CBP Form 7553: Notice of Intent to Export or Destroy for Drawback

Key Points

• CBP Form 7553 is the notice that gives CBP the chance to examine merchandise before it is exported or destroyed so that the goods can support a drawback claim.
• Under 19 CFR 190.35 the notice is filed with the port at least 5 working days before the intended export or destruction, and CBP has 2 working days to decide whether it will examine the merchandise.
• If the notice was not filed in time, the claimant must apply in writing for retroactive eligibility under 19 CFR 190.36; a standing waiver of prior notice may be approved under 19 CFR 190.91.
• The current form revision referenced in this article is CBP Form 7553 (rev 2024-01-31), and the notice is later referenced by the electronic drawback claim filed in ACE.
• As of September 2026 these rules stand as described here, and the links below go to the primary documents so you can verify the current text before you file.

On this page

1. What CBP Form 7553 is
2. At a glance
3. When is CBP Form 7553 filed and who files it?
4. What happens after CBP Form 7553 is filed?
5. Waiver of prior notice and retroactive eligibility
6. How CBP Form 7553 connects to the ACE drawback claim and related forms
7. Common CBP Form 7553 errors and what they cost
8. Frequently asked questions
9. What importers and brokers should do
10. Key references

CBP Form 7553, Notice of Intent to Export, Destroy or Return Merchandise for Purposes of Drawback, is the notice an exporter, destroyer, or drawback claimant gives U.S. Customs and Border Protection before merchandise leaves the country or is destroyed, so that CBP has an opportunity to examine the goods that will later underpin a drawback claim. It is filed with the port where the examination would occur, in advance of the export or destruction event, and it sits at the front of the drawback lifecycle: notice first, then export or destruction, then the electronic claim. Without a timely CBP Form 7553 or an approved waiver, the exportation or destruction may not be usable as the drawback-supporting event.

The links in this article go to the primary documents: the regulation text in the eCFR, the statute pages, and the official CBP form and program pages themselves. Read the source.

At a glance

• Full name: CBP Form 7553, Notice of Intent to Export, Destroy or Return Merchandise for Purposes of Drawback (rev 2024-01-31).
• Who prepares or uses it: the exporter, the party destroying the merchandise, or the drawback claimant, often through a broker or drawback specialist.
• When in the lifecycle: before export or destruction, at least 5 working days in advance under 19 CFR 190.35.
• System or channel: filed with the CBP port of examination; confirm the port's current acceptable submission channel with CBP, since practice varies by port.
• Governing authority: 19 CFR 190.35, with 19 CFR 190.36 for retroactive eligibility and 19 CFR 190.91 for waiver of prior notice.
• Related terms: CBP Form 7551, CBP Form 7552, CBP Form 7512, CBP Form 214, CBP Form 216, CBP Form 4455, CBP Form 3311.
• Status as of September 2026: in effect as described; confirm the current regulation text and form revision before filing.

When is CBP Form 7553 filed and who files it?

CBP Form 7553 is filed by the exporter, the destroyer, or the drawback claimant with the CBP port at least 5 working days before the merchandise is exported or destroyed, as required by 19 CFR 190.35. The 5 working days is a minimum, not a target: it exists so CBP can staff an examination if it wants one, and filing on the afternoon before a morning container load does not satisfy it. In practice the drawback department or the broker prepares CBP Form 7553 from the same data set that will feed the claim, including the description of the merchandise, quantities, the unique identifiers that tie the goods back to import entries or transfer records, and the place, date, and method of the intended export or destruction.

For destructions, CBP Form 7553 is what allows CBP to witness or approve the event. A company that destroys drawback merchandise on its own schedule, without notice and without CBP approval of the method, has no reliable way to prove to a reviewing officer that the destroyed goods were the goods claimed.

What happens after CBP Form 7553 is filed?

After CBP Form 7553 is filed, CBP has 2 working days under 19 CFR 190.35 to notify the filer whether it intends to examine the merchandise. If CBP does not respond within that window, or advises that it will not examine, the filer may proceed with the export or destruction on the stated date and terms. If CBP does elect to examine, the goods must be made available in the condition and at the location described on the notice, and the export or destruction waits for the examination.

Either way, the filed CBP Form 7553 and any CBP annotation on it become part of the drawback recordkeeping file. That file is what supports the claim during review and any later verification, so the notice, the proof of exportation or the destruction evidence, and the claim must all describe the same merchandise in the same units.

Waiver of prior notice and retroactive eligibility

Two regulatory safety valves surround CBP Form 7553, and they are not interchangeable. A waiver of prior notice under 19 CFR 190.91 is an approval, granted in advance, that relieves an established claimant from filing a CBP Form 7553 for each shipment; it is a privilege applied for and approved before the exports occur, and it typically rests on the claimant's compliance history and internal controls. Retroactive eligibility under 19 CFR 190.36 is different: it is a written application made after the fact, for merchandise that was already exported or destroyed without the required notice.

