01What Type 86 was, and why it mattered

Entry Type 86 was an informal entry type created in 2019 to let Section 321 low-value shipments be filed electronically in ACE. It opened the low-value route across every port and every mode of transport. Consolidated containers holding thousands of individual parcels could clear duty-free on a single filing.

For any seller shipping direct to consumer from overseas, that was the entire business model. It is now unavailable.

02The two entries that replaced it

	Type 11 — informal	Type 01 — formal
Value ceiling	Up to $2,500	Above $2,500
Merchandise Processing Fee	Flat, per entry	0.3464% of customs value, with a floor and a cap
Customs bond	Reported as possibly required	Required
Also required for	—	Antidumping and countervailing duty goods, regardless of value
Filing	Electronic, in ACE	Electronic, in ACE

Paper entry forms are no longer accepted for low-value imports. Whatever route you take, it is filed in ACE.

The $2,500 line is the one to plan around, because it is the only place where a shipment’s structure changes its fee basis rather than just its fee amount. Below it you pay a flat per-entry charge; above it you pay a percentage.

03What that does to your consolidation strategy

This is the part most coverage skips.

Under Type 86, splitting a container into thousands of individual low-value shipments was the point — each one cleared free. Under the current regime the incentive inverts on the fee side and stays split on the duty side.

Consider 100 parcels of $40 each, total $4,000, all subject to the same duty.

As 100 separate informal entries: 100 flat MPF charges, 100 filings, 100 opportunities for a discrepancy. Your broker charges per entry.

As one consolidated formal entry: one MPF at 0.3464% of $4,000, one filing, one bond usage, one broker fee.

The duty is the same either way — duty follows the goods, not the paperwork. What changes is the administrative layer, and at any meaningful volume the administrative layer is where the money goes.

The manifest data can be reused. Reporting on the transition notes that basic manifest data — tracking identifier, shipper and consignee details, piece count, weight and product description — can be transferred to create a consolidated informal entry. That is the practical mechanism behind high-volume e-commerce importing continuing to work. It is not the same as Type 86, and it is not free, but it is not the wall it first appears to be.

04Bonds, which are new for most sellers

A customs bond is effectively a guarantee to CBP that the duties will be paid. It is mandatory on almost all formal entries. Under de minimis, most small sellers never needed one, because they never filed a formal entry.

There are two shapes. A single-entry bond covers one shipment. A continuous bond covers a year of them, and its sizing at around 10% of annual duties with a minimum — a figure that has become materially larger now that duty applies to traffic that used to be free.

CBP may require a bond on informal entries at or below $2,500. Confirm this with your broker before assuming informal entry avoids the cost.

05The postal track is separate

If your goods move through the international postal system rather than a commercial carrier, a different mechanism applies, and it changed twice in 2026. For six months after August 29, 2025 postal shipments could be assessed either ad valorem or under a flat per-package duty of $80, $160 or $200, banded by the origin country’s tariff rate. That flat option ended February 28, 2026. Since July 24, 2026, under CBP’s interim final rule, every postal shipment requires a postal informal entry — a bond, a 10-digit HTS code and the duty calculation — filed before release, with a compliance deadline of October 22, 2026. CBP’s voluntary electronic Entry Type 13 test for mail shipments valued at $2,500 or less begins September 22, 2026.

The flat fee is gone; the arithmetic it produced is worth remembering anyway. On a $30 parcel, $80 was not a cost line — it was the end of that product as a proposition. Ad valorem plus a bonded entry is cheaper per parcel and more expensive per shipment in paperwork, which pushes the same product toward consolidation rather than back toward the mailbag.

Separately, CBP’s Entry Type 13 voluntary test for mail shipments valued at $2,500 or less is scheduled to begin on September 22, 2026, offering an alternative electronic informal process for mail. It is a test, and it is voluntary. Do not build around it until it is settled.

06What to do about it

Find out how your goods are currently entering. Most sellers importing through a freight forwarder or 3PL have never seen an entry summary. Ask for a recent CBP Form 7501. It tells you the entry type, the classification used, the duty paid and the fees charged. You cannot manage a cost you have never looked at.

Get your bond position sorted before peak season, not during it. Bond underwriting takes time and the requirement scales with your duty spend, which has risen.

Model consolidated versus split for your actual parcel mix. The answer depends on your average parcel value, your parcel count and your broker’s per-entry fee. Those are three numbers you have and no published article does.

Stop treating the postal route as the cheap option. For anything above trivial value it usually no longer is, and the per-package bands make that worse as price falls.

Ask who your importer of record is, and be sure of the answer. If a supplier offers delivered-duty-paid terms, find out whose name is on the entry. The legal responsibility for classification and valuation follows the importer of record, and it is not something you can outsource by accepting an incoterm.

Ask your forwarder one question this week: on my last shipment, which entry type did you file, and whose name was on it? If they cannot answer in one sentence, you have found the problem before CBP does.

Frequently asked

Can I still use Entry Type 86?

No. ACE rejects Entry Type 86 cargo release transactions, and the Section 321 manifest filing option was removed from the Truck Manifest Trade Portal.

What is the difference between Type 11 and Type 01?

Type 11 is informal entry for shipments at or under $2,500; Type 01 is formal entry above that. Formal entry requires a customs bond and uses a percentage-based Merchandise Processing Fee rather than a flat one.

Do I need a customs bond now?

For formal entries, effectively yes. CBP may require a bond on informal entries at or below $2,500. Confirm your position with a licensed broker rather than assuming.

Does consolidating parcels reduce my duty?

No. Duty follows the goods and their classification, not the number of entries. Consolidation reduces the administrative layer — filings, per-entry fees and broker charges — which at volume is where the cost sits.

Is this the final state of the rules?

No. Congress repealed Section 321 for commercial shipments effective July 1, 2027, and CBP's Entry Type 13 mail test begins September 22, 2026. Treat current arrangements as transitional.

Sources

1. 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
2. 19 CFR Part 143, Subpart C — informal entry ($2,500 limit; 19 CFR 143.21) and Part 141 formal entry requirements, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection accessed 2026-09-05
3. Entry Type 13 — Informal Mail Entry test (voluntary; mail shipments valued at $2,500 or less; commences September 22, 2026), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Register notice, June 24, 2026 accessed 2026-09-05
4. The end of de minimis: new US entry processes (Type 11, Type 01, Type 13 test, Section 321 repeal effective July 1, 2027), Avalara Secondary accessed 2026-09-05
5. US to end de minimis exemption for low-value imports (ACE rejects Type 86 cargo release; manifest option removed), GHY International Secondary accessed 2026-09-05
6. US de minimis exemption for commercial goods ends (bond on informal entries; postal per-package bands $80 / $160 / $200), BorderBuddy Secondary accessed 2026-09-05
7. Type 11, the new Section 321 (consolidated informal entry from manifest data; bond requirement), Jet Worldwide Secondary accessed 2026-09-05
8. Test concerning entry of Section 321 low-value shipments through ACE (Entry Type 86), republication with modifications, Federal Register Primary source accessed 2026-09-05
9. Entry of low-value shipments (background on the Section 321 Data Pilot and Entry Type 86 Test), Federal Register Primary source accessed 2026-09-05