For companies outside the United States
Selling into the United States from abroad? Someone is the Importer of Record on every entry.
That party owes the duties, the classification, and the paperwork, in its own name. Most foreign sellers are in one of four situations. This page shows which one applies to you and how foreign companies handle the role.
Which one is you?
You ship delivered duty paid
You clear the goods and pay the duties, so you are the Importer of Record on the entry, with everything that comes with it.
You hold inventory in a United States marketplace or fulfillment network
The goods arrive in your name and stay yours until a consumer buys them. You hold the role.
Your United States customer buys before arrival
On free on board or similar terms, the buyer owns the goods at entry and holds the role. You do not.
A forwarder or agent handles everything
Then whose name is on the entry is the first thing to check. It may be yours, and you may not know what has been filed in it.
How foreign companies handle it
Carry the role yourself
A resident agent in the state of each port of entry, a bond from a United States surety, your own physical address and contacts on file with CBP, and the duty liability and five years of records in your name, managed from abroad.
Let your United States customer hold it
This works when the customer agrees to be the importer, with its own broker, bond, and records. It does not work for marketplace inventory or delivered duty paid sales, where the goods are still yours when they arrive.
Use a United States Importer of Record structure
A United States company holds the Importer of Record role on your entries, with the bond, the records, and the duty liability in its name, and licensed customs brokers file the entries. Your company stays the seller.
Where do you stand
Tell us what you import and how your entries are filed today, and we’ll show you where you stand. We reply to your work email within one business day.
Your details are handled as described in our Privacy Policy.
What the role involves, in plain terms
Whoever holds the Importer of Record role on a United States entry has five things in its own name:
- An importer number on file with CBP, carrying the company’s own physical address, email, and phone, not an agent’s or a forwarder’s
- A customs bond
- Reasonable care in classifying the goods and declaring their value
- Liability for the duties until they are paid in full
- Records of every entry, kept for five years and produced when CBP asks
A company outside the United States can hold the role. It needs a resident agent and a bond from a United States surety to do so. The full explainer walks through each requirement with the citations.
Who this page is for
Companies outside the United States that ship regularly: manufacturers selling on delivered duty paid terms, brands holding inventory in United States fulfillment networks, and exporters of goods that carry high duties today, including pharmaceuticals, steel and aluminum, oil and gas equipment, chemicals, machinery, and vehicles. If that is you, the form above is the fastest way to find out where your entries stand. Prefer email: ship@iorusa.com.
Tell us where you stand
Tell us what you import and how your entries are filed today, and we’ll show you where you stand.