Type 11 vs Type 13 Entry: US Low-Value Customs Clearance

Type 11 is CBP's informal entry for low-value shipments that arrive by express, courier, air cargo or truck; Type 13 is the new electronic informal entry for the same kind of shipment when it arrives by international mail. Both cover goods worth $2,500 or less, both need a 10-digit HTSUS code and the full duty, and from January 20, 2027 Type 13 becomes the only informal route for mail parcels that carry Section 201, 232 or 301 duties or a partner agency requirement.

Rules as of October 20, 2026.

If you sell into the United States from abroad, the entry type your parcel is filed under now decides who files, how fast, with what data, and whether a broker sits in the middle. With de minimis suspended, almost every ecommerce order is an entry of some kind, and for most sellers that entry is a Type 11 or, by mail, a Type 13.

An entry type is the two-digit code CBP uses to say which customs procedure a shipment is cleared under: 01 is a formal consumption entry, 11 is an informal entry, and 13 is the new informal mail entry.

What is a Type 11 entry?#

A Type 11 entry is CBP's informal entry for merchandise valued at $2,500 or less that does not arrive by mail. Express carriers, couriers and brokers file it electronically in ACE with the same classification, origin, value and duty data as a formal entry, but with lighter fees and less paperwork.

The value ceiling comes from 19 CFR 143.21, which lets shipments "not exceeding $2,500 in value" enter informally. The entry itself is a CBP Form 7501 or its electronic equivalent, under 19 CFR 143.23. In practice that means an ACE filing: of 52,450,418 Type 11 entries between September 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026, only 73,534 were filed on paper, according to CBP's Low-Value Shipments proposal.

That 52 million figure is the story of the last year. Before August 29, 2025, most cheap ecommerce parcels cleared under the Section 321 de minimis exemption, many through Type 86. Once de minimis was suspended for all countries, CBP says "many would-be de minimis shipments shifted to ET11". If you ship through DHL, FedEx, UPS or a cross-border courier today, your orders are almost certainly being cleared as Type 11 entries, usually by the carrier acting as broker.

Who can file a Type 11 is set by 19 CFR 143.26: the owner or purchaser of the goods, or a licensed customs broker designated by the owner, purchaser or consignee. The entry is due within 15 calendar days after the goods land, although CBP's own sample found that most Type 11 entries are filed on the day of arrival or the day after.

The $250 rule that pushes metal goods into formal entry#

Type 11 has one limit that catches a lot of sellers. Section 143.21(a) excludes "articles valued in excess of $250 classified in Chapter 99, Subchapters III and IV, HTSUS". Section 232 duties on steel, aluminum and copper derivatives are listed in Subchapter III, and so are the 2026 Section 301 duties. A $320 set of steel pots therefore can't be a Type 11 entry today, even though it's far below $2,500. It needs a formal Type 01 entry, with its higher merchandise processing fee.

CBP itself thinks the rule no longer fits. Its October proposal would delete the $250 limit so that goods "valued between $251 and $2,500 and subject to measures such as Section 232 duties" can use informal entry. Until that is final, the limit stands.

What is a Type 13 entry?#

A Type 13 entry, "Informal Mail Entry", is a new electronic ACE entry for international mail valued at $2,500 or less. It carries almost the same data as a Type 11, plus the foreign post's tracking number, and it is filed by the owner, the purchaser or a licensed broker acting as importer of record.

Type 13 exists because mail has been the weak spot since de minimis ended. CBP's Entry Type 13 test notice opened the test on September 22, 2026, and CSMS #70076746 confirmed it went live in ACE that day. No application is needed to take part.

During the test, a Type 13 entry needs 12 data elements:

1. Filer code.

2. Importer of record number.

3. Description of the merchandise.

4. Country of origin.

5. All applicable 10-digit HTSUS classifications, including Chapter 98 and 99 numbers.

6. Quantity and weight, only when a specific duty rate applies.

7. Duty rate.

8. Value.

9. Total duty owed.

10. Carrier name.

11. The tracking number generated by the foreign post.

12. Arrival port.

The other fields of CBP Forms 3461 and 7501 are voluntary during the test. A basic importation and entry bond is required, either a single transaction bond or a continuous one.

The test also changes who can file for a mail parcel. A consignee that isn't the owner or purchaser, such as a foreign postal operator, USPS, a freight forwarder or a carrier, must hire a licensed broker who acts as importer of record. A national post can't simply declare your parcels for you under its own name.

What Type 13 replaces: the monthly mail worksheet#

Mail parcels today mostly clear through the postal informal entry process that CBP's June 24, 2026 interim final rule put in place from July 24, 2026. The filer emails CBP a spreadsheet, the international mail duty (IMD) worksheet, and pays through Pay.gov, both "no later than the 7th day of the month following the arrival of the shipment," as 19 CFR 145.12(b) now reads. It has 14 fields, including the bond number, the flight and the arrival date, and it already requires 10-digit HTSUS codes.