Neither route is automatic. A claimant operating under a waiver should keep the approval document in the drawback file and be able to show which exports it covers, because an unmatched export with no waiver on file and no CBP Form 7553 is a straightforward reason for a claim line to be denied.

How CBP Form 7553 connects to the ACE drawback claim and related forms

CBP Form 7553 is the front end of a chain that ends with an electronic drawback claim in ACE filed under 19 CFR part 190, and the claim references the notice. The paper claim form, CBP Form 7551, Drawback Entry, was abolished with TFTEA drawback and claims are now filed electronically; likewise CBP Form 7552, Delivery Certificate for Purposes of Drawback, the former certificate for transfers of merchandise between parties, was replaced by transfer records. CBP Form 7553 survived that modernization because it does something the electronic claim cannot do: it gives CBP a physical look at the goods before they disappear. Note also that 19 CFR 190.51 governs the completion of the drawback claim itself, so the notice and the claim are separate regulatory obligations.

CBP Form 7553 is also distinct from the export filing. It is not the Automated Export System filing or the Electronic Export Information transmission, and filing one does not satisfy the other. Nearby movement and zone documents have their own roles: CBP Form 7512, Transportation Entry and Manifest of Goods Subject to CBP Inspection and Permit, is the in-bond application for moving unentered goods under bond and is now electronic; CBP Form 214, Application for Foreign-Trade Zone Admission and/or Status Designation, admits merchandise into an FTZ and elects zone status; and CBP Form 216, Application for Foreign-Trade Zone Activity Permit, is how a zone operator requests approval to manipulate, manufacture, exhibit, or destroy merchandise inside a foreign-trade zone. Where goods are going out temporarily and will come back, CBP Form 4455, Certificate of Registration, registers identifiable goods before export for duty-free return under Chapter 98, and CBP Form 3311, Declaration for Free Entry of Returned American Products, covers duty-free return of U.S.-origin goods. None of these replaces CBP Form 7553 for drawback purposes.

Common CBP Form 7553 errors and what they cost

Most CBP Form 7553 problems are timing or matching problems rather than drafting problems. The recurring failures are: merchandise exported before the notice was filed, with no waiver of prior notice on file; a notice that CBP cannot match to the later claim because descriptions, quantities, or identifiers drifted between the two documents; and destruction carried out without CBP witness or approval. Each of these attacks the same thing, the claimant's ability to prove that the exported or destroyed merchandise is the merchandise on the claim, and the practical cost is a denied or reduced claim plus the analyst time spent reconstructing evidence.

A second cluster of errors involves version and routing. Confirm you are using the current form revision, referenced here as CBP Form 7553 (rev 2024-01-31), and confirm with the port how it wants the notice delivered, because the regulation sets the deadline while the port sets the mechanics.

Frequently asked questions

How far in advance must CBP Form 7553 be filed?

CBP Form 7553 must be filed with the port at least 5 working days before the intended date of exportation or destruction under 19 CFR 190.35. Confirm the current text of the regulation and any port-specific instruction before you build the deadline into your process.

What if merchandise was already exported without CBP Form 7553?

If the goods went out without a CBP Form 7553 and no waiver of prior notice was in place, the claimant must apply in writing for retroactive eligibility under 19 CFR 190.36. Approval is not guaranteed, so treat it as a remedy for a mistake rather than a planned workflow.

Can a claimant stop filing CBP Form 7553 for every shipment?

Yes, if CBP approves a waiver of prior notice under 19 CFR 190.91, the claimant may be relieved of filing an individual CBP Form 7553 for covered exports. Keep the approval and its scope documented in the drawback file so reviewers can tie each export to it.

Is CBP Form 7553 the same as the drawback claim?

No. CBP Form 7553 is the advance notice that permits examination before export or destruction, while the drawback claim itself is filed electronically in ACE under 19 CFR part 190, with completion requirements at 19 CFR 190.51.

What importers and brokers should do

• Build the 5 working day lead time from 19 CFR 190.35 into shipping and destruction scheduling, and hold the goods until CBP's 2 working day examination decision window has run or CBP has responded.
• Decide whether your export volume justifies applying for a waiver of prior notice under 19 CFR 190.91, and if you already hold one, verify in writing which exports and facilities it covers.
• Reconcile every CBP Form 7553 to the corresponding line on the ACE drawback claim using the same description, quantity, and identifiers, and keep the notice with the proof of export or destruction evidence in one file.
• Confirm the current form revision and the port's preferred submission channel with CBP before your next filing cycle rather than assuming last year's practice still applies.

Key references

• 19 CFR 190.35: notice of intent to export or destroy, including the 5 working day filing requirement and CBP's 2 working day examination decision.
• 19 CFR 190.36: written application for retroactive eligibility where notice was not filed.
• 19 CFR 190.91: waiver of prior notice of intent to export or destroy.
• 19 CFR 190.51: completion of the drawback claim.
• 19 CFR part 190: the modernized drawback regulations in full.
• CBP forms library: the official source for the current revision of CBP Form 7553 and its instructions.
• Title 19, U.S. Code: the customs statutes underlying the drawback regulations.