A customs hold is one of the few things in this business that nobody can prevent, predict or appeal. This page explains what a hold and an examination actually are, why cargo gets selected, who pays for what, why nobody will tell you what was found, and why the condition your cargo comes back in is not the condition it left our warehouse in.
A hold and an examination are not the same thing
People use the words interchangeably and it causes confusion, so it is worth separating them.
A hold stops the container moving. It cannot be loaded, it cannot sail, and nothing happens to it until the hold is lifted. A hold can be placed and released without anyone ever opening the box.
An examination is what happens when CBP decides to actually look. That ranges from a scan the container never leaves for, to a full unload at a separate facility.
Most holds do not become intensive examinations. But you do not know which kind you have until it is over.
The types of examination
| Type | What happens | Cargo touched | Typical delay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-intrusive scan | The container is X-rayed. The seal is not broken. | No | Short |
| Tailgate | The doors are opened and the first section is inspected in place. | Partly | Short to moderate |
| Intensive | The container goes to an examination station and is fully unloaded, inspected and re-loaded. | Completely | Days to weeks |
| Documentary | CBP reviews paperwork, values and ownership without opening anything. | No | Varies |
The intensive examination is the one that costs real money, and it is the one where cargo gets damaged.
Why a vehicle shipment gets selected
Vehicle exports get more attention than most cargo, and the reason is written into the law. The Anti-Car Theft Act gave CBP authority over used self-propelled vehicles leaving the country specifically to stop stolen vehicles being exported.
In practice, selection comes from:
- The VIN check. Under 19 CFR Part 192 the vehicle and its ownership document must be presented to CBP at the port of export at least 72 hours before it sails, and the VIN is checked against the National Crime Information Center to see whether the vehicle has been reported stolen.
- The declared value. CBP compares the value on the export filing against market data. A figure that does not line up invites a closer look.
- Documentation that does not match. The title, the invoice, the export filing and the bill of lading must tell the same story. Where they do not, someone will ask why.
- Targeting. Shipper, consignee, destination, commodity and history all feed a risk assessment that nobody outside CBP sees.
- A first shipment. New exporters and unfamiliar consignees draw attention while a record is established.
- Nothing at all. A share of examinations are genuinely random, and no amount of clean paperwork prevents them.
Who pays, and why it is not the carrier
This is where most arguments start, so here is the plain version.
CBP does not charge a fee for examining cargo. The costs come from everyone else involved in making the examination possible.
- The examination station. These are privately operated facilities, not run by CBP. They charge for unloading, inspection support and re-loading, and they publish their own fee schedules.
- Drayage. Moving the container from the terminal to the examination facility and back again.
- Demurrage. Charged by the terminal while the container sits beyond its free time.
- Detention. Charged by the ocean carrier for the equipment being held beyond the allowance.
- Storage. Accruing at whichever facility the cargo is sitting in.
None of those are ours. We do not order the examination, we do not perform it, we do not operate the facility, and we do not set the terminal or carrier tariffs. They are charges that follow the cargo, and under the booking terms they are for the account of the party whose cargo it is.
Nobody will tell you what they found
This is the question we are asked most, and the answer is genuinely unsatisfying.
CBP does not disclose examination findings to the trade. Not to the shipper, not to the consignee, and not to the carrier. When an examination is completed and the cargo is released, the usual outcome is simply that the hold is lifted. No report, no explanation, no reason given.
In the majority of cases we never learn what was looked at or why. We are not withholding information from you. We do not have it.
The exception is when something is actually found. If a stolen vehicle or stolen equipment is identified, that becomes a seizure and a criminal matter, and it becomes known because the cargo does not come back.
Why your cargo comes back damaged
This one is worth understanding before it happens to you, because it is the part people find hardest to accept.
When we load a container, the vehicle goes in on its own wheels, chocked, strapped at the wheels or the suspension rather than over the bodywork, and blocked so it cannot shift at sea. Machinery is secured and, where it has been dismantled, everything removed is labelled. We photograph the load when the cargo reaches our warehouse and again once it is braced, before the doors close.
At an intensive examination that load is undone. The cargo is removed so it can be inspected, and then it is put back by people whose job is inspection, not stowage, working at volume and to a schedule. Straps go back differently or not at all. Items are placed where there is room rather than where they were. Parts get separated from the machine they belong to.
We are not responsible for that, and neither is any other carrier. We did not unload it, we were not present, and we had no say in how it went back. Nor is there a practical route to recovering the cost from the government.
When something is actually found
Stolen vehicles and stolen equipment do get exported, or are attempted, and the export controls on used vehicles exist precisely because of it. Knowingly exporting a stolen self-propelled vehicle is a federal offence, not a paperwork problem.
