Cross-border mail between Canada and the United States is becoming much more data-driven. On September 22, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is deploying Entry Type 13, a new electronic informal-entry option for international postal shipments valued at US$2,500 or less. The system moves qualifying mail entries into the Automated Commercial Environment, the platform already used for much of U.S. commercial trade processing.
For Canadian merchants, the change does not simply mean another shipping form. It arrives after the United States suspended its long-standing US$800 commercial de minimis exemption and introduced tighter rules around duties, tariff classifications, origin and importer responsibility. Entry Type 13 may eventually make postal clearance more automated, but it also illustrates how much more customs information can now follow even relatively inexpensive packages across the border.
Entry Type 13 Goes Live as a Voluntary Test
The September 22 launch is important, but it should not be mistaken for an overnight mandatory conversion of every package entering the United States. CBP describes Entry Type 13 as a voluntary test of an electronic informal-entry process. It is being deployed into the production version of the Automated Commercial Environment, commonly called ACE, after previously being placed in the certification environment for testing. CBP says the pilot will continue until the agency formally announces its conclusion.
The new entry type is available for international postal shipments valued at US$2,500 or less, including parcels that previously might have qualified for the US$800 de minimis exemption. Instead of relying entirely on the interim postal process developed during the recent customs overhaul, eligible filers can submit shipment information electronically through ACE. The potential scale is significant. In a federal paperwork notice, CBP estimated that the Entry Type 13 test could involve about two million responses annually, with an estimated filing time of five minutes per response.
The Old US$800 Shortcut Has Already Disappeared
Entry Type 13 makes more sense when viewed as the latest stage of a much larger change. For years, the U.S. de minimis system allowed qualifying commercial shipments worth no more than US$800 to enter without ordinary duties and taxes. That became particularly important for e-commerce merchants selling inexpensive products directly to American consumers. The United States suspended that commercial exemption for goods from all countries effective August 29, 2025.
CBP subsequently made the suspension indefinite in its regulations and introduced new postal informal-entry procedures. The postal rule largely took effect July 24, 2026. As a result, September 22 is not the day low-value packages suddenly become subject to customs processing; that transition was already underway. What changes today is the availability of a purpose-built electronic entry route for qualifying international mail. For a Canadian shop that once mailed a US$50 order with minimal customs friction, the broader change is substantial: low value no longer automatically means low compliance.
The New System Is Specifically About International Mail
One of the most important distinctions for Canadian businesses is the word “mail.” Entry Type 13 applies to merchandise sent through the international postal network. A parcel travelling through Canada Post and ultimately USPS sits in a different customs environment from a shipment moving through a commercial courier, express carrier, truck or other non-postal channel. CBP created separate rules for merchandise arriving through modes other than the international postal network.
That distinction means a Canadian merchant cannot assume that a procedure available for a mailed parcel will apply when the same product is moved by a commercial carrier. Courier shipments already use established ACE entry processes, while Entry Type 13 was designed specifically to fill an automation gap in postal processing. Shipping strategy therefore becomes part of customs strategy. A small company comparing postal and courier rates now has to consider not only transit time and transportation price, but also who will make entry, which duties could apply, what information must be supplied and how the importer relationship will work.
Twelve Data Elements Turn a Parcel Into a Detailed Customs Entry
The electronic process requires considerably more structure than simply writing a product description and value on a parcel. CBP requires an Entry Type 13 filer to transmit 12 core data elements. They include the filer code, importer-of-record number, merchandise description, country of origin, applicable 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule classifications, duty rate, customs value, total duty owed, carrier name, foreign-post tracking number and arrival port. Quantity and weight are also required when a specific duty rate makes those details necessary.
That 10-digit classification requirement deserves particular attention. An online retailer may internally describe an item as a “women’s cotton sweater” or “phone accessory,” but U.S. customs treatment depends on the correct tariff classification rather than a storefront category. Some products can also require secondary Chapter 98 or Chapter 99 classifications or additional information connected with special duties. For a business selling dozens or hundreds of SKUs, product data that once mainly served inventory and marketing purposes increasingly needs to function as customs data as well.
Importer Responsibility and Customs Bonds Become Harder to Ignore
Not everybody involved in moving a parcel can simply file Entry Type 13. CBP says the right to make the entry belongs to the owner or purchaser of the merchandise, or to a properly appointed licensed customs broker. If a consignee is not the owner or purchaser — CBP gives foreign postal operators, USPS, freight forwarders and carriers as examples — that party must use a licensed broker who will act as importer of record for the Entry Type 13 filing.
A basic importation and entry bond is also required. The bond can be a single-transaction bond or a continuous bond and must meet CBP requirements. Its purpose is not merely administrative: it helps secure payment of duties, taxes and fees and can also support enforcement of other import obligations. For a large importer, brokers and customs bonds are familiar infrastructure. For a Canadian microbusiness accustomed to mailing a few direct-to-consumer orders each day, those concepts can feel much closer to traditional importing than ordinary parcel shipping.
