Exporting to the USA: customs and regulatory requirements to anticipate

Description

Customs regulations applicable to shipments to the United States are subject to regular changes. To prevent your parcels from being held up at customs and ensure successful delivery to your recipients, it is essential to prepare your shipments with complete, accurate, and up-to-date information from the moment of postage. This page guides you through the key points to be aware of before shipping to the United States, and will be updated as regulations evolve.

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Visuel actualité douanes USA 2025

🔔 New
Effective July 8, 2026: a new customs requirement to anticipate


If you export toys, electronic goods, textile products, or sporting goods to the United States, new regulations will come into force on July 8, 2026.
Any product falling under the CPSC standard – 16 CFR will be required to be subject to an eFiling electronic declaration prior to any shipment to US territory. Without this declaration, your parcels may be held at customs, with storage fees that can reach $0.08 USD per kg per working day after 5 days of storage.

👉 Check whether your products are affected 

👉 Consult the data to be submitted and the CPSC registration procedure (enter this information in the attached form and submit the completed attached form)

Step 1:
Check whether your products are subject to specific regulations

Are your products subject to CPSC regulations?

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) oversees the importation of many finished consumer products into the United States. If your items fall within its scope, an additional requirement applies from July 8, 2026.
 
Products covered by the CPSC – 16 CFR standard include, in particular:

  • toys and children's articles,
  • electrical or consumer electronics goods,
  • sporting goods,
  • household or decorative products,
  • textile products containing components subject to certification.


Find the list of HS codes covered by this regulation here.

However, unassembled spare parts, products temporarily imported for repair, and gifts exchanged between private individuals are not within scope.

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RegulationsLawsStandards

Customs duties applicable to your shipments

Since August 29, 2025, the United States has suspended the $800 de minimis customs duty exemption. All your shipments are now subject to customs duties from the first euro of commercial value, regardless of the value of the shipped item.
 
Log in to your Colissimo Box account to calculate the customs duties and taxes applicable to your shipments to the United States, by clicking  here.

Important: the amount of customs duties and taxes is added to the shipping cost and must be factored into your export pricing policy.

Step 2: Choose your shipping method

For your shipments to the United States, Colissimo offers two shipping methods:

  • With the DDP option (Delivered Duty Paid), customs duties and taxes are advanced by FedEx to the American customs authority, then recharged to you by Colissimo. Your customers receive their parcels with no additional charges at delivery. This is the most seamless option for the customer experience.

  • With DAP (Delivered At Place), customs duties and taxes are billed directly to the recipient by FedEx at the time of delivery.

Important: regardless of the shipping option chosen, customs formalities are identical and must be strictly observed.
An incorrect or incomplete customs declaration will result in the parcel being held by US customs.

Step 3: Prepare your documents and data

Mandatory data for all your shipments

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Customs Declaration

The United States requires a very precise and complete customs declaration for each parcel. Whichever postage solution you use (Web Service, ColiShip online postage tool, or one of our CMS modules), you must provide the following information without fail:

  • The shipper's EORI number in SIREN format (FR + 9 digits). This format is mandatory from July 1, 2026. The SIRET format will no longer be accepted by French customs from that date: any parcel submitted with a SIRET-only EORI number will be held at customs, with a risk of delivery delays and financial penalties related to parcel storage by your Pôle d'Action Économique. If you do not yet have an EORI SIREN number, contact your Pôle d'Action Économique or apply for one now here. (It is also advisable to add your VAT number in the Customs Reference field.)
  • The recipient's mobile phone number
  • The name of the State or Province corresponding to the delivery address
  • The entry of 10-digit HS codes
  • The designation and very detailed composition of each item, mandatorily in English


The country of manufacture of each item (not the country of dispatch), using the MID code or the full name and address of the manufacturer after each item description, in the case of different manufacturers. For a single manufacturer, refer to the specificities of your postage solution below.

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Web-service
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Labelling Web Service (API)
Description

Simply update your Colissimo API and follow the guidance above.

What’s changing:

Use the "Comments" field to specify the MID code or the name of a single manufacturer.

Consult the latest version of the technical documentation >

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Affranchissement
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ColiShip online labelling tool
Description

The ColiShip postage tool allows you to complete all mandatory fields and follow the shared guidelines above.


Use the "Observation" field to specify the manufacturer's MID code or the name/address of a single manufacturer.

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CMS labelling modules
Description

Your usual Colissimo module (Magento, PrestaShop, Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix) allows you to complete all mandatory fields and follow the shared guidelines above.


