U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is reminding the trade community that, in response to the “Strengthening Customs Enforcement” Executive Order, Importer of Record (IOR) numbers in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) that have not been used to file an entry for one year or more and have no outstanding post-entry transactions may be deactivated.
To help avoid delays in customs processing, importers should verify the status of their IOR number and, if necessary, work with their customs broker to reactivate it before filing future entries.
To reactivate an inactive IOR:
- An ABI customs broker can submit a Transaction Processing (TP) message in ACE using Action Code A to change the IOR status from “20 – Inactive” to “10 – Active.” All required CBP Form 5106 data elements must be included.
- If reactivation cannot be completed through ABI, importers may submit a revised CBP Form 5106 with all required information to the appropriate CBP Center Entry Specialist Team. The email subject line should read “IOR reactivation request,” and the email should state that the request is to reactivate an existing IOR currently in “20 – Inactive” status.
CBP recommends that importers verify the current status of their IOR in the ACE Portal before requesting assistance.
Additional guidance, FAQs, and CBP Form 5106 resources are available on the CBP website. Questions regarding CBP Form 5106 may be directed to IORProgram@cbp.dhs.gov.
