US Customs Bond Size Estimator

Work out how big your US customs bond should be. Pick a continuous importer bond — 10% of the duties, taxes and fees you paid in the prior 12 months, with a $50,000 minimum — or a single transaction bond for one entry (value plus duties, or 3× the value for PGA, AD/CVD or quota goods). The estimator sizes both the way CBP's Monetary Guidelines do and tells you which type fits, under 19 CFR 113.13 and CBP Directive 3510-004.

Rules verified 15 June 2026 against 19 CFR 113.13 (Cornell LII mirror) and CBP Directive 3510-004 — ecfr.gov / cbp.gov direct fetch were blocked. A continuous bond covers every entry for a rolling 12 months and is sized at 10% of the duties, taxes and fees paid in the prior year, rounded up in $10,000 steps to $100,000 then in $100,000 steps, never below $50,000. A single transaction bond covers one entry and is generally the entered value plus duties, taxes and fees — but 3× the entered value when the goods are subject to another government agency (PGA), antidumping / countervailing duties (AD/CVD), or quota / visa restraints. The 10% / $50k formula is CBP's published guideline (a directive), not a statute: CBP sets the actual amount under 19 CFR 113.13, weighing six sufficiency factors. This is an estimate, not a bond quote.

Primary sources: 19 CFR 113.13 (Cornell LII) · CBP Directive 3510-004.

Estimated bond amount (continuous)

$80,000.00

Estimated continuous importer bond: about $80,000 under CBP's Monetary Guidelines — a continuous bond usually fits a frequent or large importer (it covers every entry for 12 months). This is an estimate, not a bond quote; CBP sets the actual amount under 19 CFR 113.13.

Continuous bond estimate: $80,000.00
Single transaction bond estimate: $86,400.00

What we recommend

You appear to import often enough (real prior-12-month duty history) that a continuous bond — one bond covering every entry for a rolling year — is usually the better fit.

Rules behind the number

A continuous importer bond is sized at 10% of the duties, taxes and fees paid in the prior 12 months, but never below a $50,000 minimum. (CBP Directive 3510-004)
That 10% figure is rounded up in increments of $10,000 up to $100,000, then in increments of $100,000 above that. (CBP Directive 3510-004)
CBP weighs six guideline factors when it actually sets the amount — your payment record, redelivery compliance, the value and nature of the goods, the degree of CBP supervision, your record on bond commitments, and anything in the bond application. (19 CFR 113.13(b))
CBP periodically reviews each bond for sufficiency; if it finds a bond inadequate you have 15 days from written notice to remedy it. A bond amount is never permanently locked. (19 CFR 113.13(c))
No CBP bond may be written for less than $100 unless a law or regulation expressly allows a lesser amount. (19 CFR 113.13(a))

Governing authority: 19 CFR 113.13, CBP Directive 3510-004. General guidance and an estimate, not legal or customs advice and not a bond quote — CBP sets the actual amount.

Get the Customs Bond Sizing Pack

The estimator above is free. The pack turns the number into something you can hand to a surety or broker — the sizing worksheet, the six-factor sufficiency checklist, CBP's rounding bands, the 3×-trigger map, and a selection checklist, in one place.

A continuous-vs-single-transaction sizing worksheet — plug in your prior-12-month duties or your shipment value and see both amounts, with CBP's rounding written out (CBP Directive 3510-004)
The six-factor sufficiency checklist CBP actually weighs when it sets the amount, in a form you can self-assess before you file (19 CFR 113.13(b))
The 3x-trigger map — which PGA, AD/CVD and quota/visa situations push a single transaction bond to three times the entered value
An ISF-bond note plus a surety and licensed-customs-broker selection checklist, so the estimate turns into a plan you can act on

One-time purchase. No subscription. The free estimator stays free.

Last verified: 2026-06-15

How this calculator works

This estimator sizes a US customs bond two ways, computed entirely in your browser — no inputs are sent to a server. A continuous importer bond = max($50,000, roundUp(10% × duties, taxes and fees paid in the prior 12 months)), where the 10% figure is rounded up in $10,000 increments to $100,000 then $100,000 increments (CBP Directive 3510-004). A single transaction bond = entered value + duties, taxes and fees, or 3 × entered value when the goods are subject to a partner government agency requirement (PGA), antidumping/countervailing duties (AD/CVD), or quota/visa restraints. The 10%/$50k formula is CBP's published guideline, not a statute: CBP sets the actual amount under 19 CFR 113.13, weighing six sufficiency factors (113.13(b)), and reviews each bond periodically (113.13(c)); no CBP bond is written below $100 (113.13(a)). Figures are an estimate, not a bond quote. Rules verified 2026-06-15 against the Cornell LII mirror of 19 CFR 113.13 and CBP Directive 3510-004 (ecfr.gov / cbp.gov direct fetch were blocked).

How CBP sizes a customs bond, in plain terms

Almost every commercial import into the United States needs a customs bond — a financial guarantee that the duties, taxes and fees CBP is owed will be paid. There are two common shapes. A continuous bond is one bond that covers all of your entries at every port for a rolling 12-month period; a single transaction bond (STB) covers exactly one entry. Which one you need — and how large it must be — follows CBP Directive 3510-004, the “Monetary Guidelines for Setting Bond Amounts”, sitting on top of the bond regulation at 19 CFR 113.13. This tool turns those guidelines into a single estimated figure for your situation.

