Importer of record requirements 2026: what applies today, with dates

The Importer of Record (IOR) requirements in force on September 30, 2026 are mostly the long-standing ones. Entry is made by the owner or purchaser of the goods, or by a licensed customs broker, using reasonable care. The IOR holds an importer number obtained on CBP Form 5106, posts a bond before goods are released, and keeps entry records for five years. A nonresident corporation adds a resident agent and a bond with a resident corporate surety.

What changed in 2026 is enforcement and direction. Since September 18, 2026, CBP voids IOR numbers whose Form 5106 information is inaccurate. Executive Order 14411 directs a set of new eligibility requirements, most of which remain in rulemaking. This page lists each requirement with its source and date.

The statutory base: 19 U.S.C. §1484

Under 19 U.S.C. §1484(a)(1), entry is made by one of the parties qualifying as importer of record, in person or through an agent authorized in writing, using reasonable care. The entry filing carries the declared value, classification, and rate of duty. Under §1484(a)(2)(B), the parties who may file are the owner or purchaser of the merchandise, or a person holding a valid customs broker license, and the statute states that the importer of record must be one of the parties eligible to file. The right to make entry post covers who counts as owner or purchaser.

The regulatory requirements in force today

Importer number. Under 19 C.F.R. §24.5, each person or firm files CBP Form 5106 with its first formal entry. The identification number is the IRS employer identification number, or the Social Security number if no EIN has been assigned. Where neither exists, CBP assigns an importer number.

Bond. Under 19 C.F.R. §142.4(a), merchandise is not released from CBP custody at the time of entry unless a single entry or continuous bond on CBP Form 301 has been filed.

Nonresident corporations. Under 19 C.F.R. §141.18, a corporation not incorporated in the customs territory of the United States may not enter merchandise for consumption unless it has a resident agent authorized to accept service of process in the state of the port of entry, and files a Form 301 bond with a resident corporate surety. The nonresident importer post walks through those conditions.

Records. Under 19 C.F.R. §163.4(a), records relating to an entry are kept for five years from the date of entry.

None of these provisions was amended in 2026.

In effect since September 18, 2026: Form 5106 accuracy

CBP’s notice, Accuracy of Importer of Record Data Submitted to CBP, published August 19, 2026 at 91 FR 53627, implements Section 2(e) of Executive Order 14411. It sets out what the Form 5106 information must be:

• The physical address must be the actual physical location of the business or individual. The notice states it cannot be a registered agent, customs broker, freight forwarder, P.O. box, business service center, or the address of another person or entity.
• The email address and phone number must be valid and belong to the IOR. A broker or other third party may not supply its own.
• A customs broker must execute the power of attorney directly with the IOR, not through a freight forwarder or other third party.

The notice states that, as of September 18, 2026, CBP immediately voids the IOR number where it determines the Form 5106 information is inaccurate or incomplete. The Form 5106 post covers the notice and the first court decision describing one of these reviews.

In effect for one product group: polysilicon

A Bureau of Industry and Security temporary final rule, in effect from September 22 through December 3, 2026, caps the weekly quantity of polysilicon products that an IOR registered with CBP on or after August 6, 2026 may enter without Commerce approval. It is the first 2026 rule in which the IOR’s registration date decides which requirement applies. The polysilicon post has the quantities and the waiver process.

Directed but not in effect: Executive Order 14411

Executive Order 14411, Strengthening Customs Enforcement, was signed June 3, 2026 and published at 91 FR 35125 on June 10, 2026. Section 2 directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to change who may act as IOR and what that party must show. The main directives:

