CBP Form 301: Customs Bond Guide for Importers

CBP Form 301 is the customs bond form. It is the legal agreement among the importer, the surety, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection that guarantees payment of duties, taxes, fees, liquidated damages, and certain penalties. Without a valid bond, most formal commercial entries cannot be released.

For importers, Form 301 is not just paperwork your broker or surety files in the background. It determines whether your shipments can move, how much financial coverage CBP has, what activities are covered, and who is liable if a filing, payment, or regulatory obligation fails.

If you are importing goods valued over $2,500, importing FDA-regulated goods, or entering merchandise subject to partner-government-agency rules, your broker will usually require a bond before filing. The bond may be a single transaction bond covering one shipment or a continuous bond covering a year of entries.

What CBP Form 301 Does

Form 301 creates the bond contract. The importer is the principal. The surety is the insurance company backing the obligation. CBP is the beneficiary. If the importer fails to pay duties, misses deadlines, violates bond conditions, or creates a liquidated damages claim, CBP can demand payment from the surety up to the bond amount.

The most common bond type for importers is Activity Code 1 — Importer or Broker. That activity covers basic import entry obligations: payment of duty, production of documents, redelivery of goods when demanded, compliance with special entry requirements, and payment of liquidated damages when a bond condition is breached.

Form 301 also covers other activity codes for custodial bonds, international carriers, foreign trade zones, warehouses, drawback, and other customs operations. Most ordinary importers only need Activity Code 1, but companies operating bonded facilities or in-bond movements may need additional coverage.

Single Transaction Bond vs. Continuous Bond

The break-even point usually comes faster than importers expect. If you file several entries per year, a continuous bond often costs less than buying repeated single transaction bonds. See our customs bond guide and bond estimator for the operational math.

What Information Form 301 Requires

The official CBP Form 301 requires information about the filer, surety, principal, bond type, effective date, execution date, activity code, bond amount, and signatures. For an importer, the fields that matter most are:

• Principal name and address. Must match the importer’s legal entity and importer record. If the legal name on the bond differs from CBP Form 5106, filings can be delayed.
• Importer number. Usually the EIN-based importer number. Foreign importers may use a CBP-assigned number.
• Bond type. Single Transaction Bond or Continuous Bond must be selected correctly.
• Execution date and effective date. For continuous bonds, the execution date must be the same date or earlier than the effective date. For single transaction bonds, it must be the same date or earlier than the transaction date.
• Bond amount. The dollar cap of surety liability. Under-bonding can lead to CBP rejection or demands for a larger bond.
• Activity code. Activity Code 1 is the standard importer/broker bond activity for consumption entries.
• Surety information. The surety must be authorized and must execute the bond properly.

How Much Bond Coverage You Need

For continuous Activity Code 1 bonds, importers commonly start at the $50,000 minimum, but CBP and sureties look at your duty, tax, and fee exposure. A common rule of thumb is that the bond amount should cover roughly 10% of duties, taxes, and fees paid over the prior 12 months, subject to CBP’s minimums and special-risk adjustments.

Single transaction bonds are calculated shipment-by-shipment. The amount usually equals the entered value plus duties, taxes, and fees, but it can increase significantly for FDA-regulated goods, AD/CVD merchandise, quota goods, or shipments with high regulatory risk. A shipment that looks cheap on invoice value can still require a high bond when special duties or redelivery risk are present.

Under-bonding creates operational pain. If CBP or the surety rejects the bond amount, the broker cannot release the shipment until coverage is corrected. If your import volume increases sharply during the year, CBP may also require a bond increase.

Common Form 301 Mistakes

• Legal-name mismatch. The bond principal does not match the importer record, IRS name, or power of attorney.
• Wrong bond type. Importers buying single transaction bonds repeatedly when a continuous bond would be cheaper and cleaner.
• Underestimated annual duties. The importer outgrows the bond and faces a CBP demand for additional coverage.
• Missing special duty exposure. AD/CVD, Section 301, Section 232, and IEEPA duties can change the bond math materially.
• Expired or delayed effective date. The bond is not active when the cargo arrives, so release is held up.

A good broker-surety process should review your prior-year duty, upcoming purchase orders, supplier countries, product categories, and PGA exposure before placing the bond. The cheapest bond is not always the right bond; the right bond is the one CBP accepts without interrupting release.

This guide reflects CBP form procedures and public CBP guidance available as of May 2026. Requirements, ACE workflows, and agency practices can change. Importers should verify current instructions with CBP and coordinate filing strategy through their broker or trade counsel.