The continuous bond: 10% of last year's duties, $50,000 minimum

Under CBP's Monetary Guidelines, a continuous importer bond (Activity Code 1) is sized at 10% of the total duties, taxes and fees you paid in the prior 12 months. That raw figure is then rounded up: to the nearest $10,000 up to $100,000, and to the nearest $100,000 above that. Whatever the formula produces, the bond is never written for less than the $50,000 continuous-bond minimum. So an importer who paid $630,000 in duties last year is looking at 10% = $63,000, rounded up to $70,000; an importer who paid $200,000 is at 10% = $20,000, which is below the floor, so the estimate is held at $50,000.

The single transaction bond: value + duties, or 3× for flagged goods

For a one-off entry, an STB is generally set at the total entered value of the merchandise plus the duties, taxes and fees on that entry. But when the goods are subject to another (partner) government agency requirement — FDA, EPA, USDA and the like — or to antidumping / countervailing duties (AD/CVD), or to quota / visa restraints, the STB is set at three times the entered value instead. The multiplier does not stack: goods that hit two or three of those triggers are still 3×, not 9×. (CBP's specialised AD/CVD program may instead size an AD/CVD bond by value times the AD/CVD rate; this estimator applies the public-facing 3×-value rule for any flagged STB and labels the result an estimate.)

CBP weighs six factors — the formula is a guideline, not the verdict

The 10% / $50k math is CBP's published guideline, not a statute. When CBP actually sets a bond it weighs six factors under 19 CFR 113.13(b):

your prior record of timely payment of duties, taxes and charges;
your prior record of complying with CBP demands for redelivery;
the value and nature of the merchandise involved;
the degree and type of supervision CBP will exercise;
your prior record of honoring bond commitments, including payment of liquidated damages;
any additional information in your bond application.

So the number here is an estimate of the guideline amount — CBP can land higher or lower based on those factors.

Bonds are reviewed, and never written below $100

A bond amount is not permanent. Under 19 CFR 113.13(c), CBP periodically reviews each bond to check it still protects the revenue; if it finds a bond inadequate, you get written notice and 15 days to remedy it. And under 19 CFR 113.13(a), the floor for any CBP bond is $100 — “the amount of any CBP bond must not be less than $100, except when the law or regulation expressly provides that a lesser amount may be taken.”

How the estimate is built

Continuous = max($50,000, roundUp(10% × prior-12-month duties)) — rounded up in $10k bands to $100k, then $100k bands.
Single transaction (normal) = entered value + duties, taxes and fees.
Single transaction (flagged) = 3 × entered value when PGA, AD/CVD or quota applies.

The recommendation keys off whether you have a real prior-12-month duty history: a frequent or large importer is usually better served by a continuous bond, while an occasional importer — whose continuous bond would just sit at the $50,000 floor — is usually better served by an STB per shipment. Every figure is an estimate, not a quote.

Frequently asked questions

Is a continuous bond always 10% of last year's duties?

That is CBP's guideline (Directive 3510-004): 10% of the duties, taxes and fees paid in the prior 12 months, rounded up in $10,000 bands to $100,000 then $100,000 bands, with a $50,000 minimum. CBP can set a different amount based on the six factors in 19 CFR 113.13(b), so treat the figure as an estimate.

When is a single transaction bond three times the value?

When the merchandise is subject to another (partner) government agency requirement, to antidumping / countervailing duties, or to quota / visa restraints. Otherwise the STB is generally the entered value plus duties, taxes and fees. Hitting more than one trigger does not stack — it stays at 3×.

Continuous or single transaction — which should I get?

A continuous bond covers every entry for a rolling 12 months, so it usually wins for a frequent or large importer. A single transaction bond covers one entry, so it usually fits an occasional or one-off importer — whose continuous bond would otherwise just sit at the $50,000 minimum. The estimator suggests one based on your inputs.

Is anything I enter sent to a server?

No. The estimate is computed entirely in your browser from the rules described above. Nothing you enter leaves your device.

Sources

19 CFR 113.13 — amount of bond: (a) the $100 minimum (“the amount of any CBP bond must not be less than $100, except when the law or regulation expressly provides that a lesser amount may be taken”); (b) the six guideline factors CBP weighs; (c) periodic review of bond sufficiency and the 15-day window to remedy. Confirmed via the Cornell LII mirror — ecfr.gov / cbp.gov direct fetch were blocked here, so primary text was confirmed through Cornell LII.
CBP Directive 3510-004 — “Monetary Guidelines for Setting Bond Amounts” (updated February 2024): the continuous-bond 10% formula, the $10,000 / $100,000 rounding bands, the $50,000 minimum, and the single-transaction-bond sizing (value plus duties, or 3× value for PGA / AD/CVD / quota goods). The Directive PDF on cbp.gov returned HTTP 403 here, so its figures were confirmed via CBP's public “A Guide for the Public: How CBP Sets Bond Amounts” (Feb 2024) and corroborating broker guidance.
CBP — “A Guide for the Public: How CBP Sets Bond Amounts” (February 2024) and 19 CFR Part 113 (CBP bonds) generally — the framework these guidelines sit inside.

General guidance and an estimate, not legal or customs advice and not a bond quote. CBP sets the actual bond amount under 19 CFR 113.13 and its Monetary Guidelines (Directive 3510-004), weighing six sufficiency factors. Verify with CBP, a surety, or a licensed customs broker.