The worksheet works for revenue, but CBP says most postal entries are released before it is even submitted. Type 13 moves mail onto the same electronic rails as Type 11. For a fuller walk through the worksheet fields, see our guide to U.S. postal clearance data for ecommerce.

Type 11 vs Type 13: what's actually different?#

Type 11 and Type 13 differ mainly in how the parcel travels and what data proves it arrived. Type 11 covers courier, express and cargo shipments; Type 13 covers international mail and adds the foreign post's tracking number. Duty, classification and the $2,500 ceiling are the same for both.

Here is how the two compare today and under CBP's proposal:

Two rows matter most for sellers. First, Type 13 is more generous than Type 11 on Chapter 99 goods: a $400 steel item by mail can be a Type 13 entry, while the same item by courier must go formal until the $250 rule is gone. Second, the proposed 15-day abandonment for mail is much shorter than the 6 months that apply to Type 11, so an unfiled mail parcel would be lost far sooner than an unfiled courier one.

CBP's volume numbers show which route carries most US ecommerce now:

At that pace CBP projects about 70.1 million Type 11 entries and 32.7 million postal entries a year. The postal number is falling and the courier number is growing, because mail has lost the advantage it had under de minimis.

When does Type 13 become mandatory?#

Type 13 becomes mandatory on January 20, 2027 for international mail subject to Section 201, 232 or 301 duties or to a partner government agency's jurisdiction. Those parcels then need a Type 13 entry to clear informally; otherwise they need a formal entry. CBP moved the date from October 22, 2026.

CBP announced the 90-day extension on October 14, 2026. The legal hook is the compliance date for 19 CFR 145.12(a)(2)(v) and (vi), which require formal entry for mail subject to another agency's requirements or to Chapter 98 or 99 duties. Until that date CBP lets those parcels use the monthly worksheet. CBP's release says there are no changes to international mail entry procedures before January 20, 2027, and it encourages filers to start using Type 13 now.

The scope is wider than it sounds. In July 2026 USTR imposed Section 301 duties on all products of 60 economies over forced labour enforcement, at 10% or 12.5%, with some economies charged net of the product's normal duty. border.bot's US data shows the European Union under that action as a 10% floor combined with the column 1 rate, reported under 9903.05.39. A cotton T-shirt from Portugal pays its 16.5% normal duty and nothing extra, because the normal rate is already above the floor, but the entry still reports a Section 301 number. Ask your postal filer whether they will treat those lines as subject to Section 301 duties. If they do, a large share of mail from Europe and Asia will need Type 13 from January.

Partner agency goods are the other half. A children's product that needs a CPSC eFiling, a cosmetic under FDA or a plant product under USDA is a partner agency shipment. Our CPSC eFiling checker shows whether a product's HTS code is on CPSC's list.

The rest of the timeline, from the de minimis suspension to the statutory end of de minimis, looks like this:

What would CBP's proposed rule change for both?#

CBP's October 8, 2026 Low-Value Shipments proposal would make Type 11 and Type 13 file electronically on or before arrival, require a bond for every entry, add a final deliver-to party, set a $1,000 floor on liquidated damages, and make Type 13 the only informal route for mail. It is a proposal, with comments due December 7, 2026.

The proposed rule treats the two types as one system. Type 13 "will largely mirror the data and process for the entry type 11," and it is defined as the entry for mail that "would be eligible for entry type 11 if shipped to the United States by a means other than through the international postal network." Here is what changes for each.

Filing time. Both would have to be filed "upon or prior to the date of importation" instead of within 15 days (Type 11) or by the 7th of the next month (mail). CBP's sample of 392,473 Type 11 entries shows how big a change that is:

Almost half of Type 11 entries today are filed two or more days after the goods land. Under the proposal, every one of those would need its data before the plane touches down. For a merchant, that means classification, origin and value have to travel with the order from checkout, not be fixed up later by the carrier.

Data. Type 11 would add the final deliver-to party (name and address) when it differs from the consignee. Type 13 would add that, plus the shipper or sender ("the party causing the goods to be shipped") and the UPU S10 tracking number, which carriers would also have to put on the inward manifest. Every other Form 3461 and 7501 field, voluntary in the test, would become required.

The $250 limit. It would go, so Section 232 and other Chapter 99 goods up to $2,500 could use Type 11.

Brokers. A consignee that isn't the owner or purchaser would need a licensed broker as importer of record for Type 11 too, not only for mail.

Abandonment. Mail not properly entered within 15 days would be treated as voluntarily abandoned, and USPS could destroy it or return it to the sender.

Bonds and the $1,000 liquidated damages floor#

Every Type 11 and Type 13 entry would need a basic importation and entry bond. Mail entries already do, so the change lands on Type 11: CBP counted about 2.3 million bondless Type 11 entries from August 2025 to July 2026, made by 59,148 importers of record. It estimates the average bond premium for those entries at $3.99.

The proposal also sets a minimum for liquidated damages when a bond condition on an informal entry is breached: the value of the goods or $1,000, whichever is greater, and three times the value or $1,000 for restricted or prohibited goods and alcohol. On a $30 parcel, a wrong filing could cost more than 30 times the order.

What it costs per parcel#

CBP expects most Type 13 entries to be filed by brokers, and estimates the combined cost of a Type 13 entry at $39.72 (a $30 broker fee plus the time to file). That number matters because, by CBP's figures, 79% of postal shipments are valued at $30 or less. For a cheap item shipped alone by mail, the paperwork could cost more than the goods.

What does a real order pay under each route?#

The entry type doesn't change the duty rate, but it decides which fees apply and whether the shipment can stay informal at all. Two orders from border.bot's live US data show the difference: a $45 T-shirt from Portugal and a set of steel pots from China either side of $250.

A $45 cotton T-shirt from Portugal. The knitted cotton T-shirt classifies under HTSUS 6109.10.00 with a 16.5% normal duty, so the duty is $7.43 either way. By courier, it's a Type 11 entry and the express carrier also pays a $1.38 per waybill express consignment fee, for $8.81 in duty and fees. By mail it goes on the monthly worksheet today, with $7.43 in duty. Because the entry also reports the EU Section 301 number 9903.05.39, from January 20, 2027 the mail version may need a Type 13 entry, and the broker who files it will charge for it.

A steel cookware set from China, by courier. HTSUS 7323.93.00 has a 2% normal duty, and as a steel derivative it carries 25% Section 232 duty under 9903.82.09. Section 232 goods are exempt from the forced-labour Section 301 duty. The value decides the entry type:

At $240 the set is a Type 11 entry: $64.80 in duty plus the $1.38 carrier fee. At $320 it's over the $250 limit for Chapter 99 goods, so it needs a formal entry and pays the formal merchandise processing fee minimum of $34.58 on top of $86.40 in duty, $122.36 in all. Sent by mail, the same $320 set could be a Type 13 entry, because Type 13 isn't bound by the $250 rule. If CBP's proposal is adopted, the courier version could be a Type 11 entry again.

You can run your own product through the same data, with the entry type and fees worked out for the US:

If you don't have a 10-digit code yet, start with the HS code classifier or the full product classifier, then check the US import rules for the programmes that apply.

Which should you use: courier or mail?#

Courier shipments are Type 11 entries and mail shipments are Type 13 or worksheet entries, so choosing a route is really choosing a carrier. Courier suits most sellers today; mail only stays cheap for goods with no Chapter 99 duty or agency requirement, and only until the proposed rule lands.

Whichever route you use, the commercial terms still have to match the entry. If you sell delivered duty paid, someone has to be importer of record and fund the duty at entry; our DDP vs DAP guide covers that choice. The rules on origin are the same for both entry types, and the country of origin is where the goods were made, not where your warehouse is.

The $100 bona fide gift exemption is unchanged by all of this. It still applies to genuine gifts sent person to person, not to paid orders, whichever entry type is used. border.bot's live de minimis data for the US shows what remains:

What should sellers do before January 20, 2027?#

Sellers should give every US-bound SKU a 10-digit HTSUS code and origin, flag the ones with Chapter 99 duties or agency requirements, and get a written answer from each postal partner on Type 13. Courier sellers should prepare for on-arrival filing and a bond for every entry in case the proposal is adopted.

Sources#

Every rule and number above comes from these documents, read on October 20, 2026. The October 8, 2026 notice is a proposed rule, so its changes are described as proposals.

• Low-Value Shipments (proposed rule), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Register, October 8, 2026

• International Mail Entry Type 13 mandatory implementation date extended to Jan. 20, 2027, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, October 14, 2026

• Test of the New Electronic Informal Entry Process for Mail, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Register, June 24, 2026

• Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption for Mail Shipments and New Postal Informal Entry Process, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Register, June 24, 2026

• CSMS #70076746: Implementation Guides for Entry Type 13 Test in ACE, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, September 30, 2026

• Notice of Actions in Section 301 Investigations Related to Forced Labor, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Federal Register, July 28, 2026

• 19 CFR Part 143, Subpart C: Informal Entry, eCFR, current as of October 2026

• 19 CFR 145.12: Entry of merchandise (mail), eCFR, current as of October 2026