If you've read our guides on Section 301, the de minimis suspension, or AD/CVD duties, you've seen us mention "get a continuous customs bond" as a practical next step. This is what that actually means — and why it's one of the most overlooked requirements for anyone importing commercially into the US.
A customs bond isn't optional paperwork. CBP requires one on almost every formal commercial entry, and importers who show up at the border without one can have their shipment held until it's sorted out. Here's what you need to know before that happens to you.
Any commercial shipment valued over $2,500 needs a customs bond. You have two options: a single entry bond for one-off shipments, or a continuous bond covering all your imports for 12 months. If you import more than a few times a year, a continuous bond is almost always cheaper and simpler.
What a Customs Bond Actually Is
A customs bond is a three-party financial guarantee between you (the importer, called the "principal"), a surety company, and CBP. It guarantees that you'll pay whatever duties, taxes, and fees are assessed on your shipment, and that you'll comply with CBP regulations.
If you fail to pay, CBP files a claim against the bond. You're still on the hook to resolve that claim directly — the surety only pays out if you don't, and then comes after you to recover what it paid. In practice, a bond works a lot like an insurance policy: it protects CBP's ability to collect, but it doesn't make your debt disappear.
Single Entry vs. Continuous — The Core Decision
| Single Entry Bond | Continuous Bond | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | One shipment, one port | All shipments, all US ports, for 12 months |
| Typical amount | Entered value + duties, taxes, fees | 10% of prior-year duties/taxes/fees, $50,000 minimum |
| Best for | Occasional importers, one-off or trial shipments | Anyone importing regularly |
| ISF bond needed separately? | Yes, adds extra cost per shipment | No, included automatically |
| Renewal | Expires after that entry is finalized | Auto-renews until canceled |
Source: CBP.gov, 19 CFR 113 · bond amounts and formulas can change, always confirm current figures with your surety or broker
The break-even point comes quickly. If you import more than two or three times a year, the combined cost of repeated single entry bonds (plus separate ISF bonds on each one) usually exceeds what a single continuous bond would cost for the whole year.
How the Bond Amount Is Calculated
For a single entry bond, the amount is generally the entered value of the goods plus all duties, taxes, and fees owed — sometimes higher for goods regulated by other agencies, like FDA-regulated products.
For a continuous bond, CBP requires a minimum of $50,000. If your total duties, taxes, and fees exceeded $50,000 in the prior calendar year, your bond must be at least 10% of that total instead. CBP monitors this continuously through its Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system — if your trailing 12-month duty total grows enough that 10% of it exceeds your current bond amount, CBP flags the bond as insufficient and sends a written notice, typically giving you 30 days to increase it.
Setting your continuous bond amount once and forgetting about it. With Section 301, Section 232, and other tariffs stacking on the same shipments, your trailing-12-month duty total can grow faster than you expect — and an insufficient bond can mean CBP refuses new entries, flags your account for manual review, or terminates the bond entirely. If you import AD/CVD-covered merchandise, expect CBP to require a significantly higher bond amount than a standard importer.
Don't Confuse This With a Bonded Warehouse
These two get mixed up constantly, but they're different instruments entirely. Your import bond is your personal guarantee to CBP as the importer of record. A bonded warehouse operates under its own custodial bond, which is what allows it to store your goods with duty payment deferred — sometimes for years. If you store goods in a bonded warehouse, you still need your own import bond; duty is simply paid later, when the goods are withdrawn for sale.
How to Get One
- Contact a licensed customs broker or surety bond agent. Most customs brokers can arrange your bond directly as part of onboarding — you often don't need to go to a separate surety yourself.
- Complete a bond application with your business information, import history, and financial details.
- Get approved and receive your bond number, which your broker will use on every entry filed on your behalf.
- Monitor your duty totals — especially if you import products newly subject to Section 301, Section 232, or AD/CVD duties, since these can push your trailing-12-month total past your existing bond amount faster than expected.
Use our Tariff Impact Calculator and Landed Cost Calculator to estimate your annual duty exposure before talking to a surety — it's the same number that determines your continuous bond requirement.
1. Confirm your shipment is over the $2,500 formal entry threshold. 2. Decide: occasional shipments → single entry bond; regular importing → continuous bond. 3. Contact a broker or surety to apply. 4. Recalculate your bond sufficiency whenever new tariffs affect your products. 5. Don't confuse your import bond with a bonded warehouse's custodial bond.
Estimate your annual duty exposure
Know your numbers before you talk to a broker or surety about your bond.
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