When shipping to the USA, you need to include certain documents with your shipment so that your parcel makes its way through US Customs and Border Protection without any issues.

It can be hard to know what documents you need to include when shipping internationally, especially because you often need different documents for different items. If you’re a first time sender to the USA or you’re a business owner who’s unsure about clearing US customs, you’ve come to the right place.

 

We explain:

1. What is Customs Clearance?

2. What You Can’t Send to the USA

3. Tax and Duty Fees When Shipping to the USA

4. What documents do I need to ship to the USA?

5. How to Prepare the Shipping Paperwork

6. How to Fill in a Commercial Invoice

7. How to Fill in an Air Waybill

8. How Parcel2Go Can Help You

 

What is Customs Clearance?

Customs clearance is the process of your parcel moving through US Customs and Border Protection. Depending on what you’re sending, its value, and the regulations in place at the time will determine how quickly your item makes its way through customs.

Informal clearance

This is for shipments containing non-restricted goods up to the value of 2500 USD. For this you’ll only need an:

• Air waybill
• Commercial invoice

Formal clearance

This is for regulated goods or shipments with a total value over 2500 USD. To clear formal clearance, you’ll need a customs bond and additional paperwork, such as:

• Air waybill
• Commercial invoice
• 5106 form completed by the importer
• Licences
• Proof of origin
• Import permit

Customs bond

This is an agreement between you, as the importer, customs and a bond security company to guarantee all fees are paid. With a customs bond, the security company pays the fees directly to customs who release the goods into the US right away. You then need to reimburse the security company. A customs bond can be made for an individual shipment or for a period of time (usually 12 months).

 

What You Can’t Send to the USA

US Customs and Border Protection have certain restrictions and prohibited goods that you cannot ship into the country, whether you’re shipping for personal or commercial reasons. Among other things which may seem more obvious, some prohibited items that might surprise you include:

• Craft wood items from China that contain wooden logs, limbs, branches, or twigs greater than 1cm in diameter and with intact woof
• Hemp products - unless they don’t contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
• Kinder Surprise Eggs
• Pipes related to the use of drugs
• Soil - unless the importer has a USDA import permit which needs to be included in the shipment
• Switchable knives

It’s important to know that different couriers have different restrictions on the items they’ll carry as well. For more information on prohibited items, take a look at our prohibited items list and filter by the USA.

 

Tax and Duty Fees When Shipping to the USA

You may need to pay additional costs to postage charges when you ship to the US. This is because certain items are regulated and so need further checks at Customs. But tax and duty may not be applicable to you.

Under Entry 86 (ET 86) regulations, if your delivery to the USA is valued under $800 (about £586, but conversion rates may fluctuate), you won’t need to pay any duties or taxes on your parcel as long as the goods are regulated by Partner Government Agencies (PGA).

If you send multiple shipments on the same day, US customs will add up their value.

Certain tobacco and alcohol products, goods taxed under the Internal Revenue Code and goods subject to quota or anti-dumping and countervailing duties are exempt from ET 86 regulations.

 

What documents do I need to ship to the USA?

You will always need to include a commercial invoice and an air waybill in your delivery to the USA, no matter what you’re sending.

Luckily, Parcel2Go will provide all the documentation you need to complete a commercial invoice at the end of the booking process.

Find the category of item that you’re sending below to see if you need to attach extra documentation.

 

Alcohol

General Requirements

To ship alcohol, your parcel must comply with US packaging and labelling requirements set by the Federal Trade Commission and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). When your item is delivered, the receiver will also need to be over 21 and sign for the package.

For private individuals:

If you’re sending alcohol as a gift, first you should check that your courier allows it because a lot of carriers won’t ship foreign alcohol directly to US consumers.

For businesses:

Both you as the sender and the receiver must be licensed alcohol dealers/traders to ship.

