# 2026-12668: Customs Tests Digital Paperwork for Your International Mail 2026-12668, Test of the New Electronic Informal Entry Process for Mail, is a Federal Register notice from Homeland Security Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protection published 2026-06-24, effective 2026-09-22; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-12668 - As of: 2026-07-01 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Document number: 2026-12668 - Title: Test of the New Electronic Informal Entry Process for Mail - Type: Notice - Agencies: Homeland Security Department; U.S. Customs and Border Protection - Citation: 91 FR 38007 - Published: 2026-06-24 - Effective: 2026-09-22 - Comments close: not stated - Significant: no - Touches household money: yes - Regulation identifier numbers: none - Last updated: 2026-07-01 ## In one line Customs Tests Digital Paperwork for Your International Mail ## Summary Starting September 22, 2026, U.S. Customs is testing a new electronic way to handle small packages coming through international mail. This new process, called Informal Mail Entry, affects anyone sending or receiving mail shipments and aims to make customs faster and clearer, especially since duty-free rules for items under $800 are paused. The test will run until further notice, and feedback is welcome throughout. ## Abstract This document announces that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is conducting a test of a new electronic informal entry type for merchandise entering the United States through the international mail process. This notice provides a description of the new informal entry type 13--Informal Mail Entry, the eligible participants, and the requirements for filing the new informal entry type. ## Effects PRIA read - New Electronic Informal Entry (Type 13): mixed, medium. Starting September 22, 2026, CBP will test a new electronic informal entry called Entry Type 13 for international mail shipments valued at $2,500 or less. The test lets owners, purchasers, and properly appointed licensed customs brokers file informal mail entries electronically in the Automated Com… - Bond Requirement for Type 13 Filings: cost, medium. To file an Entry Type 13 informal mail entry, the importer of record (owner, purchaser, or appointed licensed broker) must have a basic importation and entry bond (single transaction bond or a continuous bond) as required by 19 CFR 113.62. If a broker is appointed as the importer of record, the bro… - New Data Filing Requirements: cost, medium. Entry Type 13 filers must electronically transmit specific data in ACE, including filer code, IOR number, merchandise description, country of origin, all applicable 10-digit HTSUS classifications (including Chapters 98 and 99), duty rate, value, total duty owed, carrier name, foreign-post tracking… - Carrier Tracking on Manifests (Optional): benefit, low. Carriers transporting international mail may opt into the test to report the foreign-post tracking number for each arriving mail shipment on their manifest. If both the carrier and the entry filer participate, CBP can match tracking numbers to confirm arrival times and that an entry was timely file… - Temporary Waivers Let More Low-Value Shipments Use Informal Entry: benefit, medium. For test participants, CBP will waive certain formal-entry requirements so some low-value international mail shipments that otherwise would require formal entry (including some shipments subject to PGA rules or duties outside Chapters 1-97) can be filed informally under Entry Type 13. Shipments sub… - De Minimis Duty-Free Mail Exemption Suspended: cost, high. CBP has indefinitely suspended the duty-free de minimis administrative exemption for international mail under 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C) that previously applied to articles valued at $800 or less. That suspension is in effect pursuant to Executive Orders cited in the notice. ## Related documents - [2026-20650](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20650): Low-Value Shipments, 2026-10-08 - [2026-17390](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-17390): Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Electronic Export Manifest for Rail Cargo, 2026-08-26 - [2026-12670](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-12670): Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption for Merchandise Arriving Through All Modes Other Than the International Postal Network, 2026-06-24 - [2026-12669](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-12669): Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption for Mail Shipments and New Postal Informal Entry Process, 2026-06-24 - [2026-20228](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20228): Agency Information Collection Activities; Court-Ordered Refunds Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act Worksheet, 2026-10-05 - [2026-20229](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20229): Agency Information Collection Activities; New Collection of Information; Client Representative Technical Assistance Portal (CR-TAP), 2026-10-02 ## Sources - [2026-12668 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/06/24/2026-12668/test-of-the-new-electronic-informal-entry-process-for-mail) - [2026-12668 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-06-24/pdf/2026-12668.pdf) ## Related - [Previous: 2026-12667, Information Collection; Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) Repository](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-12667) - [Next: 2026-12671, Initiation of Section 301 Investigation; Hearing; and Request for Public Commen…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-12671) - [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-12668 (as of 2026-07-01).