• Assets and bonding. Section 2(a) directs revised importer eligibility regulations within 180 days, including a requirement that an IOR maintain at all times a minimum level of tangible domestic assets, bonding, or both, and that an IOR provide anticipated import volumes, year organized, and ownership and beneficial ownership disclosures.
• Informal entry. Section 2(b) directs the Secretary to promptly prohibit a foreign IOR from filing informal entry.
• Formal entry by a foreign IOR. Section 2(c) directs that a foreign IOR may not rely on a continuous bond, except where CBP permits it on a showing that the revenue would be fully protected, and that it be validated in the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT), if eligible, or use a CTPAT validated and licensed customs broker.
• Good standing and vetting. Sections 2(d) and 2(f) direct, within 180 days, a good standing requirement for all IORs and enhanced vetting procedures.
• Penalties. Section 4(c) directs, within 90 days, revised mitigation standards including a minimum penalty floor of not less than 50 percent of the assessed penalty, absent exceptional circumstances that materially impact national security.

The order’s definitions decide who is a foreign IOR. A U.S. IOR, in the case of an entity, is organized under the laws of the United States, is located in the United States, and has at all times controlling beneficial owners who are United States citizens or lawful permanent residents, or owns a significant amount of real property in the United States as determined by the Secretary. A foreign IOR is any IOR that does not meet that definition. On the text of that definition, being organized and located in the United States does not by itself make an entity a U.S. IOR. The ownership test or the real property alternative also has to be met.

The 180 day period in the order runs from June 3, 2026. The order directs the Secretary to take steps within those periods. It does not itself change a regulation, and as of October 10, 2026 CBP has published no rule in the Federal Register implementing Sections 2(a) through 2(d), 2(f), or 4(c). On October 8, 2026 CBP published a separate proposed rule on informal entries of $2,500 or less that would require a bond before release and a licensed broker as Importer of Record where the consignee is not the owner or purchaser, with comments due December 7, 2026; it is not in effect and does not address the order’s foreign IOR direction. The enforcement order tracker carries the current position of each directive.

In rulemaking: supply chain disclosures

CBP published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, Heightened Import Disclosures for Supply Chain Visibility, on September 2, 2026 at 91 FR 56408. CBP states it is considering amending its regulations to collect information on the parties involved in an importation, such as the manufacturer, seller, shipper, and exporter; supply chain tracing technology; and the foreign export documentation filed with the foreign customs authority. Comments are due December 1, 2026. An advance notice has no effective date. CBP states the comments may be used to draft a notice of proposed rulemaking.

Other steps CBP has reported

CBP’s Strengthening Customs Enforcement page, last modified September 2, 2026, reports that an “Inactive for Entry Purposes” status went live in ACE on July 16, 2026, and that CBP notified CTPAT partners of upcoming requirements for CTPAT-validated customs brokers to conduct additional vetting on their foreign importer clients. The page gives no effective date for the broker vetting requirement.

The facts that decide where an importer stands in 2026

• Which party is named as IOR on the entries, and whether it is the owner, the purchaser, or a broker
• Whether that party is organized and located in the United States, and who its controlling beneficial owners are
• What physical address, email, and phone appear on its Form 5106, and whose they are
• Whether the broker holds a power of attorney executed directly with the IOR
• Whether the bond is continuous or single transaction, and for a nonresident corporation, whether the surety is resident and a resident agent is in place
• Whether any volume moves under informal entry
• When the IOR number was registered with CBP

To see if you qualify for a United States Importer of Record structure provided by an independent Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, use the contact page or write to ship@iorusa.com.

Sources

• 19 U.S.C. §1484, entry of merchandise
• 19 C.F.R. §24.5, filing identification number
• 19 C.F.R. §142.4, bond requirements at the time of entry
• 19 C.F.R. §141.18, entry by nonresident corporation
• 19 C.F.R. §163.4, record retention period
• Executive Order 14411, Strengthening Customs Enforcement, 91 FR 35125, June 10, 2026
• CBP, Accuracy of Importer of Record Data Submitted to CBP, 91 FR 53627, August 19, 2026
• CBP, Heightened Import Disclosures for Supply Chain Visibility, 91 FR 56408, September 2, 2026
• CBP, Strengthening Customs Enforcement