Whether you have one or several manufacturers, add the MID code or the full name and address of the manufacturer after each item description.

Additional data for products subject to CPSC regulations

Starting July 8, 2026, if your products are subject to CPSC regulations, you must also submit compliance data electronically prior to shipment and before the goods enter the United States, using the eFiling process.

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Option 1: You regularly ship to the United States

Tip: to simplify your declarations, register your products now in the CPSC Product Registry. Once your references are registered, the data to be submitted for each item in the parcel is limited to: the product identifier (Product ID), the certifier identifier (Certifier ID), the version identification (Version ID).

Where should you enter this information when preparing your shipments  ?

You must upload a CPSC supplementary form for each package in your postage tool when preparing your shipment. This form must include, for each item, the information required by CPSC regulations. Download the blank form here for goods already registered in the CPSC (3 pieces of information to provide per item). Please note: the “Tracking Number” field should not be filled out; the “Commercial Description” column must be completed in English; and the contact information requested below the item table refers to the e-commerce seller and exporter.

Example : 

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Exemple de formulaire rempli pour CPSC - USA

 

Option 2: You occasionally ship to the United States

Seven items are required for each shipment in question if you choose not to register your products with the CPSC Product Registry:  

  1. Global Trade Item Number (product identifier, e.g., GTIN)
  2. Date of manufacture of the finished product
  3. Each CPSC rule for which the product has been certified under Part 1110 of Title 16 of the CFR
  4. Name and full address of the manufacturer, producers, or assemblers
  5. Date of the most recent test for compliance with applicable CPSC rules
  6. Name and full address of the compliance testing facilities
  7. Contact information and details of the organization that maintains records of compliance test results

Where should you enter this information when preparing your shipments?

You must upload a CPSC supplementary form for each package in your shipping software when preparing your shipment. This form must include, for each item, the information required by CPSC regulations. Download the form for goods not registered with the CPSC here. Please note: Do not fill in the “Tracking Number” field, and descriptions must be in English.

Special case: the "Disclaim Message Set"

If a product is ultimately not regulated by the CPSC but is potentially flagged as such by the customs system, a "Disclaim Message Set" must be submitted. The Disclaim allows you to officially declare to customs that the product falls outside the CPSC's scope. The absence of information is interpreted as missing data, not as an exemption, which may result in: a hold, a suspension, or a request for additional information.
The Disclaim confirms that:

  • the product is not regulated by the CPSC (Disclaimer Code A)
  • or the data is not required under the agency's guidelines (Disclaimer Code B)

The "Disclaim Message Set" must include a non-applicability code (Disclaimer Code A or B) and an Intended Use Code.

Attention to fees in the event of a hold: in the absence of a compliant eFiling declaration, your affected shipments may be held at customs. Storage fees may then be applied by the US authorities, at a rate of $0.08 USD per kilogram per working day of storage, of storage after the first 5 days, until the situation is resolved.

👉 CPSC – eFiling programme details

To help you with this process:

- List of applicable HS codes as of January 31, 2026
-Register your affected products with the CPSC Product Registry
-List of CPSC-accredited testing laboratories in France

Additional resources to help you understand CPSC régulations :

-Link to the CPSC's YouTube channel (registration help)
-Regulatory assistant to guide you through CPSC requirements
- FedEx CPSC FAQ in English
 

How do I submit the supplementary form ?

You must upload the supplementary form to your Colissimo postage solution when preparing to frank your package:
- In the Web Service for postage and in the e-commerce modules
Use the Documents Web Service to upload this supplementary form by selecting the “Other” category
- On Coliship 
Upload the supplementary form immediately by clicking the “Import my documents” button in the pop-up window that appears once you’ve completed the postage process:

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ColiShip - importation obligatoire des documents douaniers


 

Step 4: Ship with Colissimo and FedEx

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Fedex-Colissimo

Once your parcels are prepared and compliant with US requirements, Colissimo routes your shipments to the United States in partnership with FedEx.
 
For each shipment, FedEx provides:

  • 100% digital customs clearance: only the shipping label needs to be affixed to the parcel — there is no need to print the customs declaration ("commercial invoice")
  • Home delivery
  • An interactive notification with collection point delivery available on request from the recipient for any parcel up to 3 kg
  • A committed transit time of 5 working days to the United States

Useful resources:

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Produits sur le CPSC
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Register products with the CPSC
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listes codes SH
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View the list of 10-digit HS codes
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code MID-1
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How do I generate a MID code for a manufacturer?