Skip to main content
BSB
Last reviewed: Next review due: Reflects current CBP customs bond comparison requirements
✓ 2026 Requirements Verified
Decision Guide · CBP Form 301 bond types

Which customs bond do you need?

Four customs bonds matter for almost every importer: Single Entry for a one-time shipment, Continuous once you are running an import program, Temporary Import (TIB) when goods are coming in to leave again, and the standalone ISF Bond if you ship ocean cargo on a single-entry program. The right pick is driven by three questions: how many shipments per year, will the goods be re-exported, and is the cargo arriving by vessel?

60-second decision tree

  1. 1Are the goods leaving the U.S. again within 3 years (samples, trade-show gear, equipment for repair, racing vehicles)? → Use a Temporary Import Bond (TIB). Duty is deferred on condition of re-export.
  2. 2Importing 3+ formal entries a year and staying in business? → Standard Continuous Bond (Activity Code 1). 12-month coverage at every U.S. port, $50,000 minimum penal sum, ISF coverage included.
  3. 3One-time or occasional shipment? → Single Entry Bond sized to that one shipment’s entered value + duties (3× for FDA/EPA/DOT regulated goods).
  4. 4Single-entry user shipping by ocean vessel? → You also need a separate ISF Bond (Activity Code 16). Your import bond does not cover the 10+2 filing.
Quote a continuous bond Single-entry bond pageTIB details

Need a customs bond quote?

Tell us the shipment or import program and we will route to the right bond type — single entry, continuous, TIB, or ISF.

2026 alert: Section 232 + 301 + IEEPA tariffs are pushing continuous bond amounts up

The continuous bond penal-sum formula (10% of prior-year duties, taxes, and fees — CBP Monetary Guidelines, Directive 3510-004) was written before today’s tariff environment. Section 232 steel/aluminum duties, Section 301 China-origin duties, and the post-2024 IEEPA reciprocal tariffs are now stacking on the same line items, so the duty figure that feeds the 10% calculation is climbing fast. Importers who were comfortable at the $50,000 minimum for years are receiving CBP "insufficient bond" letters in 2025–2026 with new penal sums in the $250,000–$1M+ range.

The 10% mechanism is .gov-verified (Directive 3510-004). The Section 232/301/IEEPA stacking observation and worked dollar example below are industry analysis from ExFreight (published April 30, 2026).

The four CBP bonds side by side

All four bonds are filed on CBP Form 301 with a Treasury-certified surety (Circular 570). The differences are in the formula, the penal-sum floor, the Activity Code, and what the bond covers.

From the producer’s desk
Eric Drummond, licensed surety producer (Nevada, license pending)

The two calls we keep getting in 2026: the ISF surprise and the continuous-bond shock

The most common producer’s-desk call this year is some version of: "CBP is holding my freight at the port of Long Beach and the broker says I am missing an ISF bond — but I already have a customs bond." Almost every time, the importer has been running single-entry bonds for years on ocean cargo. They never needed an ISF bond before because their freight forwarder was filing 10+2 against a forwarder-provided bond on past shipments. Then the relationship changed, the forwarder pulled the bond, and now the importer is staring at a $5,000 liquidated damages exposure per ISF violation under 19 CFR 113 Appendix D. The fix is a standalone ISF bond at $10,000 penal sum, but if you do this twice a quarter, you are very close to the price of a standard continuous bond that would have covered ISF automatically under 19 CFR 113.62.

The second call pattern in 2026 is the continuous-bond renewal shock, and the mechanics behind it are worth understanding precisely because two separate forces are compounding simultaneously. The first is tariff stacking: Section 232 duties on steel and aluminum, Section 301 duties on China-origin goods across four product lists, and the post-2024 IEEPA reciprocal tariff layer are landing on the same line items in the same entry. The importer's prior-year duty figure — the denominator in CBP's 10% formula under Directive 3510-004 — can jump 2–4× in a single renewal cycle without any change in import volume. The second force is the ISF coverage gap that compounds the single-entry cost: an importer who has been running single-entry bonds on ocean cargo and receiving a per-shipment ISF bond through their forwarder will suddenly face both a higher-than-expected continuous bond renewal quote and the realization that consolidating to a continuous bond eliminates the ISF line charge entirely. The two issues arrive in the same conversation. The CBP "insufficient bond" letter — generated automatically from the ACE trailing-12-month sufficiency review — does not explain the tariff-stacking driver; it simply states the new required penal sum. Importers who do not model their duty exposure quarterly under the current stacking environment are receiving that letter as a surprise.

