What is an HS code, and how to find the right one

The Harmonized System (HS) is a product nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organization and used by more than 200 countries and economies. Each product group gets a six-digit HS code, the same in every country that uses the system.

The current edition is HS 2022. The next, HS 2028, comes into force on 1 January 2028, and codes for some goods will change with it.

Countries add their own digits after the first six. The United States uses the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), with 10-digit codes. The first eight digits set the duty rate; the last two are statistical. The schedule is law, and the US International Trade Commission maintains it.

Exports from the US use Schedule B, the Census Bureau’s 10-digit list. The 10-digit HTS code may usually be reported instead.

The official US lookup is the USITC’s HTS search. To find a code:

1. Start from what the goods are and what they are made of, not from what you call them in your listing.
2. Search the HTS, then read the chapter and section notes: they decide what a heading includes and excludes.
3. Apply the General Rules of Interpretation in order. There are six, and they are part of the legal text.
4. Check CBP’s past rulings for similar goods in its rulings database (CROSS).
5. Ask your supplier for the code they export under, and have your customs broker confirm the US code.

For goods you plan to import, you can ask CBP for a binding ruling, by letter or online through eRulings. Describe the goods fully, with photos and, where possible, a sample. CBP aims to answer within 30 calendar days. A ruling binds CBP on that transaction until it is modified or revoked, so it settles the code before you commit to a large order.

The importer of record must use reasonable care to classify and value the goods; CBP then fixes the final classification. A wrong code can delay release, and a false statement through negligence, gross negligence or fraud carries civil penalties under 19 USC 1592 that can reach multiples of the duty lost. See importer of record.

On a duty paid shipment where the carrier is the importer, the carrier’s broker classifies the goods, but it can only work from what you tell it. Describe the goods precisely.

• Copying a code from a competitor’s listing without checking the goods match.
• Using the supplier’s Chinese export code as the US import code: only the first six digits are shared.
• Classifying a set by its cheapest part.
• Not checking for additional duties on top of the base rate for the goods and their origin.

The shipment form has an HS code field that searches the US tariff schedule by code or by what the goods are. Carriers use the code to price duty on duty paid bids, and the form warns you when the code falls in a sector US customs targets. See Do I need the HS code for my goods?