If that is what an examination turns up, the cargo is seized and it does not come back. The matter belongs to CBP and to law enforcement, and it belongs to whoever sourced and certified the vehicle.
We will comply fully with CBP, we will provide every document we hold, and we will tell you what we are permitted to tell you. What we will not do is represent a shipment we have been told is stolen, or continue moving cargo for a party whose shipments are being seized.
What you can do to lower the odds
Nothing removes the possibility, because some examinations are random. But most avoidable selections come from the same handful of causes.
- Present the vehicle and the title on time. The 72-hour rule is not advisory, and a rushed presentation invites scrutiny.
- Declare an honest value. A figure that does not match the invoice and the market is one of the most common triggers.
- Make every document say the same thing. Title, invoice, export filing, bill of lading. The same VIN, the same value, the same names, spelled identically.
- Declare everything inside the vehicle. Undeclared items are a problem in their own right and a reason to look harder at everything else.
- Know where the vehicle came from. A clean chain of ownership is your protection, not ours.
- Build time into your plan. A shipment with no slack becomes a crisis the moment a hold lands on it.
What we do when a hold lands
We tell you the moment we know. We comply with whatever CBP instructs, without delay. We provide the documentation requested. We keep you updated with whatever we are told, and we say plainly when we have been told nothing, which is most of the time.
What we do not do is pretend to influence a decision we have no part in, or promise a timeline that nobody can give.
What is a US customs hold on a container?
A hold stops the container moving. It cannot be loaded, it cannot sail, and nothing happens until the hold is lifted. A hold is not the same as an examination. Plenty of holds are placed and released without the container ever being opened, but you do not know which kind you have until it is resolved.
What is the difference between a hold and an examination?
A hold stops the cargo. An examination is what happens if CBP decides to actually look at it. That ranges from an X-ray the container never leaves for, through a tailgate inspection at the doors, to an intensive examination where the box is taken to a separate facility and completely unloaded.
What are the types of customs examination?
Non-intrusive scanning where the seal stays intact, tailgate where the doors are opened and the front section inspected in place, intensive where the container is moved to an examination station and fully unloaded, and documentary review where CBP examines paperwork and values without opening anything.
Can a customs hold be appealed or avoided?
No. CBP has statutory authority to examine cargo leaving the United States and there is no appeal, no exemption and no way to expedite it from outside. Once cargo is selected, it is examined. Any company suggesting it can get you out of an examination is describing something that does not exist.
Why was my container selected for examination?
Selection comes from VIN checks against the stolen vehicle database, declared values that do not match market data, documents that do not agree with each other, risk targeting on the shipper, consignee or destination, being a first-time exporter, or genuinely at random. CBP does not disclose which applied to you.
Why do vehicle exports get examined more than other cargo?
Because the law specifically targets them. The Anti-Car Theft Act gave CBP authority over used self-propelled vehicles leaving the country, and 19 CFR Part 192 requires the vehicle and its ownership document to be presented at the port of export with the VIN checked against the National Crime Information Center.
What is the 72-hour rule?
Under 19 CFR Part 192, a used self-propelled vehicle and its ownership document must be presented to CBP at the port of export at least 72 hours before it is exported. It is a requirement rather than a guideline, and presenting late is itself a reason for closer attention.
Can a wrong declared value cause a hold?
Yes, and it is one of the more common triggers on vehicle exports. CBP compares the declared value on the export filing against market data. A figure that does not line up with the invoice and the market invites a closer look and can turn into a documentary hold while it is reviewed.
Are some examinations completely random?
Yes. A share of examinations are random selection with no trigger at all, and no amount of clean paperwork prevents them. That is worth accepting early, because a shipper who believes every examination must have a cause tends to look for someone to blame for one that had none.
Who pays for a customs examination?
The cargo does. CBP does not charge a fee for examining, but the examination station, the drayage to and from it, terminal demurrage, carrier detention and any storage all cost money. Those charges follow the cargo and under the booking terms they are for the account of the party whose cargo it is.
Why is the carrier not responsible for examination costs?
Because the carrier does not order the examination, does not perform it, does not operate the facility and does not set the terminal or carrier tariffs. The charges arise from a government decision and from third parties. A carrier complying with a lawful instruction has not caused the cost.
What is a centralized examination station?
A privately operated facility where cargo is made available to CBP officers for physical examination. It is not run by CBP. It charges for unloading, inspection support and re-loading against its own published fee schedule, and those charges are separate from anything CBP does.
Why did an examination that found nothing still cost so much?
