CBP Form 7523: Free Entry of Low-Value Duty-Free Goods

Key Points

• CBP Form 7523, Entry and Manifest of Merchandise Free of Duty, Carrier's Certificate and Release, is a paper document that works as an entry, a carrier's release, and an inward manifest all at once.
• As an entry, CBP Form 7523 covers merchandise free of duty valued at $2,500 or less, consistent with the informal entry framework at 19 CFR 143.23.
• As a manifest, CBP Form 7523 serves a vehicle or vessel under five tons arriving from Canada or Mexico otherwise than by sea with conditionally free merchandise, under 19 CFR 123.4.
• The current revision referenced here is CBP Form 7523 (rev 05/24); as of September 2026, confirm the current revision and port practice on CBP.gov before presenting it.
• The most common failures are using CBP Form 7523 for dutiable, quota, or partner government agency regulated goods, exceeding the $2,500 or less value limit, or using paper where an electronic entry was required.

On this page

1. What CBP Form 7523 is
2. At a glance
3. Where CBP Form 7523 comes from in law and regulation
4. When is CBP Form 7523 filed and who presents it?
5. What are the three functions of CBP Form 7523?
6. What goes wrong with CBP Form 7523?
7. How CBP Form 7523 relates to other CBP free entry and paper forms
8. Frequently asked questions
9. What importers and brokers should do
10. Key references

The links in this article go to the primary documents: the statutes, the Code of Federal Regulations sections, and the official CBP form and tariff schedule pages themselves. Read the source rather than a summary of it.

CBP Form 7523 is the paper CBP document titled Entry and Manifest of Merchandise Free of Duty, Carrier's Certificate and Release, used to enter merchandise that is free of duty and valued at $2,500 or less, to certify the carrier's release of that merchandise to the consignee, and to serve as the inward foreign manifest for a small vehicle or vessel arriving from Canada or Mexico. Carriers, importers, and customs brokers present CBP Form 7523 to a CBP officer at the port on arrival, typically at land border crossings or for samples and other free goods cleared without an Automated Broker Interface transmission. In the entry lifecycle, CBP Form 7523 sits at the arrival and release stage, replacing the usual entry and entry summary paperwork for a narrow class of low-value duty-free shipments.

At a glance

• Full name: CBP Form 7523, Entry and Manifest of Merchandise Free of Duty, Carrier's Certificate and Release (rev 05/24).
• Who prepares or uses it: the carrier, the importer, or a customs broker acting for the importer.
• When in the lifecycle: at arrival, presented to CBP at the port of entry before release.
• System or channel: paper, presented in person at the port; not an ACE or ABI transmission.
• Governing authority: 19 U.S.C. 1433, 19 U.S.C. 1484, 19 U.S.C. 1498, 19 CFR 123.4, and 19 CFR 143.23.
• Value limit as an entry: merchandise free of duty valued at $2,500 or less.
• Manifest use: vehicle or vessel under five tons arriving from Canada or Mexico otherwise than by sea with conditionally free merchandise.
• Related terms: CBP Form 3311, CBP Form 3299, CBP Form 4455, CBP Form 4647, CBP Form 5955A, CBP Form 6084, CBP Form 400, CBP Form 3124, CBP Form 7552, CBP Form 7553.

Where CBP Form 7523 comes from in law and regulation

CBP Form 7523 rests on three statutory pillars and two regulatory ones, and each explains a different face of the form. The entry function traces to 19 U.S.C. 1484, the general entry requirement, and to 19 U.S.C. 1498, which authorizes the Secretary to prescribe simplified entry procedures for limited categories of merchandise, including low-value shipments. The manifest function traces to 19 U.S.C. 1433, the report of arrival and manifest requirement for vehicles and vessels entering the United States.