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill
• A prior notice of imported food filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - the manufacturer or distributor of the item may need to be registered as a food facility with the FDA for you to get a prior notice

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

• A basic permit for alcohol importer/wholesaler in compliance with TTB import requirements
• Their alcohol dealer registration number from the TTB - this could be as a separate proof of registration or shown written on a commercial invoice
• A customs bond to secure the important transaction with US Customs and Border Protection
• A power of attorney for the carrier’s US clearance broker
• If your shipment is valued over $2,500, the receiver will need a form 5106 (Importer ID Input Record) with their US tax ID. For businesses, this is their company’s Employer Identification Number (EIN)

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Type of alcohol - wine
• Strength of the alcohol - 11%
• Quantity - 750ml
• Packaging - glass bottle
• Manufacturer’s full name and address if you’re a first time shipper, or the Manufacturer’s Identification (MID) Code can be used as an alternative to their details on the shipment paper if you’re not a first time sender

 

Antiques and artwork

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

• An Antique Declaration - this means you and the receiver can avoid any import duties on the shipment. They can print the document separately or attach it alongside the other shipment paperwork. Here’s what it should say:

  ANTIQUE DECLARATION

  I hereby certify that the items in this shipment imported on airway bill number __________________ are 100 years old or older. These articles entered herein are being imported for __________________ (state whether for sale or personal use). These ethnographic objects are made in the traditional aboriginal style and the other antiques were made prior to 100 years before their date of entry; all the foregoing articles; including such articles that have been repaired or renovated, have not had their original form or character changed.

  CIRCA __________________ (State the era in which the item was manufactured. Some examples of CIRCA are ''1872'' or ''The 1930s')

  Signature __________________

  Company name __________________

  Date __________________

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Type of antique/artwork (clay sculpture, oil painting)
• Manufacturing year or period (1964, late 19th century)
• Artist or manufacturer (if known or applicable)
• Title of the artwork (if known or applicable)

 

Apparel and textiles

General Requirements

If you’re sending apparel or textiles that contain exotic animal products - furs, exotic leathers, mother-of-pearls buttons or accessories - you need to contact your courier’s local customer service for advice. CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) regulations might apply to your item, so it’s always important to check before sending.

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

• If your shipment is valued over $2,500, the receiver will need a form 5106 (Importer ID Input Record) with their US tax ID. For businesses, this is their company’s Employer Identification Number (EIN) or if the receiver is not a business, they can use their social security number

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Type of textiles or apparel (trousers, hat, blanket)
• Detailed description of the item (white trainer socks with flower pattern, grey fleece blanket with tasselled edges)
• Type of fabric - 95% cotton, 5% elastane
• Fabric construction - woven/non-woven, knitted
• Who the clothes are made for - baby, unisex
• Manufacturer’s full name and address if you’re a first time shipper, or the Manufacturer’s Identification (MID) Code can be used as an alternative to their details on the shipment paper if you’re not a first time sender

 

Automotive parts

General Requirements

Your parcel must comply with US packaging and labelling requirements set by the Federal Trade Commission and the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) when shipping automotive parts into the USA.

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill
• If your auto parts relate to vehicle safety, e.g. breaks or bumpers, you need to complete a DOT HS-7 form the NHTSA

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

• If you’re sending anything that contains oil, lubricants or substances similar to this, the receiver will need a positive certification to show that the chemicals in these substances comply with Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) import requirements, unless you have provided certification of this, in which case the receiver must provide a letter of approval

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Detailed description of the automotive parts (air conditioning compressor, semi-metallic brake pads) - make sure you don’t just name the branded product without describing it
• The composition of the automotive parts (steel, plastic washers, screws)
• Reason for shipping (for sale, repair, restoration)

 

Bearings

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

The receiver won’t need to provide any additional documents for your parcel to clear customs.

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Type of bearings (ball bearings, ceramic bearings)
• Detailed description of bearings (Single row deep groove ball bearings with an outside diameter of 52 mm - steel, capped. with combined ball and spherical roller bearings)
• Inside and outside diameter measurements in inches or mm (25 mm inside diameter, 52mm or 2.04724” outside diameter)
• Additional parts (wheel hub units)
• Manufacturer’s full name and address if you’re a first time shipper, or the Manufacturer’s Identification (MID) Code can be used as an alternative to their details on the shipment paper if you’re not a first time sender

 

Biologics

General Requirements

Biologics must comply with US packaging and labelling requirements set by the Federal Trade Commission and the FDA or United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA).

If the biologics are to be used as a drug, the receiver must be registered as a drug establishment to comply with FDA requirements and they must list the drug with the FDA.

