CBP's New Postal Informal Entry Process Went Live July 24, 2026 — Inbound International Mail Up to $2,500 Now Needs a Customs Bond, a Designated Filer, and a Monthly Duty Worksheet Filed by the 7th
CBP published two interim final rules in the Federal Register on June 24, 2026 that indefinitely suspend the $800 de minimis exemption — one covering every mode other than the international postal network, the other covering mail. The non-postal rule took effect immediately on June 24. The mail rule set up a replacement mechanism, the postal informal entry process, which became operational on July 24, 2026 for shipments valued at $2,500 or less in HTSUS Chapters 1 through 97. The practical change for sellers is procedural, not just financial: a duty-free mail parcel is now an entry that requires a designated filer, a customs bond on file in ACE eBond before filing, and a monthly International Mail Duty Worksheet submitted by the 7th of the following month with 10-digit tariff classifications, paid via Pay.gov.
Real-World Impact
The eligibility ceiling for the postal informal entry process is $2,500 per shipment — roughly three times the $800 de minimis level it replaces — but the change is not a higher duty-free allowance. A $150 mail parcel that entered duty-free before now requires a bond, a designated filer, and a worksheet line with a 10-digit HTSUS code, and duty is owed on the full $150.
Key Points
- Two interim final rules published June 24, 2026: 2026-12669 covers mail shipments and creates the postal informal entry process; 2026-12670 suspends de minimis for all modes other than the international postal network
- The postal informal entry process is effective July 24, 2026 and applies to merchandise valued at $2,500 or less classified in HTSUS Chapters 1–97; Chapters 98 and 99 are outside the process
- Entries must be filed by the owner or purchaser of the merchandise, or by a licensed customs broker designated by the owner, purchaser, or consignee — the recipient no longer just pays a carrier at delivery
- A basic importation and entry bond (Activity Code 1), continuous or single-transaction, must be on file in ACE eBond before filing; shipments are not released until CBP has the bond
- Duties are reported on a monthly International Mail Duty Worksheet — a spreadsheet carrying 10-digit HTSUS classifications — due by the 7th day of the month following the package's arrival, with payment via ACH debit through Pay.gov
- Shipments subject to quotas, antidumping/countervailing duties, Chapter 98/99 classifications, or Partner Government Agency requirements fall outside the informal process; CBP set a delayed compliance date of October 22, 2026 for those exclusions under 19 CFR 145.12(a)(2)(v) and (vi)
- CBP has scheduled a September 22, 2026 test of Entry Type 13, the electronic filing path intended to replace the manual worksheet
- Comments on both interim final rules were due July 24, 2026 under docket USCBP-2026-0761 — the rules are already in force, and the comment window is closed
- This is administrative machinery layered on top of the tariff rates themselves; the Section 301 forced-labor duties effective July 24 and the Brazil-only 25% Section 301 duty effective July 22 still apply to the same goods
What You Should Do Now
- 1Inventory which of your inbound shipments actually arrive via international mail rather than express courier — only those move to this process, and many sellers assume their freight forwarder already covers it
- 2Get a basic importation and entry bond (Activity Code 1) on file in ACE eBond, or confirm your customs broker holds one that covers you; without it CBP will not release the shipment
- 3Decide now whether you will file as owner/purchaser yourself or designate a licensed customs broker — the monthly worksheet needs 10-digit HTSUS classifications, not descriptions
- 4Put the 7th of each month on your calendar as the International Mail Duty Worksheet and Pay.gov deadline for the prior month's arrivals
- 5If any mail-borne SKU touches quota, AD/CVD, Chapter 98/99, or a PGA agency (FDA, CPSC, USDA), plan a formal-entry path before the October 22, 2026 compliance date