On the regulatory side, CBP Form 7523 appears in the land border rules at 19 CFR 123.4, which addresses the manifest for a vehicle or vessel under five tons arriving from Canada or Mexico otherwise than by sea carrying conditionally free merchandise, and in the informal entry rules at 19 CFR 143.23, which sets out the documents acceptable for entry of certain shipments in lieu of a full entry package. Read both sections in their current text before relying on them, because the classes of merchandise eligible for simplified treatment are narrower than the value limit alone suggests.

When is CBP Form 7523 filed and who presents it?

CBP Form 7523 is presented at the port at the time of arrival, not transmitted in advance and not filed after release. The party presenting it is normally the carrier that brought the merchandise across the border, because the form doubles as that carrier's certificate authorizing release to the named consignee. Where a customs broker is engaged, the broker may prepare CBP Form 7523 on the importer's behalf and hand it to the CBP officer along with the commercial invoice or other value evidence and any origin documentation the officer asks to see.

Practically, CBP Form 7523 shows up most often at land border ports on the northern and southern frontiers and in the movement of samples, promotional items, and other free goods that do not justify an Automated Broker Interface filing. The officer reviews the form, examines the merchandise if warranted, and releases the shipment. Because there is no entry summary follow-up in the normal case, the review at the counter is the entire compliance event, which is why accuracy on the face of CBP Form 7523 matters more than on a document that can be corrected later.

What are the three functions of CBP Form 7523?

CBP Form 7523 performs an entry function, a release function, and a manifest function, and a single presentation can serve all three at once.

Entry of duty-free merchandise valued at $2,500 or less

As an entry, CBP Form 7523 covers merchandise that is free of duty and valued at $2,500 or less. Both conditions must hold. If the goods carry any duty, or if the value exceeds $2,500, CBP Form 7523 is the wrong instrument and a regular entry process applies.

Carrier's certificate and release

As a carrier's certificate, CBP Form 7523 identifies the consignee entitled to make entry and authorizes CBP to release the merchandise to that party. This is why the carrier's signature block matters and why a broker should not present CBP Form 7523 without confirming the consignee name matches the commercial documents.

Inward foreign manifest for small conveyances

As a manifest, CBP Form 7523 satisfies the inward foreign manifest requirement for a vehicle or vessel under five tons arriving from Canada or Mexico otherwise than by sea with conditionally free merchandise, as provided in 19 CFR 123.4. The under five tons threshold and the Canada or Mexico origin of the trip are both conditions of that use.

What goes wrong with CBP Form 7523?

The recurring failures with CBP Form 7523 are scope failures rather than clerical ones. The four that generate the most port friction are: presenting dutiable merchandise on the form; presenting goods subject to quota or to a partner government agency requirement that demands data the paper form cannot carry; exceeding the $2,500 or less value ceiling, sometimes by splitting a larger shipment; and using CBP Form 7523 where an electronic entry was required by the port or by the nature of the merchandise.

The consequences run from the mild to the expensive. The mild outcome is rejection at the counter and a delayed crossing while a proper entry is prepared. Worse outcomes follow when merchandise released on CBP Form 7523 turns out to have been misdescribed: CBP may issue CBP Form 4647, Notice to Mark and/or Redeliver, if the articles or containers are not marked with the country of origin, ordering marking, redelivery, export, or destruction. Where duties were owed and not paid, CBP may bill the amount on CBP Form 6084, CBP's bill form, the mailed bill for money owed to CBP. Where a bond obligation or a violation is implicated, the Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures office may issue CBP Form 5955A, Notice of Penalty or Liquidated Damages Incurred and Demand for Payment. Importers enrolled through CBP Form 400, ACH Debit Application, which enrolls a payer in CBP's Automated Clearinghouse debit program for duties, taxes, fees, and bills, will see collections routed electronically rather than by check.

