Last updated: September 25, 2026
The Importer of Record is the party legally answerable to CBP.
Not the shipper. Not the consignee. Not the freight forwarder. The Importer of Record (IOR) is the entity that carries legal responsibility for bringing goods into the United States. This page explains what that responsibility includes, who is allowed to hold the role under the statute and the regulations, what an IOR must have in place before the first entry, and what the 2026 customs enforcement order changes. Every requirement is cited to its source.
The short version
- The IOR owes the duties, holds the bond, keeps the entry records for five years, and answers for the declared value and classification under a reasonable care standard.
- Only the owner or purchaser of the goods, or a licensed customs broker they designate, may make entry under 19 U.S.C. §1484. A forwarder or a nominal consignee cannot.
- A company outside the United States can hold the role, but only with a resident agent and a bond from a resident surety under 19 C.F.R. §141.18.
- Since September 18, 2026 CBP voids IOR numbers whose Form 5106 lists a borrowed address or a third party’s contact details. The rest of the 2026 order is still in rulemaking.
On this page: what the IOR is accountable for, who may act, the nonresident IOR, what must be in place, the four roles on a shipment, what changed in 2026, arrangements to check, how a US IOR structure works, questions.
What the IOR is accountable for
- Payment of all duties, tariffs, and fees owed on the merchandise. Under 19 C.F.R. §141.1, liability for duties is a personal debt of the importer that accrues at the time of importation and is not extinguished until paid in full.
- Compliance with United States import law, including admissibility and the requirements of other federal agencies whose rules attach to the goods.
- Accurate declared value and classification on every entry. The declared value follows the valuation hierarchy in 19 U.S.C. §1401a, and the customs valuation page covers how that hierarchy works.
- Recordkeeping for five years under 19 U.S.C. §1508 and 19 C.F.R. Part 163. The records include the entry, the commercial invoice, the packing list, proof of payment, and the correspondence behind them. Under 19 U.S.C. §1509, CBP may demand them and examine them.
- The reasonable care standard under 19 U.S.C. §1484(a)(1), which requires the IOR to use reasonable care in classifying the merchandise, declaring its value, and determining the rate of duty.
That last one is worth sitting with. Reasonable care is a statutory expectation, not a courtesy. “We did not know” is not a defense. The penalty statute, 19 U.S.C. §1592, sets liability for negligence, gross negligence, and fraud, and the 2026 order directs a 50 percent minimum penalty floor once rulemaking lands.
Who may act as Importer of Record
The entry statute is specific. Under 19 U.S.C. §1484(a)(2)(B), the parties qualifying as importer of record are the owner or purchaser of the merchandise, or, when appropriately designated by the owner, purchaser, or consignee, a licensed customs broker. Entry is made by that party in person or through an agent authorized in writing.
CBP Directive 3530-002A, Right to Make Entry, sets out how CBP reads owner and purchaser. The directive treats those terms as including parties with a sufficient financial interest in the import transaction. The examples it gives are the actual owner, the actual purchaser, a buying or selling agent, and a person importing goods for a purpose such as exhibition or repair. A party that merely handles or forwards the goods does not qualify.
CBP rulings have applied that standard case by case. An entity without title to the goods has been found to qualify where it arranged the importation, paid the duties, and bore contractual responsibility for the merchandise. In other rulings CBP found the described facts insufficient because the financial interest was asserted rather than established. The analysis is fact specific and turns on documentation. The right to make entry post walks through the directive and the rulings in detail.
The nonresident Importer of Record
A company with no United States presence can hold the right to make entry, but 19 C.F.R. §141.18 attaches two conditions. A nonresident corporation may enter merchandise for consumption only if it has a resident agent in the state where the port of entry is located who is authorized to accept service of process, and only if it files a bond on CBP Form 301 with a resident corporate surety to secure payment of any increased or additional duties found due.
Many foreign manufacturers and overseas sellers operate under this arrangement today, sometimes deliberately and sometimes because a forwarder set it up for them. It is the arrangement Executive Order 14411 points at directly, and the nonresident importer post covers what it requires now and what the order would change.
What an Importer of Record must have in place
Before the first entry is filed in its name, an IOR needs five things.
An IOR number
Obtained by filing CBP Form 5106, the Importer Identity Form, under 19 C.F.R. §24.5, directly or through a broker holding the importer’s power of attorney. Since September 18, 2026 CBP voids numbers whose form lists an address, email, or phone that does not belong to the importer.