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill
• An End Use Statement which should outline what the products will be used for when they arrive in the US and if they are exempt from an import permit. You can include this on the commercial invoice or in a separate document

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

• They may need an import permit if the biologics are:

1. of human origin (e.g. blood or vaccines), but this will depend on the type of biologics because the items may be exempt. If this is the case then you as the sender should clarify this in the End Use Statement
2. of animal origin (e.g. mouse cells), in which case the receiver will need to adhere to USDA/APHIS requirements as well. If the products are exempt from an import permit, the USDA guidelines mean that the sender should include a statement as proof of exemption - this can be done on the commercial invoice or separate document

• A Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) certification may be needed depending on the type of material

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Type of biologics (blood, tissue samples)
• Origin of material (animal, human)
• An FDA product code if the biologics are of human origin
• Quantities, including inner and outer packing materials (10 vials with 10ml human blood in each, 2 styrofoam boxes, 1 plastic bag)
• Reason for shipping (diagnostic, investigational)
• Manufacturer’s full name and address if you’re a first time shipper, or the Manufacturer’s Identification (MID) Code can be used as an alternative to their details on the shipment paper if you’re not a first time sender

 

Chemicals

General Requirements

Your parcel must comply with US packaging and labelling requirements as stated in the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) to ship chemicals into USA

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

• A positive certification to prove the chemicals comply with TSCA import requirements or if you have included this when shipping, the receiver will just need to provide a letter of approval
• They must register the product the EPA if it is not yet listed in the Environmental Protection Agency’s TSCA Inventory

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Type of chemical (oxide, polymer)
• Quantities, including inner and outer packing materials (5 vials with 10ml oxide in each, 1 styrofoam boxes, 1 plastic bag)
• Reason for shipping (scientific research)
• CAS Registry Number (if available) - the Chemical Abstract Service use this number to identify chemical substances

 

Electronics

General Requirements

The receiver must make sure the electronic products comply with the standards set out by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and the electronics must comply with US packaging and labelling requirements set by the Federal Trade Commission and the FCC - you can contact the relevant authorities if you’re unsure about any packing requirements.

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

The receiver won’t need to provide any additional documents for your parcel to clear customs.

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Type of electronic device (digital SLR camera, 1TB external hard drive)
• Type of use (digital photography, data storage)

 

Eyewear

General Requirements

Your parcel must comply with US packaging and labelling requirements set by the Federal Trade Commission and the FDA when shipping eyewear. Manufacturers must comply with FDA regulations for all types of eyewear, including:

• Spectacle frames
• Spectacle lenses
• Magnifying spectacles
• Sunglasses

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill
• A ‘Drop Ball Test’ certificate for all eyewear except spectacle frames, in order to comply with FDA requirements

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

The receiver won’t need to provide any additional documents for your parcel to clear customs.

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Type of eyewear (acetate frame reading glasses with magnifying lenses, metal frames sunglasses with polarised lenses)
• Reason for shipping (sale, repairs)
• Manufacturer’s FDA registration number
• Your FDA registration number, if different to manufacturer’s
• FDA medical device classification product code
• FDA medical device listing number
• Manufacturer’s full name and address if you’re a first time shipper, or the Manufacturer’s Identification (MID) Code can be used as an alternative to their details on the shipment paper if you’re not a first time sender

 

Food (human and animal consumption)

General Requirements

Your food shipment must comply with US packaging and labelling requirements set by the Federal Trade Commission and the FDA. As the sender, you must also comply with the FDA’s FMSA rule on Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) for US food importers.

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill
• A prior notice of imported food filed with the FDA - the manufacturer or distributor of the food might need to be registered as a food facility with the FDA to do this

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

The receiver won’t need to provide any additional documents for your parcel to clear customs.

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Whether food is for human or animal consumption
• Type of food (dried dog food biscuits, tinned sliced pineapple)
• Reason for shipping (consumption, testing purposes)
• Precise quantity and packaging details (6 35g bags of crisps, individually wrapped in foil bag)
• Manufacturer’s FDA food facility registration number
• Receiver’s FDA registration number
• FDA product code
• Manufacturer’s full name and address if you’re a first time shipper, or the Manufacturer’s Identification (MID) Code can be used as an alternative to their details on the shipment paper if you’re not a first time sender

 

Footwear

General Requirements

Your parcel must comply with US packaging and labelling requirements set by the Federal Trade Commission and US Customs and Border Protection.