How CBP Form 7523 relates to other CBP free entry and paper forms

CBP Form 7523 is one of a family of paper forms that establish free entry or free movement, and brokers should be clear about which one answers which question. 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; it addresses the origin claim, not the low-value entry mechanism. CBP Form 4455, Certificate of Registration, registers identifiable goods by serial number or mark with CBP before export so they can return duty free under Chapter 98, which is a before departure step rather than an arrival document. CBP Form 3299, Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles, covers personal and household effects arriving separately from a traveler and is not a commercial entry at all.

On the drawback side, CBP Form 7553, Notice of Intent to Export, Destroy or Return Merchandise for Purposes of Drawback, lets CBP examine goods before export or destruction supporting a drawback claim, while CBP Form 7552, Delivery Certificate for Purposes of Drawback, was the former certificate for transfers of merchandise between parties and was abolished under TFTEA in favor of transfer records. Neither has anything to do with the entry function of CBP Form 7523, but brokers handling border traffic encounter all of them. Finally, CBP Form 3124, Application for Customs Broker License, is the application an individual, partnership, association, or corporation files with CBP to obtain a customs broker license, and it governs who may lawfully prepare CBP Form 7523 for another party as a transaction of customs business.

Do not confuse CBP Form 7523 with CBP Form 3461, CBP Form 7501, or the electronic informal entry type 11. Those are separate instruments with their own rules and data requirements.

Frequently asked questions

Can CBP Form 7523 be used for dutiable merchandise?

No. CBP Form 7523 is limited to merchandise free of duty. If any duty applies to the shipment, CBP Form 7523 is not available and the importer or broker must use a regular entry process. Check the classification on the Harmonized Tariff Schedule before assuming a line is free.

What is the value limit on CBP Form 7523?

The entry function of CBP Form 7523 applies to merchandise free of duty valued at $2,500 or less, consistent with 19 CFR 143.23. Confirm the current text of that section before relying on the figure, because informal entry thresholds are set by regulation and can be amended.

Is CBP Form 7523 filed in ACE?

CBP Form 7523 is a paper document presented to a CBP officer at the port, not an ACE or ABI transmission. Where a port or a commodity requires electronic filing, CBP Form 7523 is not an acceptable substitute; confirm port practice with the port or with CBP before arriving with paper.

Does CBP Form 7523 replace a manifest?

Yes, within its limits. CBP Form 7523 serves as the inward foreign manifest for a vehicle or vessel under five tons arriving from Canada or Mexico otherwise than by sea with conditionally free merchandise, under 19 CFR 123.4. Larger conveyances and other trip types fall outside that use.

What importers and brokers should do

• Verify before presenting CBP Form 7523 that the merchandise is genuinely free of duty, is valued at $2,500 or less, and carries no quota or partner government agency requirement that the paper form cannot satisfy.
• Pull the current revision of CBP Form 7523 from the CBP forms page each time rather than reusing a stored copy, and confirm whether the revision referenced here, rev 05/24, is still current.
• Read 19 CFR 123.4 and 19 CFR 143.23 in their current eCFR text before adopting CBP Form 7523 as a standing procedure for a lane or a client, and confirm with the port that paper presentation is accepted there.
• Keep the commercial invoice, the consignee identification, and any origin evidence with the file, because CBP Form 7523 leaves no ACE record to fall back on if the shipment is questioned later.

Key references

• CBP forms library: official source for CBP Form 7523 (rev 05/24) and its instructions.
• 19 U.S.C. 1433: report of arrival and manifest requirements for vehicles and vessels.
• 19 U.S.C. 1484: the general entry of merchandise requirement.
• 19 U.S.C. 1498: authority for simplified entry procedures for limited categories of merchandise.
• 19 CFR 123.4: manifest rules for small conveyances arriving from Canada or Mexico with conditionally free merchandise.
• 19 CFR 143.23: documents acceptable in lieu of a full entry for certain shipments.
• Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States: confirm whether a classification is free of duty before using CBP Form 7523.
• CBP Form 3311 reference: the separate declaration for duty-free return of U.S.-origin goods.
• CBP Form 3299 reference: the declaration for unaccompanied personal and household effects.