The US$2,500 Limit Does Not Guarantee Informal Treatment
The US$2,500 figure is a threshold, not a promise that every package beneath it will clear through the simplest possible procedure. CBP generally requires formal procedures for shipments exceeding US$2,500, but certain goods can require formal entry even at lower values. Quota merchandise and products subject to antidumping or countervailing duties remain outside the Entry Type 13 informal-entry test. CBP can also require formal entry when it considers that necessary to protect U.S. revenue.
Entry Type 13 nevertheless creates more flexibility for some complicated low-value shipments. CBP’s test temporarily permits the electronic informal pathway for qualifying shipments involving Partner Government Agency requirements and certain Chapter 98 or Chapter 99 treatment that would otherwise face formal-entry rules. That can matter for products overseen by agencies beyond CBP. The practical lesson for Canadian exporters is that shipment value alone cannot determine the required process. Product type, tariff treatment, regulatory agency requirements and trade-remedy exposure can matter just as much as the price printed on the invoice.
CUSMA Still Matters, but It Does Not Remove the Paperwork Question
Canadian origin can remain commercially valuable. Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service notes that CUSMA preferential treatment covers more than 98% of tariff lines and more than 99.9% of bilateral Canada-U.S. trade. However, a product does not receive preferential treatment merely because it was shipped from Canada. It must satisfy the applicable CUSMA rule of origin, and the preference has to be properly claimed using supporting origin information.
That distinction has become more important as the U.S. tariff environment has grown more complicated. CUSMA-compliant goods remain protected from some U.S. measures, while other sectoral or Canada-specific measures can apply despite CUSMA status. Meanwhile, CBP’s Entry Type 13 rules still require tariff classification, country of origin and duty information. In other words, the free-trade agreement and the customs-entry system answer different questions. A Canadian manufacturer may have a strong CUSMA claim and still need accurate classification, importer information and an appropriate filing process before its package can move smoothly through the border.
Origin and Customs Value Can Change the Real Cost of a Sale
A parcel leaving Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal is not automatically considered Canadian-origin merchandise. The Government of Canada specifically warns exporters that country of origin is not necessarily the country from which an item is shipped. A Canadian retailer that imports a finished product from another country and resells it to an American customer therefore needs to understand the product’s actual customs origin and whether any Canadian processing was sufficient to alter its trade status.
Value creates another potential trap. CBP says the commercial-invoice value generally should reflect the price paid by the U.S. buyer for the merchandise, with international freight and insurance generally excluded from the dutiable transaction value. Certain selling commissions, assists, royalties, production costs and packing expenses can require different treatment. These details matter because Entry Type 13 asks for both value and total duty owed. A classification or valuation error repeated across hundreds of small orders can become more consequential than a single mistake on a large shipment, particularly when automated systems make inconsistent declarations easier to identify.
CBP Says Small-Package Volume Became Too Large for the Old Model
The policy shift is occurring against an extraordinary increase in low-value shipments. CBP reported clearing almost 1.37 billion de minimis packages during fiscal 2024, equivalent to nearly four million per day. That was up dramatically from about 511 million in fiscal 2019. Such volumes were one reason U.S. officials increasingly argued that traditional low-data processing made it difficult to distinguish ordinary online purchases from non-compliant or dangerous shipments.
CBP has also connected its tighter approach to enforcement. The agency said nearly 90% of cargo-environment seizure cases in fiscal 2024 originated in the de minimis environment, while 97% of intellectual-property-rights seizure cases involved de minimis shipments. Those figures describe the entire low-value environment rather than Canadian commerce specifically, and legitimate Canadian businesses should not be conflated with enforcement targets. Still, the numbers help explain why CBP is demanding more structured electronic information. Entry Type 13 allows the agency to connect a mailed article with its tracking number, importer, tariff classification, origin and declared duty before relying on comparatively sparse postal data.
Canadian Sellers Now Have More Reasons to Build Customs Into Their Checkout Process
The practical response starts well before a package reaches the post office. Canadian merchants selling regularly into the United States increasingly need reliable tariff classifications for their products, defensible country-of-origin determinations and clarity about which party will act as importer of record. Businesses claiming CUSMA treatment also need records supporting that claim. Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service specifically recommends working with customs professionals when necessary and notes that importers have legal responsibilities to exercise reasonable care in classification, valuation and other entry information.
The commercial side matters just as much. Duties, brokerage, bonds and customs administration can turn a profitable low-priced order into a marginal one if they are discovered only after checkout. Clear landed-cost policies can also reduce the risk that an American customer is surprised by an unexpected border charge or delay. Entry Type 13 is designed to make postal customs processing more automated, and over time that could improve efficiency. In the short term, however, automation requires better data. Canadian sellers that treat customs information as part of their product catalogue rather than an afterthought will be better positioned for the new border environment.