The mechanics above describe the dual-force pattern observable across the 2025–2026 renewal cycle: Section 232/301/IEEPA tariff stacking driving the 10% formula (CBP Directive 3510-004) and the ISF coverage gap for single-entry users (19 CFR 113.62, 2009 amendment). This is regulatory mechanics commentary, not a specific client scenario. Surety bond decisions depend on your specific duty volume and shipment profile — consult a licensed producer before acting on any bond-sizing estimate.

Bond Type 1 of 4

Single Entry Bond

Covers one customs entry at one specified port. Filed by the importer (or, in practice, by their licensed customs broker) on CBP Form 301 alongside the entry.

The single-entry bond, formally the Single Transaction Bond, is the simplest customs bond in the system. It guarantees one specific entry at one specific port, and the penal sum is sized to that one shipment. Under 19 CFR 113.13, the floor is $100 — verbatim, "the amount of any CBP bond must not be less than $100, except when the law or regulation expressly provides that a lesser amount may be taken." In practice CBP and most sureties size single-entry bonds to the total entered value plus all duties, taxes, and fees, which is the formula CBP Directive 3510-004 establishes for Single Transaction Bonds.

If your goods are regulated by a Partner Government Agency — FDA, EPA, DOT — the bond gets sized to three times the entered value. That triples the cost on regulated cargo, which is the single biggest reason importers in food, drug, vehicle, or chemical lines outgrow single-entry bonds quickly.

Single-entry bonds do not cover ISF. A single-transaction import bond is filed under Activity Code 1 (single-transaction variant) on CBP Form 301; it secures the entry only. If you are bringing the cargo in by vessel, you need a separate ISF bond — see the ISF section below, and the FAQ for the "single-entry ocean importer" scenario specifically.

When a single entry bond is the right call
  • Importing a personal vehicle or household goods on a one-time move
  • One-off commercial purchase with no ongoing import program
  • Goods returning from overseas repair (duty only on repair value)
  • You import fewer than ~3 times a year and your goods are not vessel cargo

Detailed pricing, sample calculations, and a same-day quote form for one-time shipments live on the Customs Single Entry Bond product page.

Bond Type 2 of 4

Continuous Bond (standard Activity Code 1)

A single bond covering every formal entry at every U.S. port for 12 months on auto-renewal. The default instrument for any company with an actual import program.

Routing note: Our customs-continuous product page covers the Reconciliation Rider variant — a specialty product for post-entry duty adjustment. For a standard continuous bond, use /get-quote/.

The continuous bond is the workhorse of U.S. import bonding. Under 19 CFR 113.62, the Activity Code 1 continuous bond conditions the principal to pay all duties, comply with the Importer Security Filing rule under Part 149 (with $5,000 liquidated damages per ISF violation), and comply with cargo information requirements — all under one instrument that auto-renews annually.

The penal-sum formula is set by CBP Monetary Guidelines, Directive 3510-004 rather than by the CFR text itself: bond amount equals 10% of the duties, taxes, and fees paid to CBP in the prior 12 months, rounded up to the nearest $10,000 increment, with a $50,000 absolute floor. CBP runs trailing-12-month sufficiency reviews in the ACE system and issues "insufficient bond" letters automatically when an importer’s duty exposure outgrows the bond on file.

The ISF coverage is the part most importers underestimate. Since the 2009 ISF rulemaking, the standard Activity Code 1 bond form has included an ISF compliance condition with $5,000 liquidated damages per violation. That means a continuous-bond importer files ISF against the same bond securing the entry — no separate ISF bond, no per-filing premium. For a single-entry importer shipping ocean cargo, that is two separate bond purchases per shipment.