A customs bond
The basic importation and entry bond conditions in 19 C.F.R. §113.62 obligate the principal to pay duties, taxes, and charges, to complete entry, and to produce documents and redeliver merchandise on demand. A continuous bond covers a year of entries; a single transaction bond covers one.
A resident agent
Required when the IOR is a nonresident corporation, under 19 C.F.R. §141.18: an agent in the state of the port of entry who can accept service of process, plus a bond from a resident corporate surety.
A reasonable care process
For classification, valuation, and rate of duty on each entry. In practice this means someone who can explain why each declared value and tariff number is correct, and the file that shows the reasoning.
A recordkeeping system
One that keeps the entry records for five years under 19 U.S.C. §1508 and 19 C.F.R. Part 163 and can produce them when CBP asks.
A company that can point to each of these five items in its own files holds the role properly. A company that cannot is usually relying on a supplier, a forwarder, or a broker to have handled it, and that is where the risk sits.
Importer of Record vs consignee, broker, and forwarder: four roles on every shipment
| Role | What it does | Legal authority | Answers to CBP for the entry? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Importer of Record | Owns or purchased the goods, holds the bond, owes the duties, keeps the records | 19 U.S.C. §1484, 19 C.F.R. §141.1 | Yes |
| Customs broker | Files the entry in ACE on the IOR’s behalf under a power of attorney | 19 U.S.C. §1641, 19 C.F.R. Part 111 | For its own conduct as broker, not as importer |
| Consignee | The party to whom the goods are shipped | Named on the bill of lading | Not automatically |
| Freight forwarder | Arranges transportation and documents | Commercial contract | No |
What a consignee is not
A consignee is the party to whom goods are shipped. A consignee is not automatically the Importer of Record. A party named in shipping papers without the substantive financial interest the law requires is a nominal consignee. Under the directive it may designate a broker to make entry for the party that holds the interest, but it cannot make entry in its own name.
The IOR and the customs broker are different roles
A licensed customs broker is authorized under 19 U.S.C. §1641 and 19 C.F.R. Part 111 to transact customs business on behalf of others. The broker files the entry. The broker is the filing engine. The Importer of Record is the party whose name is on that entry and who answers for it. Both roles exist on every formal entry. They are not interchangeable, and one does not substitute for the other. A broker’s power of attorney must be executed directly with the Importer of Record, not through a forwarder or other intermediary, under 19 C.F.R. §111.36(c)(3).
What changed in 2026
On June 3, 2026, Executive Order 14411, Strengthening Customs Enforcement, published at 91 FR 35125 on June 10, directed the Department of Homeland Security and CBP to tighten who may act as Importer of Record and what that party must be able to demonstrate. The order directs minimum tangible domestic assets or bonding for IORs, heightened formal entry requirements for foreign entities, a limit on informal entry to United States IORs, a good standing requirement with increased vetting, disclosure and certification requirements, and a 50 percent minimum penalty floor. The position as of September 25, 2026:
In effect since September 18, 2026
Importer of Record data accuracy enforcement under the August 19, 2026 Federal Register notice. CBP is reviewing the Form 5106 information on file for every active IOR and voids the number where the physical address, email, phone, or power of attorney does not meet the notice’s requirements. A voided number cannot be used to enter merchandise.
In rulemaking, no effective date
The asset and bonding minimums, the formal and informal entry restrictions, the good standing requirement, the certification regime, and the penalty floor. CBP opened an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on supply chain disclosures on September 2, 2026, with comments due December 1, 2026, and on October 8, 2026 published a separate proposed rule that would require a bond for informal entries of $2,500 or less, with comments due December 7, 2026. Neither has an effective date.
The 2026 customs enforcement order tracker carries the current position of each directive with a last-updated date, and the Form 5106 enforcement post covers the notice and the first court decision to describe an accuracy review.
Arrangements that deserve a second look
Four structures come up repeatedly, and each one sits in the path of the order.
The overseas supplier is the IOR under delivered duty paid terms
The supplier is a nonresident corporation entering goods under 19 C.F.R. §141.18, often with a forwarder’s address on its Form 5106. The US buyer has no visibility into the declared value or the classification, and no control over the records. The heightened formal entry requirements for foreign entities are aimed at exactly this party.
The freight forwarder is listed as importer
A forwarder that neither owns nor purchased the goods does not hold the right to make entry. Entries filed that way rest on a financial interest that does not exist.
The US customer is a nominal consignee
The customer’s name is on the bill of lading, but the supplier or a third party files the entry. When CBP asks who is answerable for the declared value, the answer is unclear to everyone involved.
