A customs bond is the guarantee CBP holds behind every formal entry, and the choice is between a single-entry bond that covers one shipment and a continuous bond that covers everything for a year. The continuous bond minimum is $50,000, or 10 percent of the duties you paid in the last 12 months, whichever is greater.
What the bond actually guarantees
A customs bond is a contract between you, a surety company, and CBP. You promise to pay the duties and comply with the entry conditions, the surety guarantees it, and CBP releases the goods on that promise. The legal authority is 19 USC 1623, the rules are in 19 CFR Part 113, and the bond is filed on CBP Form 301. The bond most importers hold is Activity Code 1, the basic importation and entry bond, and its conditions commit you to pay duties, taxes, and fees, to redeliver goods when CBP demands them, and to pay liquidated damages if a condition is broken.
The bond is not insurance for you. It protects CBP, not the importer, and it does not cover the cargo. What you pay is a premium, a small fraction of the bond amount. What the bond amount represents is the maximum CBP can claim. A $50,000 bond costs a few hundred dollars a year in premium, but it is $50,000 of exposure if the conditions are breached.
A bond is required for every formal entry, which means every commercial shipment valued over $2,500, and for goods regulated by another federal agency, such as food, alcohol, or firearms, regardless of value. Duty-free goods still need a bond. The bond is what gets the goods released, and under 19 CFR 142.4 a formal entry is not released until a bond is on file.
Single-entry versus continuous, in real numbers
A single-entry bond, also called a single transaction bond, covers one shipment at one port and then it is done. The amount is generally the entered value of the goods plus all duties, taxes, and fees, with a $100 minimum. For goods regulated by a partner government agency, such as FDA or USDA products, CBP usually requires three times the entered value.
A continuous bond covers every entry you file at every US port for twelve months and renews automatically until someone terminates it. CBP sets the amount at 10 percent of the duties, taxes, and fees you paid in the previous twelve months, with a $50,000 floor. A new importer with no history starts at the $50,000 minimum, and the premium at that level typically runs $250 to $500 a year. An importer who paid $800,000 in duties last year carries an $80,000 bond.
The crossover point is simple. A single-entry bond usually costs a flat fee under $100 per shipment in premium terms, plus the work of buying one per shipment. Three or more shipments a year and the continuous bond is almost always cheaper, and it also covers your ISF filings for ocean freight, which a single-entry bond does not. The importers still buying single-entry bonds are usually the ones importing once or twice a year, or testing a product before committing to a supplier.
The sufficiency review that catches growing importers
CBP reviews continuous bond sufficiency monthly, and the review compares your bond amount against your actual trailing twelve months of duties, taxes, and fees. When tariffs rise, the bond requirement rises with them, because the Section 301 and Section 232 duties now in force count toward the 10 percent base. An importer whose duties doubled this year on the same volume of goods is carrying a bond sized for last year's duties, and CBP will notice.
When CBP finds a bond insufficient, it sends a written notice to you and your surety, and you have 15 days from the notice to fix it, under 19 CFR 113.13(c). The fix is usually a rider that raises the bond amount or a new, larger bond. During that window CBP can require a cash deposit or a single-entry bond for each shipment, and if it believes revenue is at risk it can demand that security immediately.
Missing the window is blunt. CBP can invalidate the bond, flag your importer of record number, and stop releasing cargo until new security is posted. Goods sit at the terminal, demurrage accrues, and every day of delay costs more than the bond increase would have.
Sizing the bond on purpose
The fix is to size the bond on projected duties, not last year's. If you expect your duty bill to grow, because you are adding a product line, because tariffs rose, or because volume is up, tell your surety before CBP does. A bond increase is a rider and a phone call when you do it voluntarily.
Two checks belong in the routine. First, once a quarter, compare your trailing twelve months of duties, taxes, and fees against your bond amount. If 10 percent of that total is above your bond, you are already insufficient and the notice is a matter of time. Second, when a new tariff lands on your products, recalculate the same day. The Section 301 exclusions that expired November 9, for example, push some importers from zero duty to 25 percent overnight, and a bond sized for the exclusion era does not cover the new rates.
For a first-time importer, the choice is usually the continuous bond at the $50,000 minimum, even for a single planned shipment, because the second shipment always comes sooner than expected and the continuous bond is already in place when it does.
Keep reading
Related guides on this site: how post-summary corrections work before liquidation what the end of de minimis did to low-value import costs Section 232 duties on the full customs value of steel and aluminum More from LandedWatch.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a bond even if my goods are duty-free?
Yes, for any commercial shipment valued over $2,500, and for goods regulated by another federal agency regardless of value. Duty-free status does not remove the bond requirement. Without a bond on file, a formal entry is not released.
How do I know what bond amount CBP will require?
Ask your broker for the bond amount in writing before the goods ship. For a single-entry bond, it is generally the entered value plus duties, taxes, and fees. For a continuous bond, it is the greater of $50,000 or 10 percent of your prior 12 months of duties, taxes, and fees.
Can higher tariffs make my existing bond insufficient?
Yes, and this is the most common way importers get caught in 2026. CBP reviews continuous bond sufficiency monthly, and the Section 301 and Section 232 duties now count toward the 10 percent base. If your duties rose this year, your bond probably needs to rise too.
Does my bond cover my ISF filing?
Your continuous bond covers ISF filings for ocean freight, because it satisfies the bond condition for the Importer Security Filing. A single-entry bond does not, unless you also hold a separate ISF bond, which is Activity Code 16 and runs at least $10,000 for a single transaction.
What happens if CBP says my bond is insufficient?
You have 15 days from the notice to fix it, usually by getting a rider that raises the bond amount or by buying a larger bond. During that window CBP can require a cash deposit or a single-entry bond for each shipment, and if it thinks revenue is at risk it can demand that security immediately.