border.bot
Esc
  • Loading…
↑ ↓ to move↵ to openEsc to close
Docs menu
DevelopersGuides

HS codes

Origin and trade agreements

Customs for postal parcels

How customs works for parcels sent by post: CN 22 and CN 23 forms, electronic advance data, who declares and pays, and what changed in 2025 and 2026.

Updated · 13 official sources

A parcel sent through a national post clears customs in the destination country on the strength of a declaration the sender fills in, the CN 22 or CN 23 form, whose data now travels ahead of the parcel as an electronic message between the two posts. The destination post presents the parcel to customs and, unless the sender has paid in advance, collects the duty and tax from the person it delivers to. Since 2025 the two largest markets have rewritten that last step: the United States no longer collects duty at the door for mail, and the EU charges a flat €3 per item on parcels up to €150 and expects the seller's side to declare them.

Rules as of 30 October 2026.

How does customs work for parcels sent by post?#

Customs for postal parcels runs through the Universal Postal Union (UPU) network. The post in the sender's country accepts the item with its customs declaration and sends it to the post in the buyer's country, which presents it to its own customs. Customs releases, holds or examines the item, and the destination post then delivers it and collects any charges.

Each UPU member country names a designated operator, usually the national post, to run its international mail under the UPU Convention. Mail moves between designated operators in receptacles, not under a courier's own clearance arrangements, so a postal parcel has no customs broker of its own unless the destination's rules create a role for one. Under the Convention Regulations the sender alone is responsible for the customs declaration; posts accept no liability for it, although they must tell customers how to fill it in completely.

That split explains most of what follows. An express courier clears its own parcels and bills whoever owes the charges. A post relies on whatever data the sender gave the origin post, and the destination post has no contract with the seller at all. For how postal and courier services compare on clearance and fees, see choosing a carrier.

What are the CN 22 and CN 23 forms?#

The CN 22 and CN 23 are the UPU's customs declaration forms for postal items. A CN 22 goes on letter-post items, small packets included, whose contents are worth less than 300 SDR, the UPU's accounting unit; a CN 23 goes on every parcel and on letter-post items worth more. Both list each article with its value, weight and description.

The UPU rules say the contents must be shown in detail and that descriptions of a general character aren't accepted, so "clothes" or "gift" on its own will slow a parcel down. The fields that matter for customs are these:

Field What the UPU rules ask for
Sender and addressee Full names and addresses; the sender's phone number is optional
Category of item Gift, commercial sale, e-commerce goods, returned goods, documents or other
Contents Quantity and a detailed description of each article
Weight and value For each article and for the whole item
HS code Six digits for each article of a commercial item, wherever the destination country asks for it
Country of origin Where each article was made; recommended for commercial items
Postage and fees The postage paid, on the CN 23

The six-digit HS code matters more than it used to, because the EU's €3 duty is counted per tariff classification and US duty depends on the product's code. The HS code classifier returns the code for a product, and the product descriptions guide shows what customs accepts as a description. The UPU amended both forms with effect from 1 June 2026, so check that your labels use the current versions.

What is electronic advance data for postal items?#

Electronic advance data (EAD) is the CN 22 or CN 23 content sent electronically before the parcel arrives. The origin post sends it to the destination post as an ITMATT message, which must replicate the paper form, and the destination post passes it to customs. The US and EU have required it for postal items with goods since 2021.

Every item with advance data carries a unique 13-character S10 barcode, and the origin post links each item's barcode to the receptacle it travels in, so customs can find one parcel in a dispatch. Letters, postcards, printed papers (other than books) and items containing only correspondence are exempt from these requirements in the UPU rules. If the paper form and the electronic data disagree, the paper form counts as the customs declaration. The fields each destination demands, and what happens when they're missing, are in the advance data guide.

Who declares a postal parcel and who pays?#

The sender completes a postal parcel's declaration, and by default the destination post presents it to customs and collects duty, tax and its own presentation charge from the addressee. Since 2026 the US and the EU have moved the declaring role, and the debt with it, from the doorstep to a filer or declarant named in advance.

The UPU sets guideline maximums for the presentation-to-customs charge a post may add (3.27 SDR for a parcel submitted to customs in the destination country), and in the absence of a special agreement that charge is collected from the addressee. Check the destination post's own tariff for what it actually charges.

Destination Who declares a low-value postal parcel Who pays the duty
United States The owner or purchaser of the goods, or a licensed broker they designate, with a CBP bond The filer, monthly; nothing is collected on delivery
European Union The IOSS holder, the user of the special arrangements, or an indirect representative of the importer, and the buyer only as a last resort The declarant, who is the customs debtor

For the details by destination, see postal parcels into the EU and postal parcels to the US.

Can you ship DDP through the post?#

DDP (delivered duty paid) through the post is possible, depending on the route. The UPU offers delivery "free of charges and fees" between posts that agree to it, the EU lets a seller collect VAT at checkout through IOSS, and since July 2026 the US postal entry can be filed by the seller's licensed broker.

