border.bot

Find out what can’t cross the border before you sell it

Send products with a code or a description and the destination. Restrict returns each prohibition and restriction that applies, the agency behind it, what it requires and a link to the rule, for imports and, if you give the origin, for exports too.

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Reviewed by the border.bot editorial team. Updated .

How Restrict works

  1. Check a whole order at once

    Send up to 100 products in one request, each with a SKU, a title, a description or a tariff code. Add the ship-from country and the origin’s export rules are checked as well as the destination’s import rules.

    One product in the request

    SKU
    FC-50
    Title
    Hydrating face cream, 50 ml
    HS code
    3304.99.50.00
    Destination
    United States

  2. Every agency that reviews the line

    For US imports, Restrict reads the partner government agency flags CBP publishes for each tariff line. A face cream is not just a cosmetic: four agencies can ask for entry data, and one of them always does.

    US rules for 3304.99.50.00

    FDA
    Regulated by FDA, not food: submit entry data
    Required
    APHIS
    USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
    May be
    AMS
    USDA organics data
    May be
    FWS
    Fish and Wildlife Service data
    May be

    From CBP’s ACE Appendix PGA, read 19 October 2026.

  3. Prohibited, restricted or worth knowing

    Each rule says whether it is a prohibition, a restriction or an observation, the direction it applies in, the agency, what it requires and how sure the match is. Rules found only by keyword are confirmed before they are returned, and weak ones are dropped.

    What a rule tells you

    Prohibition
    The goods cannot enter or leave
    Stop
    Restriction
    Allowed with a licence, permit or data
    Check
    Observation
    Worth knowing, nothing to file
    Note

  4. Add the rules only you know

    Some limits are yours, not the law’s: a carrier that won’t take aerosols, a marketplace that bans a category. Add them to your workspace and they are checked alongside the official ones, marked as yours.

    Part of the response

    {
  "hasProhibitions": false,
  "hasRestrictions": true,
  "items": [{
    "sku": "FC-50",
    "restrictions": [{
      "ruleType": "restriction",
      "direction": "IMPORT",
      "agency": "Food and Drug Administration",
      "confidence": "HIGH"
    }]
  }]
}

    Illustrative response, shortened.

A seized parcel is the most expensive one

Prohibited goods are seized, and restricted goods sent without the right permit or entry data are held, returned or destroyed. The order is refunded, the shipping is lost, and repeat problems put your account with the carrier at risk.

  • Don’t list what you can’t deliver

    Check a product against the destination’s rules before it goes on sale there, and hide it from countries that prohibit it.

  • Know the paperwork in advance

    See which agencies review the product, such as the FDA or USDA for the US, and whether their data is required or may be asked for, before the parcel reaches the border.

  • Export rules as well as import rules

    Give the ship-from country and its export prohibitions and restrictions are checked in the same request.

  • Your rules next to the law’s

    Carrier and marketplace limits live beside the official rules, so one check answers whether you can sell it, ship it and send it with that carrier.

Where the rules come from

Restrict reads each country’s own published rules and keeps the link to every one. Customs union rules apply to their members, so a parcel to Germany is checked against the EU’s.

Source: CBP: ACE Appendix PGA (opens in a new tab)

  1. United StatesCBPPartner agency flags per line
  2. United KingdomHMRCUK Trade Tariff measures
  3. European UnionTARICImport and export measures
  4. SwitzerlandNationalPublished national file
  5. TaiwanNationalPublished national file
  6. IsraelNationalPublished national file
  7. UkraineNationalPublished prohibitions

Who uses Restrict

  • Online stores

    Check the catalogue before opening a new market, and check new products as they are added.

  • Marketplaces

    Stop listings that a buyer’s country prohibits, and flag the ones that need a permit before they are bought.

  • Carriers and 3PLs

    Check consignments before you accept them, so prohibited goods never enter your network.

  • Customs brokers

    See the partner agency data a US entry will need for each line, before the shipment arrives.

How import and export restrictions work

Prohibited, restricted and everything else

A prohibition means the goods can’t cross at all, whatever the paperwork. A restriction means they can, but only with something more: a licence, a permit, a certificate, a registration or data filed with an agency at entry. Most regulated consumer goods are restricted rather than prohibited.

Customs enforces other agencies’ rules

Customs is usually the checkpoint, not the rule-maker. In the US, CBP collects data at entry on behalf of partner government agencies such as the FDA for food, cosmetics, drugs and devices, USDA for plants and animal products, the Fish and Wildlife Service for wildlife and the CPSC for consumer products. Each tariff line carries flags saying which agencies may need data, and Classify returns them with every code.

