FedEx Customs Bond: When It’s Required, Types, and Costs

A FedEx customs bond is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) financial guarantee you need whenever a commercial shipment FedEx brings into the United States is valued above $2,500 or is regulated by another federal agency. The bond is a three-party agreement between you, a surety company, and CBP that promises duties, taxes, and fees will be paid and import rules followed. Without one on file, CBP will not release the goods, and storage fees start piling up at the port. FedEx includes customs brokerage on every international shipment and can help you arrange the bond itself, but knowing how the pieces fit together keeps you in control of the cost and the timing.

When You Actually Need a Bond

Two triggers matter. The first is value: any formal entry, meaning a commercial shipment with a total entered value above $2,500, requires a bond.¹ Shipments at or below that threshold usually clear as informal entries without a bond, though the port director can deny that waiver for quota goods, merchandise that is hard to appraise, or items with a history of redelivery problems.²

The second trigger is regulation. Goods overseen by another federal agency need a bond regardless of value. FDA-regulated food, EPA-regulated vehicles, firearms, and similar categories all require a bond even on a $500 shipment.¹ A duty-free shipment still needs a bond if it crosses the value threshold or falls under a regulated category, because the bond guarantees compliance with import laws, not just payment.

The De Minimis Shortcut Is Gone

Before August 2025, shipments valued at $800 or less could enter under a Section 321 de minimis exemption with no duties, no formal entry, and no bond. An executive order suspended duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries on August 29, 2025, and a follow-up order in February 2026 continued the suspension.³ All commercial shipments through FedEx are now subject to duties and full customs processing regardless of value. If you used to ship low-value goods without thinking about bonds, that path no longer exists.

Single Transaction or Continuous

You have two choices, and the deciding factor is how often you import.

A Single Transaction Bond (STB) covers one specific entry.⁴ It fits the importer who ships commercially once or twice a year. The bond amount is normally the entered value plus duties, taxes, and fees. For goods regulated by agencies like the FDA, EPA, or CPSC, the amount jumps to three times the total entered value.⁵ That multiplier surprises first-time importers of food or consumer electronics.

A Continuous Bond covers every entry you make at any U.S. port for a rolling twelve-month period.⁴ It stays active until you, the surety, or CBP terminates it, so there is no gap between shipments. If you import three or more times a year, a Continuous Bond almost always beats the total cost of separate STBs.

What It Costs

The bond amount is the surety’s maximum liability. The premium is what you pay the surety each year for taking on that risk. Those are two different numbers, and people confuse them constantly.

For a Continuous Bond, the minimum bond amount is $50,000.⁵ The actual amount is 10 percent of the duties, taxes, and fees you paid over the prior twelve months, rounded to the nearest $10,000, or the nearest $100,000 once you pass the $1,000,000 mark.⁶ Most importers at the $50,000 minimum pay a few hundred dollars a year in premium. New importers without a duty history use estimated first-year figures instead. Underwriters may ask for financial statements or credit history when the required bond exceeds the minimum.

STB fees are calculated per shipment and are lower in absolute dollars, but they add up. After two or three in a year, a Continuous Bond usually saves money.

How FedEx Handles It

FedEx includes customs brokerage on every international shipment at no additional brokerage charge. If you don’t designate your own broker, FedEx guides the shipment through export and import clearance automatically.⁷ For most small and mid-size importers, that is the simplest path: FedEx Trade Networks (FTN), the company’s brokerage arm, files the entry paperwork on your behalf.

FedEx Logistics can also arrange the CBP bond itself. You reach the bond team at ftn_bond@fedex.com to start the process.⁸ This is useful for first-time importers with no existing surety relationship.

Using Your Own Broker

If you already work with an independent customs broker, FedEx offers International Broker Select. You designate the broker on the shipping documents, and FedEx transfers the shipment to that broker at the U.S. border for clearance. It is available on FedEx International Priority, International Economy, International Ground, and their freight equivalents.⁸ You decide with your broker whether to use the broker’s pre-arranged bond or your own company’s bond. Either way, a signed Power of Attorney needs to be on file with whichever broker clears the goods, and the broker’s full name, address, and contact details should appear on the shipping documents so FedEx routes the shipment correctly.

What to Have Ready

Gathering these details before you contact a surety or broker keeps things moving:

Your Importer of Record number. For U.S. businesses this is the IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN). Sole proprietors use a Social Security Number. Foreign entities without either can apply to CBP for a Customs Assigned Importer Number.⁹
Full legal business name and physical address, so the surety can identify the principal on the bond.
Prior-year duties, taxes, and fees, or a reasonable estimate if you are new. This drives the Continuous Bond amount.
Description and value of the goods for a Single Transaction Bond.¹⁰

If you have never imported before, CBP Form 5106 (Importer ID Input Record) establishes your identity in the CBP system. It is filed with your first formal entry.¹¹

How the Filing Works

Importers rarely file bonds directly with CBP. You work through a licensed customs broker (including FTN) or a Treasury-approved surety, and the broker typically acts as the surety’s agent and handles the paperwork.

You complete the application and sign a Power of Attorney. The surety runs underwriting on your financial profile and import history; a standard $50,000 Continuous Bond is usually straightforward, larger amounts get a closer look. The surety then files the packet with CBP’s Revenue Division, and once CBP approves, it issues a unique bond number that covers your entries at every U.S. port.¹² Your broker uses that number on every future entry.

Single Transaction Bonds move faster because the application can be filed directly with the port director alongside the entry itself.¹⁰ If a FedEx shipment is already in transit and you don’t have a Continuous Bond, an STB arranged through your broker can be filed at the time of entry to get the goods released.

Keeping the Bond Adequate

A Continuous Bond stays active as long as the surety receives its annual premium. Miss a payment and the surety files a termination notice. Payment alone is not enough, though. CBP independently reviews whether your bond amount still covers your actual import activity.

If CBP finds the bond insufficient, it sends a written notice and gives you 15 business days to fix the deficiency. When CBP believes a transaction would put revenue at immediate risk, it can require additional security right away, before those 15 days run out, in the form of a cash deposit or an STB for that specific entry.¹³ This tends to happen when volume grows and duties outpace coverage. If you paid $200,000 in duties last year but your bond sits at the $50,000 minimum, expect a flag. The fix is a new bond filed at the higher amount, calculated with the same 10-percent formula on updated numbers. Reviewing the bond amount once a year saves the scramble.

A Note on Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties

If you import goods subject to anti-dumping or countervailing duties (AD/CVD), your Continuous Bond may not be enough on its own. When a port director has reason to believe accepting a shipment under a Continuous Bond would put revenue at risk, the port can require either a cash deposit or an additional Single Transaction Bond on top of your existing coverage.¹⁴ AD/CVD duties can exceed the value of the goods, so if you regularly import in these categories, ask your broker whether your bond amount is adequate or whether to budget for supplemental bonds.

Canceling the Bond

To terminate your Continuous Bond, you submit a written request to CBP’s Revenue Division by mail, fax, or email. The termination takes effect on the date you specify, as long as it is at least 10 business days after CBP receives the request. If you don’t name a date, the bond terminates on the tenth business day automatically.¹⁵ If the surety cancels, the timeline is longer: 30 days’ notice to both CBP and you. The surety can do that without your consent but cannot walk away from obligations already incurred before the termination date.

Whoever cancels, you remain liable for unpaid duties, penalties, or compliance violations that happened while the bond was active. Cancellation does not erase past obligations. Single Transaction Bonds discharge on their own once CBP completes the final liquidation of that entry.

1
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. When Is a Customs Bond Required
2
eCFR. 19 CFR 142.4 – Bond Requirements
3
The White House. Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries
4
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Bonds – Types of Bonds
5
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Monetary Guidelines for Setting Bond Amounts
6
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Bonds – How Are Continuous and Single Entry Bond Amounts Determined
7
FedEx. Customs Clearance
8
FedEx. International Shipping and Customs Broker Options
9
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Importer Numbers
10
eCFR. 19 CFR 113.11 – Bond Application
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eCFR. 19 CFR 24.5 – Filing Identification Number
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. General Guidelines for Completing the CBP Form 301 for Continuous Bonds
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eCFR. 19 CFR 113.13 – Amount of Bond
14
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Use of Single Transaction Bonds as Additional Security for Antidumping and Countervailing Concerns
15
eCFR. 19 CFR 113.27 – Effective Dates of Termination of Bond