Because the cost is in the process, not the outcome. Drayage, unloading, re-loading, and then detention and demurrage running for every day the container sits. On a long intensive examination those time-based charges frequently exceed the examination charge itself, whether anything was found or not.
Does marine cargo insurance cover examination costs?
Generally no. Marine cargo insurance covers loss or damage to the goods, not charges arising from a government inspection. Check your specific policy with your broker, but do not assume examination fees, detention or demurrage are covered, because in most cases they are not.
How long does an examination take?
Nobody can tell you, including us. A scan can clear quickly. An intensive examination depends on the queue at the facility, the volume being processed and what CBP decides to do. Anyone giving you a firm date is guessing, and the honest answer is that it takes as long as it takes.
Can you tell me what customs found in my container?
No, and not because we are withholding it. CBP does not disclose examination findings to the trade, meaning not to the shipper, the consignee or the carrier. In most cases the hold is simply lifted with no report and no explanation, and we never learn what was looked at or why.
Will I get a report after the examination?
Usually not. The normal outcome of a completed examination is that the hold is released and the cargo moves on. There is no report issued to the trade, no reason given and no record you can request. The exception is when something is found, which becomes evident because the cargo does not come back.
Why will nobody give me a straight answer?
Because there is no answer to give. CBP does not share findings with anyone in the commercial chain, so a carrier telling you they cannot say is describing a genuine limit rather than being unhelpful. Anyone who claims to know what CBP found is telling you something they cannot know.
Why did my cargo come back damaged after an examination?
Because the load was undone and put back by people whose job is inspection rather than stowage, working at volume and to a schedule. Straps go back differently or not at all, items are placed where there is room rather than where they belong, and parts get separated from the machine they came from.
Is the carrier responsible for damage done at an examination station?
No. The carrier did not unload the container, was not present, and had no say in how the cargo was put back. The load the carrier is responsible for is the one it built, which is why we photograph every load before the doors are sealed.
Can I claim for damage caused during a customs examination?
There is no practical route to recovering it from the government, and it is outside the carrier's responsibility because the carrier did not cause it. Whether your marine cargo policy responds is a question for your insurance broker and depends entirely on the wording of your specific policy.
How do I prove the damage was not caused by loading?
With the photographs taken at loading. We photograph the cargo when it reaches our warehouse and again once it is braced and secured, before the doors are sealed. That record shows the condition and the stowage at the moment the container left us.
What happens if a stolen vehicle is found in my container?
The cargo is seized and it does not come back. Knowingly exporting a stolen self-propelled vehicle is a federal offence rather than a paperwork problem, and the matter belongs to CBP and law enforcement. It also belongs to whoever sourced the vehicle and certified it was not stolen.
Who certifies that a vehicle is not stolen?
The owner does. Under the export regulations the owner must certify to CBP that the vehicle was acquired in a bona fide transaction and is not stolen. That certification belongs to whoever sourced the vehicle. A carrier cannot make it on your behalf and cannot verify it beyond the documents provided.
What happens to the other cargo in the same container?
That depends entirely on CBP. If a container holds vehicles for more than one buyer and one is seized, the remainder is caught up in whatever process follows. It is one of the practical reasons to know the provenance of everything sharing your container before it is loaded.
What do you do when customs places a hold?
We comply with whatever CBP instructs, immediately and completely, without delay or attempts to work around it. We tell you the moment we know, provide any documentation requested, and pass on whatever we are told. Most of the time we are told nothing, and we say so plainly rather than inventing an explanation.
Can you speed up or influence a customs examination?
No, and neither can anyone else in the commercial chain. The timing is decided by CBP and by the queue at the examination facility. Any company offering to expedite or resolve an examination is describing influence that does not exist, and that is worth noticing about them.
How can I reduce the chance of being examined?
Present the vehicle and title on time, declare an honest value, make every document say the same thing with identical spelling, declare everything packed inside the vehicle, and know the provenance of what you bought. None of that removes random selection, but it removes the avoidable causes.
Should I plan for the possibility of a hold?
Yes. Build time into the schedule rather than working to the last possible sailing, and understand before you book that examination costs, detention and demurrage sit with the cargo. A shipment with no slack becomes a crisis the moment a hold lands on it.
Import rules change. The customs information on this page comes from official government sources and was accurate when published, but duties, age limits and eligibility requirements are set by the destination country and can change without notice. Cassandra Logistics is a licensed ocean carrier, not a customs authority or a legal adviser. We are not responsible for changes to foreign import law, or for decisions made by customs at destination. Always confirm current requirements with a licensed customs agent in the destination country before you buy a vehicle.