ISF filing: the 10+2 rule for ocean freight into the US

The Importer Security Filing, known as “10+2”, is a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) rule in force since 26 January 2009. It applies to cargo arriving in the United States by vessel. The importer side files ten pieces of data about the goods and the parties; the ocean carrier files two more about the ship and the containers — that is the “+2”.

CBP uses the ISF to decide which containers to look at before they reach a US port. It is a security filing, not the customs entry: you still clear the goods on arrival.

For goods to be entered into the United States, the ISF is due no later than 24 hours before the cargo is laden aboard the vessel at the foreign port. Two of the ten elements — the container stuffing location and the consolidator — may follow later, but no later than 24 hours before the vessel arrives in a US port.

In practice that means the data has to be ready at booking, not at sailing: your supplier and your forwarder need it while the container is still being planned.

The rule lists these for goods to be entered into the United States, with the tariff number at the six-digit level:

1. Seller
2. Buyer
3. Importer of record number (or foreign trade zone applicant number)
4. Consignee number(s)
5. Manufacturer (or supplier)
6. Ship-to party
7. Country of origin
8. Commodity tariff (HTSUS) number
9. Container stuffing location
10. Consolidator (stuffer)

The ISF importer — the party responsible for the goods arriving — or an agent it authorises, usually a licensed customs broker or the freight forwarder’s broker. The ISF importer must have a bond that covers the filing; if it does not, the agent filing for it may post its own bond.

On Ebbrate the shipment form asks who files it: the carrier, or your own broker if you use one. Every carrier bidding prices the same answer. See who handles customs at the destination.

CBP says non-compliance can lead to monetary penalties, more inspections and delayed cargo. The bond conditions set liquidated damages of $5,000 for each ISF violation. Inspections and the days a container waits for them are billed on top, and on a duty paid shipment they come out of someone’s margin.

The filer puts it together, but most of the data comes from others. Line them up at booking:

• Your supplier: the manufacturer’s name and address, and where the container will be stuffed.
• You: the buyer and seller details, the importer of record number, the consignee and the tariff codes.
• Your forwarder or carrier: the consolidator for shared containers, and the booking and bill of lading numbers the filing is matched to.
• The ocean carrier: the vessel stow plan and container status messages — the “+2”.

Loose cargo in a shared container (LCL) still needs its own ISF. The consolidator who stuffs the container is one of the ten elements, so the forwarder running the consolidation usually supplies it.

For goods going into an Amazon fulfilment centre, the ship-to party is where the goods are delivered. Ask your filer how to name it, and keep it the same as the delivery address on your shipment.

1. Decide who is the importer of record and who files the ISF before you book — on Ebbrate, in the customs card of the shipment form.
2. Ask your supplier for the manufacturer’s name and address and where the container will be stuffed.
3. Classify the goods to at least six digits of the US tariff, the same codes you will enter them under.
4. Give the filer the data at booking, and confirm it was accepted before the container is loaded.
5. If anything changes — supplier, stuffing location, consolidator — update the filing before the vessel arrives.

Air freight and goods arriving by truck or rail do not need an ISF: the rule is for vessel cargo. Bulk cargo is exempt, and break bulk has its own treatment. Goods passing through a US port to somewhere else (FROB) or moving in bond have shorter data sets with their own timing.

For what else an import needs, see importer of record and our CBM calculator for sizing the shipment.