In the EU and the UK, the tariff carries measures that say which certificates, licences or bans apply to a code and an origin, from endangered species (CITES) to dual-use goods.

Exports have rules too

Countries also control what leaves. Dual-use items, cultural goods, some chemicals and goods bound for sanctioned countries can need an export licence. Giving Restrict the ship-from country checks those rules alongside the destination’s.

Carriers and marketplaces add their own

A product can be legal to import and still refused by a carrier: lithium batteries, aerosols and perfumes are dangerous goods in air transport, for example. Marketplaces ban whole categories. Adding those limits as workspace rules means one check covers the law and the companies you ship with.

Three ways to check restrictions

Reading the rules yourselfFinding out at the borderborder.bot Restrict
When you find outAfter hours of researchWhen the parcel is heldBefore you list or ship
Agencies coveredThe ones you know aboutWhichever stops itEvery agency flagged for the line
Export rulesSeparate researchAt export, if at allSame request
Your carrier’s limitsA separate listA rejected bookingWorkspace rules, checked together
At scaleNot practicalCostlyUp to 100 products per request

What you send, what you get back

Request

Product
Hydrating face cream, 50 ml
HS code
3304.99.50.00
Destination
United States
Origin
France

Result

Result
Restricted
FDA
Entry data required
APHIS, AMS, FWS
Data may be required
Source
CBP ACE Appendix PGA

From the US tariff data, read 19 October 2026.

  • Matching

    By tariff code, by keyword and by origin. Keyword matches are confirmed before they are returned and weak ones are dropped.

  • Sources

    US partner government agency flags from CBP, the UK Trade Tariff, EU TARIC, and national files for Switzerland, Taiwan, Israel and Ukraine. A destination without rules loaded returns an unsupported-country error rather than an empty answer.

  • Your rules

    Rules your workspace adds are checked with the official ones and marked as yours.

  • In classification

    Every code Classify returns already carries these rules for its destination.

With or without code

Run single checks and CSV uploads in the dashboard with no integration work, call the REST API from your own systems, or connect the MCP server to an AI assistant. All three use the same engine and save every result in your workspace.

REST API

  • POST/v1/restrictionsCheck up to 100 products
  • GET/v1/restrictions/checksList past checks
  • POST/v1/restrictions/rulesAdd a workspace rule

MCP tools

check_restricted_goods in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and other MCP clients.

Developer quickstartConnect the MCP serverAPI reference (opens in a new tab)

POST /v1/restrictions
curl https://api.border.bot/v1/restrictions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BORDERBOT_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "destinationCountry": "US",
  "originCountry": "FR",
  "items": [
    { "sku": "FC-50", "title": "Hydrating face cream, 50 ml",
      "hsCode": "3304.99.50.00" }
  ]
}'

Questions about Restrict

What is the difference between prohibited and restricted goods?

Prohibited goods cannot be imported (or exported) at all. Restricted goods can, but only with something extra: a licence, a permit, a certificate or data filed with an agency at entry.

What are US partner government agency flags?

CBP marks each HTS line with the agencies that may need data when it is imported, such as the FDA, USDA or the Fish and Wildlife Service, and whether that data is required or may be required. Restrict returns those flags for your product’s line.

Which countries does Restrict cover?

The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and its members, Switzerland, Taiwan, Israel and Ukraine. A destination without rules loaded returns an error instead of an empty list, so a missing answer is never mistaken for a clear one.

Can I check export rules too?

Yes. Give the origin country and its export rules are checked alongside the destination’s import rules.

Does a clear result mean the goods can be imported?

It means no rule we hold matched the product. Carriers and marketplaces have their own limits, and licences depend on who is importing, so check anything regulated with the agency or a licensed customs broker.

Are lithium batteries restricted?

Often by carriers more than by customs. Lithium batteries are dangerous goods in air transport and carriers set their own rules on how they ship. Add those limits as workspace rules so Restrict checks them with the official ones.

Do restrictions depend on the origin?

Some do. Sanctions, anti-dumping measures and certain agricultural rules apply only to goods from particular countries. Give the origin and Restrict matches those rules too.

How often are the rules updated?

Restrictions are read from each country’s published tariff and agency data, and updated when those sources change. Every rule links to its source so you can check the current text.

Can I check a whole catalogue?

Yes. Send up to 100 products per request, as many requests as you need, and keep each check for later reference.

Does Classify include restrictions?

Yes. Every code Classify returns, and every alternative, carries the destination’s restrictions for that line, so a single call tells you the code and what it needs.

Further reading

Sources

Examples on this page are illustrative unless a source is named. Rules and rates change, so run a check for a current answer. This page was reviewed by the border.bot editorial team on . How we check our pages.

Run Restrict on your own products

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