For a foreign seller that serves as the importer of record for its own US shipments, the customs broker's qualifications will soon determine how those goods can enter. On November 6, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published an interim final rule that generally requires the foreign importer or its licensed broker to have passed validation under the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT). The rule takes effect on January 5, 2027. It also sets a new test for companies that declare themselves US importers, so the distinction can matter even to a business incorporated in the United States.

Key facts

  • The validation requirement covers formal consumption entries and specified informal entries filed on CBP Forms 3461 or 7501 or their electronic equivalents.
  • A foreign importer that has already passed CTPAT validation can file if otherwise eligible, or appoint a broker. An unvalidated foreign importer needs a CTPAT-validated licensed broker for covered entries.
  • CBP puts unpaid principal on outstanding bills opened since October 1, 2020, for foreign importers outside CTPAT at $1.01 billion as of February 6, 2026.
  • Comments are due January 5, 2027. CBP expects all brokers to comply in full by May 6, 2027, following a limited route to request delayed compliance for changes to broker duties.

Why the name on the entry matters more than the shipment's origin

The importer of record is the party accountable to customs for an entry. A European manufacturer shipping to a US buyer might handle importation itself, or the buyer might be the importer under the parties' arrangement. Those two shipments could contain the same goods from the same factory. The rule applies its new test to the party acting as importer and, in specified circumstances, to the foreign principal for whom a broker acts. The product's country of origin is a separate question.

The existing rule for nonresident corporations already requires a resident agent for service of process in the state of the port concerned (with an alternative for certain remote filings) and a bond with a resident corporate surety. The November rule adds a separate test of who qualifies as a US importer of record. An individual qualifies through US citizenship or lawful permanent residence. A company must be organized under US law and located in the United States and satisfy one of two conditions: qualifying US citizens or lawful permanent residents hold at least 51% beneficial ownership and control the entity, or the entity directly owns a significant amount of US real property by net unencumbered value.

CBP says it can consider the scale and substance of the operation when verifying where a company is located. Examples include the principal place of business, substantial transactions conducted at a US location, capitalization and the assets the company holds. A US subsidiary of a foreign group could qualify if it meets the applicable test. A US mailing address on an importer record, by itself, leaves the relevant ownership, assets and operations unanswered. A qualifying US importer will declare its status when filing the entry and entry summary.

When the broker's validation makes the difference

Under 19 CFR 143.21, many merchandise shipments valued at $2,500 or less can use informal procedures, subject to exceptions. The June 3 executive order directed Homeland Security to prohibit foreign importers of record from using informal entry. CBP's implementation leaves a route for the covered informal entries through CTPAT validation. The rule identifies entry types 11, 12 and 13 for this requirement and says it will monitor informal filings after the rule takes effect. The $2,500 threshold concerns the entry procedure, a separate issue from whether an importer or broker is validated.

CTPAT validation follows certification and entails verification of a participant's supply-chain security practices. That distinction matters in picking a broker. A licensed broker without CTPAT validation can still act for a foreign importer that has itself passed validation. For an unvalidated foreign importer, the broker must have passed it. In the foreign-principal scenario CBP describes, the validated broker must itself act as importer of record when the principal on the power of attorney is neither the owner nor the purchaser of the goods. Using a validated broker leaves the client's own CTPAT status unchanged.

The policy addresses a collection problem that CBP says existing enforcement tools reach only partly. Requiring estimated duties before releasing a future shipment can protect the revenue on that entry. Collecting earlier bills from an entity whose operations and assets are abroad is a different task. CBP reports that its audits identified $1.16 billion in lost revenue from foreign importers between January 1, 2020, and August 27, 2026, and that it recovered $35.7 million, about 3.1%. That audit figure measures identified losses and recoveries. The $1.01 billion figure is a separate snapshot of unpaid principal for importers outside CTPAT.

January 5 is both the effective date and the deadline for submissions to docket USCBP-2026-1387. A broker seeking more time must apply before then, and the delayed-compliance provision concerns changes to 19 CFR 111.29. For a foreign supplier arranging a shipment under the new rule, the immediate question is who will appear as importer of record and whether the filing will require that party's validation or the broker's.