🎯 In 30 seconds: Every product you ship has a number. The first six digits (the HS code) are the same in nearly every country and drive the duty your buyer pays. The full 10-digit US export version is the Schedule B number. If one Schedule B line on a shipment is worth more than $2,500, or the goods need a license, you (or your forwarder) file Electronic Export Information in the free AESDirect system before the goods leave.
Three codes, three jobs
| HS code (6 digits) | The international Harmonized System. Shared by most countries. Used for foreign tariffs. |
| Schedule B (10 digits) | US export statistics code run by the Census Bureau. First 6 digits = HS code. |
| HTS (10 digits) | US import code. First 6 digits match Schedule B; the last 4 can differ. Census accepts HTS numbers on exports too. |
| ECCN (5 characters) | An export control code. Unrelated to the other three. See the export controls page. |
Finding your Schedule B number
- Open the Census Bureau’s Schedule B Search Engine (linked from the Schedule B page below). It is free.
- Search with plain words (“stainless steel water bottle”) or a partial HS code you already know.
- Answer its follow-up questions about material and use. Material and function decide the code, not your marketing name.
- Write the 10-digit number on your product sheet, and the first 6 digits on your commercial invoice for the buyer.
- Check once a year. Census publishes code changes; the 2026 edition already has concordance files for January and July 2026.
When EEI filing is required
Electronic Export Information (EEI) is the export declaration. It goes to the government through the Automated Export System (AES). Per trade.gov and the Foreign Trade Regulations, filing is generally required when:
- any one Schedule B number on the shipment is worth more than $2,500 (counted per exporter, per consignee, per conveyance), or
- the goods need an export license, whatever the value, or
- the goods are on the US Munitions List (ITAR), or
- the destination is one of the embargoed countries trade.gov lists for mandatory filing.
Most shipments from the US to Canada are exempt unless they need a license, fall under ITAR, contain rough diamonds, or are only passing through Canada to somewhere else.
Worked example. One box to a buyer in Chile holds three products: Schedule B line A worth $1,800, line B worth $3,100, line C worth $2,200, no license needed. Only line B is over $2,500, so only line B has to be reported. If line B were $2,400 instead, no EEI would be required for that shipment.
Filing in AESDirect
AESDirect is the Census Bureau’s free filing tool, reached through CBP’s ACE portal (ace.cbp.gov). To file yourself you need an ACE account, an EIN (or DUNS), and you must be physically in the US. The system returns an Internal Transaction Number (ITN). That ITN goes to the carrier and on your paperwork as proof you filed.
| By vessel | 24 hours before the cargo is loaded at the US port |
| By air | At least 2 hours before scheduled departure |
| By truck | At least 1 hour before the truck reaches the border |
| By rail or mail | At least 2 hours before the train reaches the border, or before mailing |
These are the deadlines in 15 CFR 30.4 for goods not on the US Munitions List.
Many small exporters let the freight forwarder file. That is normal, but the data (value, Schedule B, ECCN or EAR99, buyer) still comes from you, so check what they file.
Looking up the duty your buyer pays
Two free trade.gov tools take your 6-digit HS code:
- Customs Info Database: duty rates and local taxes for more than 160 markets, including normal (MFN) and preferential rates. Free, with a short registration.
- FTA Tariff Tool: for the 20 free trade agreement partners, shows the FTA rate and the product’s rule of origin. See the trade agreements page.
Questions on filing rules go to the Census Bureau’s Trade Regulations Branch at (800) 549-0595, option 3.