Continuous bond is the right call when
  • You are running an import program (more than ~3 entries per year)
  • You ship ocean cargo and want ISF rolled into one bond
  • You use multiple U.S. ports of entry
  • Your duty bill is climbing under Section 232/301/IEEPA — re-check your penal sum quarterly, not annually
Bond Type 3 of 4

Temporary Importation Bond (TIB)

A duty-deferral instrument. Goods come into the U.S. duty-free on the condition that they leave again — exported or destroyed under CBP supervision — within 3 years. None of the five top competitor pages on "customs bond types" cover TIB. We do.

A TIB is a different animal from the other three bonds on this page. It is not an Activity Code on CBP Form 301; it is an entry classification under HTSUS Chapter 98, Subchapter XIII (9813.00.05 – 9813.00.75), bonded through standard Part 113 bond conditions. Eligible cargo includes vehicles for racing or exhibition (9813.00.05), commercial samples for taking orders (9813.00.20), advertising films (9813.00.25), professional equipment and tools of trade (9813.00.50), theatrical costumes, goods for repair or alteration, and trade show or exhibition equipment — 14 HTSUS categories in total.

Bond amount is set by 19 CFR 10.31. Standard TIB bonds are double the estimated duties and fees that would accrue if the goods were entered for consumption. Three specific HTSUS subheadings get a reduced bond at 110% of estimated duties and fees: samples (9813.00.20), advertising films (9813.00.25), and professional equipment (9813.00.50). That 110% category is narrower than most explainers suggest — it does not extend to all 14 TIB eligibility codes.

Time limit is the part where bad information circulates most. Per 19 CFR 10.31(c) the clock runs from the date of original arrival, and per 19 CFR 10.37 the initial 1-year period "may be extended for not more than two further periods of 1 year each." That is one initial year plus two extensions — three years total, not four or five. Several industry pages still describe TIB as "extendable three times"; the regulation reads otherwise.

If the goods are not exported or destroyed by month 36, 19 CFR 10.39 imposes liquidated damages equal to double the estimated duties (or 110% for the three reduced-bond HTSUS categories). The clean alternatives are filing a consumption entry and paying duty, or — if the cargo is touring multiple countries — switching to an ATA Carnet, an international document that replaces TIB across 80+ participating countries.

Pricing, eligible-goods deep dives, and a TIB-specific quote form live on the Temporary Import Bond product page.

Bond Type 4 of 4

ISF Bond (Activity Code 16)

The bond behind your Importer Security Filing (10+2). Vessel cargo only. Single- entry importers shipping ocean: you need this separately from your entry bond.

The ISF (10+2) rule lives in 19 CFR Part 149. It applies only to ocean cargo — 19 CFR 149.1 defines the ISF Importer as "the party causing goods to arrive within the limits of a port in the United States by vessel," and 19 CFR 149.2 limits the filing rule to "cargo arriving by vessel, with the exception of any bulk cargo pursuant to § 149.4(a)." Air freight, truck, and rail are out of scope; their pre-arrival data programs are separate.

The filing deadline is verbatim from 19 CFR 149.2: "ISF Importers must submit… no later than 24 hours before the cargo is laden aboard the vessel at the foreign port." Miss the window or file inaccurate data and CBP can assess $5,000 in liquidated damages per ISF violation, capped at $10,000 per shipment.

The bond form lives in Appendix D to 19 CFR Part 113. Appendix D is a fill-in form — it does not set a specific dollar amount in the regulatory text. The $10,000 penal sum commonly quoted comes from CBP Monetary Guidelines (Directive 3510-004) as the standard single-transaction ISF bond limit under Activity Code 16. A continuous ISF bond under the same Activity Code also exists for high-volume importers who want continuous ISF coverage but not a full Activity Code 1 continuous import bond — a niche use case.

The single-entry ISF trap

Continuous-bond holders already have ISF coverage. The 2009 amendment to 19 CFR 113.62 added an ISF compliance condition with $5,000-per-violation liquidated damages to the standard Activity Code 1 bond form. One bond covers both.

Single-entry users do not have that coverage. Single-transaction import bonds secure the entry only. If you ship by vessel and you only carry single-entry bonds, every shipment needs a separate ISF bond filing on top. The math turns ugly fast — at three or four ocean shipments a year, you are paying twice the bond cost of a single continuous bond that would have folded everything into one instrument.