You need to contact your local carrier’s customer service for advice if the footwear contains exotic animal products, such as snakeskin. CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) regulations might apply to your item, so it’s always important to check before sending.

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

The receiver won’t need to provide any additional documents for your parcel to clear customs.

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Highly detailed description of the footwear - you can write this on the commercial invoice or fill in an Interim Footwear Invoice from the IFAFRA (International Footwear Association Footwear Retailers of America)
• If most of the upper part of the footwear is made of textiles (e.g. canvas shoes) state the textile manufacturer’s full name and address if you’re a first time shipper, or the Manufacturer’s Identification (MID) Code can be used as an alternative to their details on the shipment paper if you’re not a first time sender

 

Integrated circuits

General Requirements

Integrated circuits must comply with US packaging and labelling requirements set by the Federal Trade Commission.

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

The receiver won’t need to provide any additional documents for your parcel to clear customs.

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Type of integrated circuit (processor, EPROM, SRAM, separate components and parts)
• Whether or not the integrated circuits have DRAM and if so, include the number of megabits
• Reason for shipping (sale, testing)

 

Jewellery

General Requirements

Your parcel must comply with US packaging and labelling requirements set by the Federal Trade Commission if it contains jewellery. It’s important to know that you are prohibited from importing jadeite stones and rubies from Burma (Myanmar) to the USA.

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill
• If you’re shipping jadeite stones or rubies, you must include signed and dated export clarification to show their origin and so prove they have not been exported from Burma. This statement can be printed separately. Here’s what the statement should say:

  I, __________________ (insert export company name), certify that to the best of my knowledge and belief, the jadeite and/or ruby gemstones that are the subject of this Exporter Certificate, whether they are exported as loose stones or incorporated in articles of jewellery, have been subjected to a system of verifiable controls from the mine to the place of exportation or final finishing that demonstrate the gemstones were not mined in, or extracted from Burma (Myanmar). I further certify that I have maintained records for all transactions involving the importation and exportation of rubies and jadeite from countries other than Burma (Myanmar) and that such records will be made available to the relevant government authorities upon request.

  Name __________________

  Signature __________________

  Company name __________________

  Date __________________

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

The receiver won’t need to provide any additional documents for your parcel to clear customs.

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Type of jewellery (sterling silver plated brass bracelet, white gold ring with emerald stone)
• Metal content (925 silver, 555 gold)
• Net weight (12 grams, 1.1 oz)
• Details of any gemstones and their individual values in US dollars
• If the jewellery contains jade or rubies

 

Laptops

General Requirements

Your parcel must comply with US packaging and labelling requirements set by the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - contact the relevant authorities if you’re unsure about any of these requirements.

Laptops shipped into the US must also comply with FDA regulations for radiation-emitting electronic products.

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill
• A Declaration for Imported Electronic Products Subject to Radiation Control Standards (Form FDA 2877) is needed for laptops with a disc drive

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

The receiver won’t need to provide any additional documents for your parcel to clear customs.

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Type of laptop (Apple Macbook Pro 13”, HP Pavilion 14-dv0622sa 14")
• Reason for shipping (sale, repair, testing)
• Whether the laptop has a disc drive or not

 

Medical devices

General Requirements

If the medical device you’re sending emits radiation, it must comply with FDA regulations for radiation-emitting electronic products. All medical devices shipped into the US must comply with US packaging and labelling requirements set by the Federal Trade Commission and the FDA.

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

The receiver won’t need to provide any additional documents for your parcel to clear customs.

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Type of medical device (defibrillator, hearing aid)
• Reason for shipping (testing, sale)
• Manufacturer’s FDA registration number
• Your FDA registration number, if different to manufacturer’s
• FDA device listing number
• FDA medical device classification product code
• FDA intended use code (for example, 081.000 for human medical use as a medical device)
• Depending on the product, you should include additional details such as the pre-market device number
• Manufacturer’s full name and address if you’re a first time shipper, or the Manufacturer’s Identification (MID) Code can be used as an alternative to their details on the shipment paper if you’re not a first time sender

 

Printed circuit boards

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

The receiver won’t need to provide any additional documents for your parcel to clear customs.

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Type of circuit board (populated board, bare board)
• Detailed description for bare boards (flexible, rigid, ceramic base, wholly impregnated with plastic)
• Detailed description for populated boards including device or computer they’re a part of
• What the main function is - memory or other (DRAM memory module in computer)
• Whether the printed circuit boards contain DRAM memory or not

 

Videos and films

General Requirements

When shipping videos and films, your parcel must comply with US packaging and labelling requirements set by the Federal Trade Commission.

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

The receiver won’t need to provide any additional documents for your parcel to clear customs.

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Physical format (3 blu-rays in plastic cases, 1 hard drive with 12 raw video files)
• Whether it’s a film, i.e. a movie with footage created for commercial purpose, or a video (any other footage that’s not commercial film)
• Duration (2 films both 90 minutes long)
• If footage is on film reels, state the physical length of the reels
• Brief description of the content (horror movie, home video, comedy series)
• Signed and dated declaration that the content of the video/film complies with US legal requirements. This declaration can be printed separately. Here’s what it should say:

  VIDEO FILM DECLARATION

  I/we declare that the film(s)/video(s) contains no obscene or immoral matter, nor any matter advocating or urging treason or insurrection against the United States, nor any threat to take the life of or inflict bodily harm upon any person in the United States.

  Signature __________________

  Name __________________

  Date __________________

 

Watches and clocks

General Requirements

Watch straps made from leather could be subject to regulations set by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)

Documents You Need to Provide

• A commercial invoice
• An airway bill

Documents the Receiver Needs to Provide

The receiver won’t need to provide any additional documents for your parcel to clear customs.

Details You Need to Include in the Good’s Description

• Type of watch or clock (pendulum clock, automatic watch)
• Type of display (mechanical, optoelectronic)
• Composition of case (ceramic, steel, gold plated steel)
• Number of jewels on watch or clock
• Power source (battery, mechanical winding)
• Watch strap material (leather, precious metal, base metal)
• Country of origin of the clock or watch mechanism
• Breakdown of the value of the parts in US dollars (movement: 20 USD, strap: 50 USD, battery: 6 USD, case 65 USD - total watch value: 141 USD)

 

 

Preparing the Shipping Paperwork

What You Need to Do

You can fill in paperwork digitally or on paper. This will depend on you and your receiver’s preference as well as the preference of the countries you’re in and what goods are being shipped. It’s always a good idea to have more than one copy of the documents if including paper versions.

What the Receiver Needs to Do

Depending on what you’re shipping to the USA, your receiver may need certain authorisations and certificates for your parcel to clear US customs. Your receiver must always comply with US regulations, so it’s important that they check the most up to date regulations before you send your parcel to the US.

It’s a good idea to send a copy of the commercial invoice to your receiver before shipping so they can make sure all the details are right.

They may need a customs broker (an international trade expert responsible for preparing and clearing goods through customs) and if so, remember to include the broker’s contact details in your commercial invoice.

 

How to Fill in a Commercial Invoice

Every parcel you ship to the USA will need to include a commercial invoice. It has to be filled in in English and include:

• A precise goods description - provide a full and accurate description of your goods, being specific and avoiding generic descriptions
• An accurate HS code - you can look up an item’s HS code online using a HS code search tool or on country’s government website
• Country of origin - List the country that your goods were manufactured (not where you’re sending them from)
• The receiver’s contact details - so the US customs authorities can contact your receiver with any questions if they need to

If you’re still unsure, here’s some more detailed information on filling in a commercial invoice.

How to Fill in an Air Waybill

An air waybill is a contract between the shipper and the carrier. It will provide the shipper with key information and is used for tracking your shipment. The form is quite self-explanatory, but generally you need to fill in:

1. Your details
2. Your receiver’s details
3. The shipment details
4. Your selected shipping service
5. The billing section

Finally, you or your company must sign the air waybill.

 

How Parcel2Go Can Help You

We know that when it comes to sending a parcel to the US, there are more steps involved than with UK shipping. But don’t worry.

Not only do we work with the best international couriers, but we are proud to be international shipping experts. We will send you all the documents you need as soon as you book your parcel with us. And our customer service team is available to help you 24/7 if you need us!

Send a parcel to the USA from just £14.69 or get a quote for your delivery to the USA today.