New Customs Rule Makes Every Importer Declare U.S. Status by January 5: Your Checklist

If your business imports goods, a new U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) rule asks you to answer a question you may never have thought about: are you legally a "U.S. importer of record," or a foreign one? The answer decides whether you can keep entering goods the way you do today after January 5, 2027.

CBP published an interim final rule called "Heightened Requirements for Foreign Importers of Record" in the Federal Register on November 6, 2026. It takes effect January 5, 2027, which is also the deadline for public comments. Here is what it says, who should check their setup, and what to do in the next seven weeks.

The Short Version

• Every importer must declare on each entry whether it is a U.S. importer of record (IOR) or a foreign one.
• Foreign IORs can enter goods only if they are validated under CBP's Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) program or use a CTPAT-validated licensed customs broker.
• The test for "U.S. IOR" is stricter than many owners expect and looks at who actually owns and controls the company.
• CBP estimates about one-third of foreign IORs, roughly 5.4% of all IORs, will lose their current path to entry.

Why CBP Did This

The rule implements Section 2 of Executive Order 14411, "Strengthening Customs Enforcement," which President Donald Trump signed on June 3, 2026. According to law firm summaries, CBP cited duty evasion, uncollectible revenue, including more than $1 billion in unpaid debts from foreign IORs that are not CTPAT validated, and security risks from foreign shell companies. CBP skipped the usual notice-and-comment step before issuing the rule, which Troutman Pepper Locke says leaves it open to legal challenge. The rule includes a severability clause, signaling CBP expects challenges.

What Counts as a U.S. Importer of Record

Under new 19 C.F.R. Part 110, an individual is a U.S. IOR only if he or she is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. A company qualifies only if it is organized under U.S. law, is located in the United States, and at all times meets one of two tests:

• At least 51% of its beneficial owners are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents who have control of the entity; or
• It directly owns a significant amount of unencumbered U.S. real property.

"Beneficial owner" follows the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 25% ownership-or-substantial-control standard, but CBP looks through every layer of U.S. holding companies to the natural persons behind them. In checking whether a company is truly "located" in the U.S., CBP may weigh its principal place of business, U.S. operations, unencumbered physical domestic assets (receivables are expressly excluded), profitability and capitalization.

Everything else is a foreign IOR. That means an LLC formed in Delaware but owned mostly by overseas investors could be treated as foreign for customs purposes. If you formed your company recently, review how you set it up in our LLC formation guide, and keep your EIN and ownership records together.

What Foreign Importers Must Do

A foreign IOR may enter goods for consumption, by formal entry or by informal entry filed on CBP Form 3461 or 7501, only if it is itself CTPAT validated or designates a licensed, CTPAT-validated customs broker. If the foreign principal does not own or purchase the merchandise, the validated broker must act as the importer of record.

Troutman notes that only Canadian foreign IORs are currently eligible for CTPAT validation, so the practical route for most foreign IORs is a validated broker. Being a licensed customs broker alone is not enough after January 5 unless the foreign IOR is itself CTPAT validated.

What U.S. Importers Must Do

U.S. importers can keep importing without CTPAT validation, but they must declare their status. Every importer must say on every entry and entry summary whether it qualifies as a U.S. or foreign IOR, using updated CBP forms that become mandatory January 5, 2027. Customs brokers can submit the declaration for clients, but they must verify that the client meets the U.S. IOR requirements.

That verification matters for you. Brokers must request and review client records, such as corporate charters, financial statements and documents of title, and keep them for five years before declaring a client a U.S. IOR. Expect your broker to start asking for ownership charts and asset records.

Why a False Declaration Is Risky

Law firms flag three exposures:

• Live entry. An inaccurate U.S.-IOR declaration is an express trigger for "live entry" and loss of immediate delivery privileges. CBP will not release goods until the importer files the entry summary and deposits all estimated duties, taxes and fees.
• Broker penalties. CBP can now, at its discretion, pursue brokers for any violation under 19 U.S.C. 1592, including negligent ones. Brokers are likely to push that caution onto clients.
• False Claims Act claims. Because the declaration is a material statement, a knowing false one, including one made with reckless disregard, can support a False Claims Act case with treble damages. Competitors and former employees can bring such claims.

Who Should Check Their Setup Now

• U.S. companies with foreign investors or founders who hold a large share of the business.
• Startups that raised money from overseas funds, or are about to, because the "at all times" standard means a financing round or acquisition can change your status.
• Asset-light importers, such as e-commerce sellers who own little real property and hold mostly receivables.
• Foreign sellers who ship to U.S. customers as importer of record. Troutman suggests shifting from Delivered Duty Paid to Delivered at Place terms, or forming a qualifying U.S. importing entity.
• Small shippers who rely on informal entries for goods valued at $2,500 or less. CBP says it may bar foreign IORs from informal entry altogether if the CTPAT safeguard proves insufficient.

Key Dates

Date	What happens
November 6, 2026	Interim final rule published in the Federal Register
January 5, 2027	Rule takes effect; new declarations on CBP Forms 3461/7501 required; comments due (docket USCBP-2026-1387)
January 5, 2027	Deadline for brokers to request delayed compliance with the verification requirement
May 6, 2027	Outside date for full broker compliance

The broker extension does not delay the foreign IOR requirements, according to Passport's summary.

A Seven-Week Checklist

1. Draw an ownership chart that traces your company to the natural persons who own and control it, and note each person's citizenship or permanent resident status.
2. List your U.S. assets. Remember that receivables do not count as physical domestic assets under CBP's definition.
3. Ask your customs broker how they plan to verify your status and what records they need, and whether they are CTPAT validated.
4. If you are a foreign importer, line up a CTPAT-validated broker now, even if you are pursuing validation yourself.
5. Review your business insurance and your supplier contracts for terms that depend on who acts as importer.
6. Decide whether to file a public comment before January 5. Specific examples of how the rule affects your business carry more weight than general objections.
7. Budget for broker fees. Verification and recordkeeping may raise costs, and CBP has acknowledged broker compliance costs could be substantial.

The Bottom Line

For most established U.S.-owned importers, the change may be a new line on every entry. For companies with foreign owners, thin U.S. assets or heavy informal-entry volume, it could change who is allowed to file. This is a general overview, not legal advice, so talk with a licensed customs broker or trade attorney about your own structure. The key is to find out which category you are in before January 5, not after your first rejected entry.

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash