CBP Form 214: FTZ Admission and Zone Status Designation

Key Points

• CBP Form 214, Application for Foreign-Trade Zone Admission and/or Status Designation, is the document that admits merchandise into a foreign-trade zone and fixes its zone status; it is a CBP filing, not a Foreign-Trade Zones Board filing.
• Privileged foreign status must be elected on CBP Form 214 or, at the latest, before any manipulation or manufacture that changes the tariff classification of the merchandise, under 19 CFR 146.41.
• The admission package normally includes the examination invoice, evidence of the right to make entry and the carrier release order, with the statistical copy, CBP Form 214-A, going to the Census Bureau.
• Removal of foreign merchandise from a zone for U.S. consumption is made as entry type 06, and the operator must keep zone records for 5 years after removal under 19 CFR 146.4(d).
• The links below go to the primary documents: the regulations in 19 CFR part 146, the statute at 19 U.S.C. 81, and CBP's own form pages. Read the source. Information is current as of September 2026; confirm the current form revision and filing channel with CBP before you file.

On this page

1. What CBP Form 214 is and where it comes from
2. At a glance
3. Who files CBP Form 214 and when in the zone lifecycle
4. Choosing zone status on CBP Form 214
5. How CBP Form 214 is filed and what supports it
6. What happens when merchandise leaves the zone
7. Common CBP Form 214 errors and what they cost
8. How CBP Form 214 relates to other CBP forms
9. Frequently asked questions
10. What importers and brokers should do
11. Key references

CBP Form 214, Application for Foreign-Trade Zone Admission and/or Status Designation, is the application a zone user or zone operator files with CBP to admit merchandise into a foreign-trade zone and to elect the zone status that will govern how that merchandise is treated on removal. It is used by zone operators, zone users and their brokers at the moment goods cross from the customs territory or from importation into zone status, and it sits at the front of the zone lifecycle, before any activity permit, manufacturing or eventual entry. CBP Form 214 is a CBP admission document under 19 CFR part 146; it is not a filing with the Foreign-Trade Zones Board and it does not authorize activity inside the zone.

At a glance

• Full name: CBP Form 214, Application for Foreign-Trade Zone Admission and/or Status Designation (rev 2023-12-29; confirm the current revision on CBP's forms page).
• Who prepares or uses it: the zone user or zone operator, often through a licensed customs broker acting for the user.
• When in the lifecycle: at admission of merchandise into the foreign-trade zone, before manipulation, manufacture or removal.
• System or channel: filed in ACE; confirm the current transmission method and record layout in the ACE CATAIR or with CBP.
• Governing authority: 19 U.S.C. 81 and 19 CFR part 146, including 19 CFR 146.32 for the application and 19 CFR 146.41, 146.42, 146.43 and 146.44 for status.
• Statistical copy: CBP Form 214-A goes to the Census Bureau.
• Recordkeeping: the operator keeps zone records 5 years after removal of the merchandise, under 19 CFR 146.4(d).
• Related terms: CBP Form 216, CBP Form 7512, CBP Form 301, CBP Form 5106.

What CBP Form 214 is and where it comes from

CBP Form 214 exists because the foreign-trade zones statute at 19 U.S.C. 81 creates zones that sit outside the customs territory for duty purposes, and CBP needs a controlled document that records exactly what entered the zone, in what quantity and condition, and under what status. The application requirement and its contents are set out at 19 CFR 146.32. Because admission is not entry, duties are not deposited when CBP Form 214 is accepted; the form instead freezes the facts that will later drive duty liability if the goods are entered for consumption.

Who files CBP Form 214 and when in the zone lifecycle

CBP Form 214 is filed by the zone user, or by the zone operator on the user's behalf, at the point merchandise is admitted into the zone, and CBP's acceptance of the form is what authorizes the operator to receive the goods into zone inventory. Timing matters more than most other CBP paperwork: the status elected on CBP Form 214 controls the duty outcome years later, and some elections cannot be made after activity has already occurred. In practice the broker coordinating the inbound movement, the zone operator's inventory control and recordkeeping system, and the user's trade compliance team all touch the same admission record.

Choosing zone status on CBP Form 214

The status election on CBP Form 214 is the single most consequential box on the form, because it determines whether the merchandise is later dutiable in its admitted condition or in its condition at removal. The four choices are privileged foreign, nonprivileged foreign, domestic and zone-restricted.

Privileged foreign status

Privileged foreign status locks in the tariff classification and rate applicable to the merchandise in its condition at the time of the election, and under 19 CFR 146.41 the election must be made on CBP Form 214 or before any manipulation or manufacture that would change the classification. Once granted, the status stays with the merchandise. Zone users who expect processing to move the goods into a higher duty rate normally elect privileged foreign on CBP Form 214 at admission rather than gambling on a later request.

Nonprivileged foreign status

Nonprivileged foreign status, addressed at 19 CFR 146.42, leaves classification and rate to be determined by the condition of the merchandise when it is removed from the zone. That is the status behind the classic inverted-tariff benefit, where a finished article carries a lower rate than its imported components.

Zone-restricted status

Zone-restricted status under 19 CFR 146.44 is elected for merchandise admitted for storage, destruction or export, and it limits the goods' return to the customs territory. Electing it on CBP Form 214 without understanding that limit is a recurring source of trouble.

How CBP Form 214 is filed and what supports it

CBP Form 214 is filed in ACE, and it is not a standalone document: the admission package normally carries the examination invoice, evidence of the right to make entry and the carrier release order so CBP can tie the goods, the party and the conveyance together. The statistical copy, CBP Form 214-A, is the channel through which admission data reaches the Census Bureau. The shorthand "e214" circulates in the trade, but it is not verified on official CBP pages; use the form's proper name in correspondence and confirm the current electronic filing path in the ACE CATAIR or with your client representative at the port.

Merchandise very often arrives at the zone under bond after an in-bond movement documented on CBP Form 7512, Transportation Entry and Manifest of Goods Subject to CBP Inspection and Permit, the in-bond application for moving unentered goods under bond, now electronic. The in-bond record and the CBP Form 214 admission must describe the same goods in the same quantities, or the zone inventory will not reconcile.

What happens when merchandise leaves the zone

CBP Form 214 sets the baseline that every removal from the zone is measured against, and removal of foreign merchandise for U.S. consumption is made as entry type 06 under 19 CFR 146.62, commonly on a weekly estimated CBP Form 3461 followed by the CBP Form 7501 summary. 19 CFR 146.63 addresses the return of merchandise to the customs territory. Entry type 26 is used for zone-restricted merchandise removals; confirm the applicable entry type for your transaction with CBP. The duty rate that applies flows directly from the status elected on CBP Form 214, which is why the weekly entry values must reconcile back to the underlying admissions. Our explainer on CBP Form 3461 covers the release side of that filing.

Common CBP Form 214 errors and what they cost

Most CBP Form 214 problems are timing or reconciliation problems rather than data-entry problems. Three recur:

• Privileged foreign elected too late. A request made after manipulation or manufacture has already changed the classification cannot be honored under 19 CFR 146.41, and the merchandise is dutiable in its removed condition.
• Type 06 values that do not reconcile to admissions. When the weekly entry quantities and values cannot be traced to specific CBP Form 214 admissions in the inventory control system, CBP has no way to verify duty and the operator faces findings on review.
• Zone-restricted goods returned to the customs territory. Electing zone-restricted status on CBP Form 214 for convenience, then needing the goods back in the domestic market, creates a problem that cannot be solved by amending the invoice.

Recordkeeping failure compounds all three. The operator must retain zone records for 5 years after removal under 19 CFR 146.4(d).

How CBP Form 214 relates to other CBP forms

CBP Form 214 governs admission and status only, and several other forms cover the neighboring steps. CBP Form 216, Application for Foreign-Trade Zone Activity Permit, requests CBP approval to manipulate, manufacture, exhibit or destroy merchandise inside a foreign-trade zone; it is not the admission form, and confusing the two is the most common mistake in zone paperwork. CBP Form 301, Customs Bond, is the surety bond, single transaction or continuous, securing duties, taxes, fees and compliance obligations to CBP under 19 CFR part 113; the operator's bond stands behind zone obligations. CBP Form 5106, Create/Update Importer Identity Form, registers or updates an importer of record or ultimate consignee identity in ACE under 19 CFR 24.5, and the party named on the consumption entry must be on file.

On the back end, if CBP disagrees with the classification or value claimed on a zone removal it may issue CBP Form 29, Notice of Action, its notice that it proposes or has taken action on an entry such as a rate advance or reclassification, which is neither a bill nor a penalty notice. A liquidation you disagree with is contested on CBP Form 19, Protest, filed on paper or through the ACE Protest module under 19 U.S.C. 1514. Zone activity also intersects with drawback history: CBP Form 7551, Drawback Entry, the paper drawback claim, and CBP Form 7552, Delivery Certificate for Purposes of Drawback, were abolished under TFTEA drawback, with claims now filed electronically in ACE under 19 CFR part 190 and transfers documented under 19 CFR 190.10; CBP Form 7553, Notice of Intent to Export, Destroy or Return Merchandise for Purposes of Drawback, still lets CBP examine goods before export or destruction. Finally, CBP Form 3311, Declaration for Free Entry of Returned American Products, is the declaration for duty-free return of U.S.-origin goods under HTSUS 9801.00.10 and 19 CFR 10.1; it is a customs territory declaration, not a zone admission document. A bonded warehouse entry is likewise a different regime from CBP Form 214 admission.

Frequently asked questions

Is CBP Form 214 filed with the Foreign-Trade Zones Board?

No. CBP Form 214 is filed with CBP by the zone user or operator to admit merchandise and designate status under 19 CFR part 146. Board filings concern zone authority and activity approvals and are separate from the CBP Form 214 admission record.

Can zone status be changed after CBP Form 214 is accepted?

Privileged foreign status must be elected on CBP Form 214 or before any manipulation or manufacture that changes the tariff classification, under 19 CFR 146.41, and it cannot be abandoned once granted. For any other change of status, check 19 CFR part 146 and confirm the treatment with CBP before you act.

What is CBP Form 214-A used for?

CBP Form 214-A is the statistical copy of the CBP Form 214 admission, which goes to the Census Bureau. It carries the trade statistics for merchandise admitted to the zone and does not replace the admission application itself.

How long must CBP Form 214 records be kept?

The zone operator must keep zone records, including the CBP Form 214 admission documentation, for 5 years after removal of the merchandise, under 19 CFR 146.4(d). Build the retention clock off the removal date, not the admission date.

What importers and brokers should do

• Decide the zone status before the goods arrive, and write the privileged foreign decision rule into the standard operating procedure so the election is made on CBP Form 214 rather than after processing.
• Reconcile every weekly entry type 06 line back to specific CBP Form 214 admissions in the inventory control and recordkeeping system, and investigate variances the same week.
• Pull the current revision of CBP Form 214 and CBP Form 214-A from CBP's forms page before each filing cycle, and confirm the ACE transmission requirements in the CATAIR.
• Set retention to 5 years after removal under 19 CFR 146.4(d), and keep the examination invoice, right to make entry evidence and carrier release order with the admission record.

Key references

• 19 U.S.C. 81: the foreign-trade zones statute underlying zone admissions.
• 19 CFR 146.32: the application for admission and accompanying documentation.
• 19 CFR 146.41: privileged foreign status and the timing of the election.
• 19 CFR 146.42: nonprivileged foreign status.
• 19 CFR 146.44: zone-restricted status.
• 19 CFR 146.62 and 19 CFR 146.63: entry for consumption and return of merchandise to the customs territory.
• 19 CFR 146.4(d): operator recordkeeping, 5 years after removal.
• CBP forms library: current revisions of CBP Form 214 and CBP Form 214-A.
• Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States: classification and rates applied on removal from the zone.