Clearing Up Customs Forms Confusion on Mailing & Shipping

If you mail or ship items internationally, you know these processes are not always easy, and one of the most confusing areas is that of the customs forms. How do you know when customs forms are needed? How do you access the correct customs forms? How do you insure the customs forms accompany the package? The United States Postal Service® (USPS®) recently announced that customs forms will now be required for shipments to US territories, effective June 6, 2011, so we thought this would be a great opportunity to shed some light on this often confusing subject.

Definition and Use of Customs forms on Packages

International mail and shipments are subject to examinations by the customs departments at the destination country. Since regulations for incoming mail and shipments are different in each country, the use of customs forms varies, depending on what you are shipping and the final destination of the package. Customs forms include information about the sender, the recipient, and the contents of the package. This information helps determine if there are any customs fees that need to be paid and are required in order for the packages to pass through the customs inspection process. Failure to accurately and completely fill out the forms can cause delays in delivery or even non-delivery.

Availability of USPS Customs forms

Customs forms are available online, either by ordering or completion. For anything shipping or mailing through the USPS, the following forms may apply:
PS Form 2976 - Customs Declaration - Sender's Declaration CN22
PS Form 2976A - Customs Declaration Form and Dispatch Note-CP72 PS
Form 2976E (used with Form 2976A) - envelope or pouch to enclose Form 2976A
PS Form 6182-Commercial Invoice

The USPS provides a chart with guidelines regarding what types of shipments require which customs documents in IMM (International Mail Manual) 123.6. The USPS also provides a nifty little tool mailers can use, called Customs Form Indicator, to interactively determine what shipments require which customs forms.

Customs forms for US Territories shipments

Effective June 6, 2011, mailers are required to submit the appropriate customs forms for shipments to US territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Marshall Islands, and the US Virgin Islands. Essentially, any packages containing goods (not documents) sent from the US to these destinations, and in some cases for shipments between these destinations, mailers must use either Form 2976 or 2976-A. The IMM (IMM 123.63) includes a detailed definition of what constitutes a document. These changes were announced in the April 20, 2011 Postal Bulletin, which also includes a chart of which territories and ZIP codes are affected.

Customs forms for Military Mail

Many mailers are also confused about the use of customs forms for mail sent to Army Post Offices (APO's), Fleet Post Offices (FPO's), or Diplomatic Post Offices (DPO's). All mail weighing 16 ounces or more, regardless of class of mail or contents, destined for APO, FPO, or DPO addresses, must contain a Form 2976-A (or Form 2976 if the mailpiece is not large enough to accommodate a Form 2976-A). All military mail weighing less than 16 ounces that may contain dutiable contents must contain a Form 2976. There are some exceptions to these requirements, such as if the mailer is a "known mailer", or the mailer is a federal, state, or local government agencies mailing official mail, or the mail is prepaid from government contractors and is properly endorsed. These rules are covered in Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) 703.

Consequences

Technically, the USPS should return to the sender any mail that should contain customs forms but does not. However, the regulations are not always consistently enforced, so to make sure your mailings do not end up in a customs "black hole", we encourage mailers to take advantage of the tools described above to make the correct forms determination. It is always best to err on the side of caution, so "if in doubt, fill it out!"

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