CBP's Informal Entry Filing Rule Is Changing: What to Do Now

US Customs and Border Protection's informal entry filing rule is changing. The agency has proposed ending the 15-day window that currently lets importers file paperwork after a low-value shipment arrives, replacing it with a requirement to file electronically on or before the date of importation. The proposal, published in the Federal Register on 8 October 2026, is not yet final: public comments close on 7 December 2026, and no effective date has been set.

What the CBP informal entry filing rule actually changes

Today, informal entries for goods valued at $2,500 or less can be filed up to 15 days after the shipment physically arrives in the US. Under the proposed rule, that post-arrival buffer disappears. Filers would need to submit electronic entry data before or on the date of importation, the same standard already applied to formal entries.

The proposal also creates a new entry category, Entry Type 13, specifically for shipments arriving by international mail. According to GHY International's summary of the Federal Register notice, Entry Type 13 would replace the current informal postal entry process for eligible mail shipments and require the same pre-arrival electronic filing. This is a mail-specific change: shipments filed today through express couriers under existing informal entry procedures are not the direct target of this proposal, though the broader direction, toward pre-arrival data over post-arrival paperwork, applies to the whole low-value channel.

Yahoo Finance's coverage of the rule notes that CBP reviewed a sample of entries and found that only 27 percent were filed on or before the day of arrival, the standard the new rule would require going forward. That gap is the reason CBP gives for the change: the agency wants entry data available before goods move, not after.

Why this matters for European brands shipping DTC to the US

If your US orders ship as individual parcels through postal networks, rather than through a bonded warehouse or formal entry process, this rule sits directly on your fulfillment flow. Every order under $2,500 declared value currently relies on the post-arrival window to get paperwork in order. Remove that window, and any gap between your order management system and your customs broker's filing process becomes a clearance delay risk on the day the parcel lands, not two weeks later.

This is a separate issue from the de minimis exemption, which applied below $800 and was removed earlier in 2026. Our piece on the end of the de minimis era covers that shift in full. The informal entry threshold ($2,500) is a different line, and it is the one this new filing rule targets. Brands that already adjusted their model after de minimis still need to check whether their current filing process can meet a pre-arrival deadline rather than a post-arrival one.

What to do before the rule becomes final

The comment period gives brands roughly a month of lead time before CBP can finalize anything, but the direction of the rule is clear enough to start preparing now.

1. Map your shipping channel. Identify which share of your US-bound orders move through postal/mail networks under informal entry, versus express courier or formal entry through a bonded warehouse. Only the former is the direct target of Entry Type 13.
2. Ask your customs broker about pre-arrival filing capability. Confirm they can file entry data electronically before the shipment lands, not after, and ask what data they need from you (HTS codes, values, product identifiers) to do it reliably.
3. Reconsider parcel-by-parcel entry at volume. If a meaningful share of orders clears individually under informal entry, consolidating inventory into a US warehouse and filing fewer, larger entries may reduce both the compliance burden and the per-unit cost. You can estimate what that shift costs with the fulfillment cost calculator before committing to a change in model.
4. Submit a comment if the rule affects your volume materially. The comment window closes 7 December 2026; CBP's own notice is the formal channel for feedback before the rule is finalized.

The EU side is tightening at the same time

European brands shipping into the US are not the only ones facing new filing requirements this quarter. As of 1 November 2026, product identifiers became mandatory on customs declarations for e-commerce goods sold into the EU. The same week, a new €2 handling fee took effect, stacking on top of the €3 duty introduced in July and applying per item type regardless of shipment value. Brands that both import stock into the EU and ship DTC into the US are now managing two separate sets of pre-arrival data requirements on two different continents, which is a strong argument for a single customs and import workflow rather than separate, uncoordinated processes for each direction.

How SPS Fulfillment fits into this

SPS Fulfillment is an Agentic 4PL: one contract, and SPS orchestrates specialist operators, customs brokers, importers, freight forwarders, warehouses, and last-mile carriers, across the US-EU corridor. It owns no warehouses or trucks itself. The contract covers five services: customs, import, freight, warehousing, and fulfillment (pick, pack, ship, returns). From 2023 to 2025, SPS ran as a 3PL: over $500K in GTV bootstrapped, around 150 brands served, and more than 30,000 packages shipped. Clients work inside a live platform covering orders, inventory, multi-carrier rate comparison, tracking, invoices, and a Shopify app, which is where entry-filing deadlines like this one get caught before they become clearance delays.

Frequently asked questions

Does the new CBP rule apply to shipments sent via DHL, FedEx, or UPS?
The proposed Entry Type 13 targets shipments arriving by international mail specifically, not express courier shipments filed under existing informal entry procedures. The broader shift toward pre-arrival filing is relevant to any low-value channel, but mail is the direct target of this proposal.

What is CBP's informal entry threshold?
CBP's informal entry limit is $2,500 in declared value. Shipments above that figure typically require formal entry regardless of this proposed rule.

When will the rule take effect?
It has not taken effect yet. The rule was published in the Federal Register on 8 October 2026, and public comments are open through 7 December 2026, after which CBP can finalize and set an effective date.

Is this the same as the end of de minimis?
No. De minimis, which exempted shipments under $800 from duties, ended earlier in 2026. This rule concerns the filing timeline for informal entries under $2,500, a separate threshold and a separate process.

The comment period gives brands a short window to adjust before this becomes mandatory, but the direction, pre-arrival electronic filing replacing post-arrival paperwork, is not likely to reverse. Brands that map their shipping channels now and confirm their broker's filing capability will avoid the clearance delays that come with reacting after the rule is final. If you want a single point of contact across customs, import, freight, warehousing, and fulfillment while these rules keep moving, you can get started with SPS Fulfillment.