A nonresident importer with a borrowed address
The company holds the role in its own name, but its Form 5106 lists a registered agent, a broker, or a warehouse. Since September 18, 2026 that is the profile the accuracy notice describes.
The breakdown by situation covers who tends to be in each position and what the alternatives are.
How a United States Importer of Record structure works in practice
A Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business operates as the legally structured Importer of Record. It is named as Importer of Record on the entry under a shipment-specific authorization, assumes responsibility for entry accuracy, valuation methodology, and duty payment, and keeps the entry records. Entries are filed through licensed United States customs brokers in the Automated Commercial Environment.
Your existing broker relationship can remain in place. Your supplier relationships remain unchanged. The structure operates at the import and compliance layer, not the commercial sales layer. The how it works page walks through intake, structure review, and ongoing audit support step by step.
See if your shipments qualify
Tell us what you import and how your entries are filed today. We reply to your work email within one business day. The full form has room for more detail.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign company be the Importer of Record in the United States?
Yes, subject to 19 C.F.R. §141.18. A nonresident corporation needs a resident agent in the state of the port of entry who can accept service of process, and a bond with a resident corporate surety. It also needs an IOR number obtained through CBP Form 5106 with its own physical address and contact details. The 2026 order directs additional asset, bonding, and good standing requirements that are still in rulemaking.
Is the customs broker the Importer of Record?
No. The broker files the entry under a power of attorney and is licensed under 19 U.S.C. §1641. The Importer of Record is the party whose name is on the entry, who holds the bond, and who owes the duties. A broker can be designated to make entry by the owner, purchaser, or consignee, but that designation does not make the broker the importer.
Does the Importer of Record have to own the goods?
Not necessarily. Under 19 U.S.C. §1484 the owner or purchaser holds the right to make entry, and CBP Directive 3530-002A reads those terms to include parties with a sufficient financial interest in the transaction. The interest has to be real and documented. A forwarder or a nominal consignee with no financial stake does not qualify.
What happens if the Form 5106 on file is wrong?
Since September 18, 2026 CBP voids the IOR number and sends written notice to the email on file. A voided number cannot be used to enter merchandise. The importer requests reestablishment by contacting CBP with information that corroborates its identity, as described in the voiding notice.
How long must entry records be kept?
Five years from the date of entry, under 19 U.S.C. §1508 and 19 C.F.R. Part 163. The obligation follows the Importer of Record role. Whoever holds the role holds the records.
Related
- What changed in 2026: the enforcement order tracker
- Who needs a US Importer of Record
- How it works
- Customs valuation under 19 U.S.C. §1401a
- Who has the right to make entry
- Importer of Record definitions, the terms that decide whose name goes on the entry
- US Importer of Record services, what a service IOR structure is and is not
- Pharmaceutical imports: the Importer of Record under Section 232
- Steel and aluminum imports: the Importer of Record under Section 232
- Chemical imports: the Importer of Record under Section 301
- Oil and gas equipment imports: the Importer of Record under Section 232
- Drone imports: the Importer of Record under Section 232
- Do I need a US Importer of Record
- Importer of Record requirements in 2026
- Importer of Record deadlines, fourth quarter 2026
- Form 5106 accuracy enforcement, in effect September 18
- Frequently asked questions
Sources
- 19 U.S.C. §1484, entry of merchandise
- 19 U.S.C. §1508, recordkeeping
- 19 U.S.C. §1509, examination of books and witnesses
- 19 U.S.C. §1592, penalties for fraud, gross negligence, and negligence
- 19 U.S.C. §1641, customs brokers
- 19 C.F.R. §24.5, filing identification number
- 19 C.F.R. §113.62, basic importation and entry bond conditions
- 19 C.F.R. §141.1, liability of importer for duties
- 19 C.F.R. §141.18, entry by nonresident corporation
- 19 C.F.R. §111.36, relations with unlicensed persons
- 19 C.F.R. §163.4, record retention period
- CBP Directive 3530-002A, Right to Make Entry
- Executive Order 14411, Strengthening Customs Enforcement, 91 FR 35125, June 10, 2026
- CBP, Accuracy of Importer of Record Data Submitted to CBP, Federal Register, August 19, 2026
- CBP, Heightened Import Disclosures for Supply Chain Visibility, advance notice of proposed rulemaking, September 2, 2026
This page summarizes publicly available federal actions for general information. It is not legal advice. Requirements are subject to rulemaking and change. Verify current requirements against the Federal Register and CBP guidance.
See if you qualify
Tell us what you import and how your entries are filed today, and we’ll show you where you stand.