Hansatic.com — one of the top-ranking customs-bond comparison pages — labels the ISF bond as "Activity Code 2." That is a publishing error; Activity Code 2 is Custodian of Bonded Merchandise under 19 CFR 113.63. ISF is Activity Code 16, confirmed against Roanoke Group’s full 17-activity-code list and Appendix D of Part 113.

The regulatory text behind each bond

Customs bonding is a YMYL topic — direct quotes from the controlling .gov sources so you can verify the numbers and conditions yourself.

Official CBP Requirements

"The amount of any CBP bond must not be less than $100, except when the law or regulation expressly provides that a lesser amount may be taken."
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations • 19 CFR § 113.13 — Amount of Bond

Official CBP Requirements

"The period of time during which merchandise entered under bond under chapter 98, subchapter XIII… may be extended for not more than two further periods of 1 year each."
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations • 19 CFR § 10.37 — TIB Extensions

Official CBP Requirements

"ISF Importers must submit… no later than 24 hours before the cargo is laden aboard the vessel at the foreign port."
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations • 19 CFR § 149.2 — ISF (10+2) Filing

Penal-sum minimums for continuous bonds ($50,000) and ISF bonds ($10,000) are set by CBP Monetary Guidelines (Directive 3510-004) and the February 2024 CBP "Guide for the Public: How CBP Sets Bond Amounts" — these establish the bond amounts; the CFR establishes the bond conditions. External .gov links are rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer".

Not sure which customs bond fits your operation?

Tell us the cargo, the volume, and the mode — we will quote the right bond, not the easiest one to sell.

Get a customs bond quote

Edge cases the decision tree doesn’t cover

The 60-second decision tree at the top handles the main questions. These are the second-call questions importers actually ask.

I import four times a year — should I switch from single-entry bonds to a continuous bond?
Probably yes, and the cost math is straightforward once you stop comparing premium-to-premium and start comparing total annual outlay. A single-entry bond at four shipments runs roughly $200–$1,200 a year in premium alone (often more once the surety adds a per-bond minimum charge), and every one of those four shipments costs your customs broker filing time. A standard continuous bond at the $50,000 minimum penal sum typically runs $400–$700 a year in premium and stays on file at every U.S. port for 12 months on auto-renewal. Past 3–4 entries the continuous bond wins on price, simplicity, and — most importantly — it folds ISF coverage into the same instrument under 19 CFR 113.62. The break-even number we see in practice is closer to 3 than to 10.
Does my continuous bond cover ISF, or do I need a separate ISF bond?
If you hold an Activity Code 1 continuous bond, your ISF (10+2) filings are already covered. The 2009 amendment to 19 CFR 113.62 added a condition to the standard continuous bond form requiring the principal to comply with the Importer Security Filing rule (Part 149) with $5,000 in liquidated damages per violation — meaning your continuous bond is the financial guarantee behind every ISF you file. Single-entry users are different: a single-transaction import bond covers the entry, not the ISF. If you ship ocean cargo and only carry single-entry import bonds, you need a separate ISF bond (Activity Code 16, typically $10,000 penal sum per CBP Directive 3510-004) on top of each entry bond.
Why did my continuous bond renew at 4× last year’s amount? Did CBP change the rules?
The rule did not change — your duty bill did. The continuous bond penal sum is 10% of duties, taxes, and fees you paid CBP in the prior 12 months, rounded up to the nearest $10,000 increment, with a $50,000 floor (CBP Monetary Guidelines, Directive 3510-004). Section 232 (steel/aluminum), Section 301 (China-origin goods), and the post-2024 IEEPA reciprocal tariffs are stacking on the same shipments. Industry analysis from ExFreight (April 2026) frames the mechanics this way: a 25% IEEPA reciprocal duty on a $10M annual import volume adds $2.5M in duty exposure, which adds $250,000 to the 10% bond requirement. When CBP runs the trailing-12-month sufficiency review in ACE and finds your duties up 3–4×, the "insufficient bond" letter follows automatically. The fix is to file an updated bond at the new amount before CBP suspends entry processing on you.
My TIB is expiring in 11 months. Can I extend it again, and what happens if the goods are still here?
You can extend, but only twice. 19 CFR 10.37 reads: "the period of time during which merchandise entered under bond under chapter 98, subchapter XIII… may be extended for not more than two further periods of 1 year each." Initial year + 2 one-year extensions = 36 months from the original date of arrival, full stop. If the goods are still in the United States at month 36 without being exported or destroyed under CBP supervision, you are exposed to liquidated damages equal to double the estimated duties (or 110% of the estimated duties for HTSUS 9813.00.20 samples, 9813.00.25 advertising films, and 9813.00.50 professional equipment/tools of trade) per 19 CFR 10.39. The clean alternatives are to file a consumption entry and pay the duty before the bond expires, or, if the goods are leaving the U.S. and re-entering another country, look at an ATA Carnet instead of a fresh TIB.
I only ship by air — do I still need to worry about ISF?
No, and this is the single most common confusion in customs bonding. ISF (Importer Security Filing) applies only to ocean cargo — 19 CFR 149.1 defines an ISF Importer as "the party causing goods to arrive within the limits of a port in the United States by vessel," and 19 CFR 149.2 limits the rule to "cargo arriving by vessel." Air freight, truck crossings, and rail moves have their own pre-arrival data programs (Air AMS, ACE eManifest), but the ISF 10+2 rule and the ISF bond are vessel-only. If you import exclusively by air or truck, your continuous bond or single-entry bond is the only customs bond you need.
Is the /specialty-bonds/customs-continuous/ page the right place to buy a continuous bond?
Not for a standard continuous import bond. Our customs-continuous product page covers a narrower instrument: a continuous bond with a Reconciliation Rider, which is what importers use when they need to post-adjust value, classification, or 9802 declarations after entry under CBP’s reconciliation prototype. A standard Activity Code 1 continuous bond — the $50,000-minimum, 10%-of-prior-year-duties version most importers carry — is not the same product. For a standard continuous bond, request a quote and we will route you to the right form: /get-quote/#bond=customs-continuous.