The UPU service works like this: the sender undertakes to pay whatever the destination office claims, the item carries a yellow "Franc de taxes et de droits" label and a CN 11 franking note, and the destination post recovers the charges from the origin post afterwards. Not every pair of posts offers it. When US-bound postal traffic fell by more than 80% after de minimis was suspended in August 2025, the UPU released its own DDP solution: a landed cost calculator that posts can call through an API to collect duties from senders at origin. The 2025 UPU Congress in Dubai then asked its bodies to develop a DDP and customs clearance solution for postal items.

A seller doesn't have to wait for its post. Quoting the duty at checkout with the landed cost calculator and choosing who files at the destination is the same decision as for courier parcels; the DDP guide covers the trade-offs.

What changed and when#

Postal customs changed repeatedly between August 2025 and November 2026. The United States suspended de minimis for mail and replaced collection at the door with a filer-paid entry, the EU replaced its €150 duty relief with a €3 charge and a handling fee, and the UPU made HS codes mandatory on commercial items where destinations ask for them.

  1. Upcoming

    EU €3 duty is due to end

    Distance sales up to €150 then pay the normal tariff rate, unless the temporary duty is extended. European Commission guidance, 5 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)

  2. Upcoming

    Formal entry for some US mail

    Under 19 CFR 145.12(a)(2)(v) and (vi), mail under another agency's rules, paying chapter 98 or 99 duties, or claiming chapter 98 or FTA duty-free treatment needs formal entry. CBP, 91 FR 66638 (opens in a new tab)

  3. Upcoming

    Entry Type 13 required for some US mail

    CBP requires Entry Type 13 for the informal entry of postal shipments subject to Section 201, 232 or 301 duties or an agency's jurisdiction. CBP, 14 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)

  4. EU handling fee and product identifiers

    A €2 Union handling fee per item applies to every distance sale, and product identifiers become mandatory for parcels up to €150. European Commission, EU customs reform (opens in a new tab)

  5. CBP proposes rules for low-value shipments

    A new electronic mail entry, the UPU tracking number on carriers' manifests and bonds for some informal entries; comments close on 7 December 2026. CBP, 91 FR 64532 (opens in a new tab)

  6. US Entry Type 13 test starts

    A voluntary electronic informal entry in ACE for mail worth $2,500 or less. CBP, 91 FR 38007 (opens in a new tab)

  7. US postal informal entry starts

    Filers send CBP each parcel's code, origin, value and duty, and pay by the 7th of the following month. CBP, 91 FR 37801 (opens in a new tab)

  8. EU €3 duty per item starts

    The €150 duty relief is deleted for distance sales and replaced by €3 per item. European Commission guidance, 5 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)

  9. UPU amends the CN 22 and CN 23

    New versions of both customs declaration forms take effect. UPU Circular 86, 31 May 2024 (opens in a new tab)

  10. US postal duty set at the Section 122 rate

    After the Supreme Court's IEEPA ruling, each postal item paid a duty equal to the 10% Section 122 surcharge until the new postal entry began. Executive Order 14388, 91 FR 9433 (opens in a new tab)

  11. UPU releases a DDP solution for US mail

    Posts can calculate and collect US duties from senders at origin. UPU press release (opens in a new tab)

  12. HS codes on commercial postal items

    Six-digit HS codes become mandatory for commercial items where the destination requires them. WCO and UPU guidelines, 2025 (opens in a new tab)

  13. US suspends de minimis for mail

    Postal items start paying duty under a special methodology collected by carriers or qualified parties. Executive Order 14324, 90 FR 37775 (opens in a new tab)

Guides for postal parcels#

  • Postal parcels into the EU: Postal parcels into the EU since 1 July 2026: the €3 duty per item up to €150, the €2 handling fee, who declares postal items, IOSS or not, and what to change.
  • Postal parcels to the United States: What mail to the US pays after de minimis: full duty through CBP's postal entry, what's still exempt, Entry Type 13 from 20 January 2027 and a checklist.
  • Advance electronic data for postal items: The advance data postal items with goods need: UPU ITMATT rules, US STOP Act fields, EU ICS2 for posts, who sends it and what happens when it's missing.

Common questions#

Do I need a CN 22 or a CN 23?#

Use a CN 22 for a letter-post item or small packet whose contents are worth less than 300 SDR, and a CN 23 for any parcel or for a letter-post item worth more. Both need a detailed description, value and weight for every article.

Who pays customs charges on a parcel sent by post?#

By default the addressee pays the destination post on delivery. For US mail since 24 July 2026 the filer of the postal entry pays CBP instead, and for EU parcels the declarant owes the €3 duty and the handling fee.

Can a national post deliver a parcel with duties prepaid?#

Yes, where both posts offer the UPU's "free of charges and fees" service or the destination has a seller-paid route, such as IOSS for EU VAT or a US postal entry filed by the seller's broker. The UPU also released a DDP calculator for US-bound mail in September 2025.

Do letters and documents need electronic advance data?#

No. The UPU rules exempt letters, postcards, printed papers other than books and items containing only correspondence, and US rules don't require advance data for letter-class mail that contains only documents.

Sources#