The Importer Security Filing, often called ISF or 10+2, is a filing U.S. Customs and Border Protection requires for cargo arriving in the United States by vessel. It is separate from the entry, with its own data, timing and penalties.
Who needs it. Importers and their agents bringing ocean cargo into the United States on a vessel that arrives at a U.S. port. That includes FROB, IE and T&E movements that call a U.S. port.
Who does not. A truck or rail car that crosses from Canada with goods that never travelled on a vessel bound for the United States does not need an ISF. Neither does cargo that arrives by vessel at a Canadian port and is then trucked or railed into the United States.
Timing. The ISF must be filed no later than 24 hours before the cargo is loaded aboard the vessel bound for the United States (19 CFR 149.2), so the time to ask is before booking.
What happens next. You send the routing and the documents. We confirm whether ISF applies. If it does, we collect the data from you and your supplier, file the ISF, and keep it matched to the entry we file when the cargo arrives. If it does not, we say so and file the entry in the usual way.
What we need from you:
- The origin and the full routing, including any ocean leg and any Canadian port
- The bill of lading and the booking details
- The commercial invoice and packing list
- Seller, buyer, ship-to and manufacturer names and addresses
- The tariff classification for each product, or a description we can work from
- The date the cargo is due to load
This is general information for our clients and prospects. It is not a ruling. Talk to the brokerage team before you ship.