Related customs bonding resources

Product pages, related guides, and the regulatory backbone.

Product page

Customs Single Entry Bond ($100 minimum)

One-time CBP bond with same-day issuance for occasional importers.

Product page

Temporary Import Bond (TIB · 2× duties, 3-year max)

Duty-free entry for samples, professional gear, repair imports, racing vehicles.

Specialty product

Continuous Bond w/ Reconciliation Rider

The reconciliation-rider variant only — not a standard continuous bond.

Specialty bonds

Customs General Bonds Overview

Hub page for all customs bond products and Activity Codes.

Quote

Standard continuous bond quote

$50,000 minimum penal sum, $400–$1,000/year typical premium, ISF coverage included.

Pricing guide

Surety Bond Cost Guide

How premium is priced across credit tiers, bond amounts, and risk profiles.

Process guide

How to Get a Surety Bond

Application, underwriting, and issuance — the steps behind any CBP Form 301 bond.

Related guide

How to Calculate a Performance Bond

The two-variable bond-cost model — different from customs, useful for context.

Learning center

All Surety Bond Guides

Index of guides covering contractor, court, freight, and specialty bonds.

External regulatory sources:19 CFR Part 113 (eCFR)19 CFR Part 10 (TIB)19 CFR Part 149 (ISF)

Eric Drummond

Licensed Surety Producer (Nevada — license pending issuance)

1 years of surety bond experience
State Licenses:
  • Nevada: License #Pending issuance (All Bond Lines)

Verify licenses at your state insurance department

Specialty Areas:
CBP customs bonds (single entry, continuous, TIB)ISF bond placement (Activity Code 16)Treasury Circular 570 surety carrier selectionCommercial surety and financial-guarantee bonds
Professional Certifications:
  • ✓Surety bond producer training (NASBP coursework)

All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov) and reviewed by surety bond specialists. We maintain direct integrations with Treasury-certified surety carriers rated A- or better by AM Best.

Still on the fence between single entry and continuous?

We will run the break-even math against your shipment count and duty exposure before quoting. Same-day issuance on single-entry and ISF bonds; standard continuous bonds issue within 1–3 business days from a Treasury-certified carrier.

Quote my customs bond Call 1-844-810-BOND (2663)