Customs data from a photo of the goods
Upload a photo of the goods. Every separate product in it comes back with its name, description, quantity, category, material, 6-digit HS code, country of origin and value, each with a confidence, and a box showing where it is in the photo. A “Made in” on a label is read and quoted; without one, the origin is an estimate and says so. Items the photo can’t settle are marked for review.
Updated
- Cost
- Free, no account
- Input
- One photo
- You get
- Name, description, quantity, category, material, HS code, origin and value for every item
- Kept
- Not the photo: only its fingerprint, in the run log
Choose or take a photo of the goods, laid out in one layer with labels facing the camera. Each item found is boxed on the photo and listed with its customs data; hover a box to find its item.
Each item will appear here
The photo with a box round every product, and for each one its name, description, quantity, category, material, HS code, country of origin and value.
The same engine for a whole catalogue: Inspect
Customs data for every item in one photo: what it is, how many, its HS code, origin and value.
How to get customs data from a photo with border.bot
Turn a photo of goods into customs data for every item in three steps.
Lay the goods out
Put the items in one layer with a little space between them, in even light, with labels and tags facing the camera.
Take or choose the photo
Upload it, or take it with your phone’s camera. The photo is shrunk in your browser and its location data left behind before it is sent.
Check each item
Read each item’s name, quantity, material, HS code, origin and value with their confidences. Anything the photo can’t settle (a material it can’t see, a large count, an uncertain code) is marked for review.
Example result
A photo of a folded cotton T-shirt, a pair of sneakers and a calculator
| T-shirt | 6109.10 · made in Vietnam (from its label) · about $24.00 |
|---|---|
| Sneakers | Sole material not visible, so the code is marked for review |
| Calculator | Model name read from the case, which narrows the value |
Illustrative: run the tool on your own photo.
What comes back for each item
| Field | How it is found | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name, description | Seen | In plain words, plus an English customs description |
| Quantity | Counted | Large counts are sent to review |
| Category | Seen | The kind of product |
| Material | Read or seen | A care label settles it |
| HS code | 6 digits | Checked against the live tariff, with a confidence |
| Country of origin | Read from a label, or estimated | An estimate is never shown as more than 60% likely |
| Value | Estimated | A typical retail price in US dollars with a range, not the price paid |
What decides each answer
- What the item is
- The kind of product decides its HS heading. A clear view of each item, apart from the others, is what a photo gives best.
- What it is made of
- Material often decides the subheading (a cotton or a synthetic T-shirt, a leather or a textile bag). A care label in the photo settles it; without one the material is read from what shows, with a lower confidence.
- Six digits, the same everywhere
- HS codes here are 6-digit subheadings, the digits every country shares, checked against the live tariff. The digits a country adds after them often turn on what a photo can’t show (a unit value, who it’s for), so for a destination’s full line, use the classifier.
- Origin and value
- A “Made in” on a label is quoted. Without one, the origin is estimated where the item was most likely manufactured (a UK fashion brand’s dresses are mostly made in Asia), never shown as more than 60% likely, with the other likely countries beside it. Value is an estimated retail price with a range, not the price paid.
Tips for a photo that reads well
- One layer of items, with space between them: stacked or overlapping goods are hard to count and box.
- Labels, tags and model names facing the camera: the label is what settles material and origin, and a model name sharpens the value.
- Even light without glare on shiny packaging.
- Several identical units? Show a few and count the rest yourself: counts of many units from a photo are sent to review.
- Photograph the goods, not a screen or a printed catalogue page.
From your own systems and agents
The same engine answers over the REST API and the MCP server with an account, charged in credits. In the browser, agents can use this page’s WebMCP tool without an account.
- WebMCP on this page
- inspect_photo_free
Common questions
Can I get an HS code from a photo?
Yes. Upload a photo of the goods and each product in it gets its 6-digit HS code, checked against the live tariff, with a confidence. For a destination’s full national line (10 digits in the US), run the item through the free classifier.
What does it return for each item?
Name, description, quantity, category, material, HS code, country of origin and value, with a confidence on the code, origin and value, and a box showing where the item is in the photo.
How many items can one photo have?
The free tool returns up to ten items from one photo, the most prominent first, and says when the photo held more. A busy shelf is better photographed in parts.
How is the country of origin found?
When a label in the photo says where the item was made (“Made in Vietnam”), that is read and quoted. Without one, it is estimated where the item was most likely manufactured, from the brand’s manufacturing footprint and where that kind of product is made, never from where the brand is based. The estimate is never shown as more than 60% likely, with the other likely countries beside it.
Is the value the customs value?
No. It is an estimate of the typical retail price of one unit, with a range. Customs value is usually the price actually paid for the goods, which a photo can’t show: declare that price.
Is the photo stored?
No. The run log keeps a fingerprint (a hash) of the photo, never the photo itself. Your browser also removes the photo’s location data before sending it. Names and addresses visible in the photo are left out of the answer.
How many free runs do I get?
Each visitor gets a few free runs, shared between the free tools, and the page shows how many you have left. A photo with no product in it isn’t counted. Create an account to keep going with free credits.
Other free tools
- HS code classifier
Describe a product or paste a product URL and get the HS, HTS, CN/TARIC, UK or Canadian code for its destination, with official descriptions and confidence.
- Landed cost calculator
Estimate duties, taxes and fees for parcels to the US, UK, Canada, the EU and more, from an HS code or a product description.
- Country of origin finder
Paste a product URL or give a title, description or barcode, and get the likely country of manufacture with its probability, alternatives and evidence.
- Air waybill generator
Fill an IATA air waybill, master or house, with a live preview, the check digit verified and the chargeable weight worked out, and download 3 originals or all 8 copies as a PDF.
- Denied-party screening
Check a person or company against denied-party and sanctions lists, including the US Consolidated Screening List, and see each possible match with its list and why it matched.
- CPSC eFiling checker
Every HTS code on CPSC’s eFiling list, and a check of whether a product needs a CPSC certificate at US entry (and which regulations it cites) or a disclaim.