From September 18, 2026, CBP voids the importer of record (IOR) number of any importer whose CBP Form 5106 has inaccurate or incomplete details, and a voided number can't be used to bring goods in. It applies to existing importers, not only new ones. The rule comes from a Federal Register notice of August 19, 2026.
| Detail | What the notice allows |
|---|---|
| Physical address | The importer's own. Not a registered agent, customs broker, freight forwarder, P.O. box, business service center or anyone else's address. A principal's home address is allowed |
| Email and phone | The importer's own, not a broker's or other third party's |
| EIN (or SSN) | The importer's own |
| Who submits it | The importer, or a customs broker with a power of attorney signed directly with the importer |
Wrong or incomplete details are grounds to void the IOR number, and the notice goes to the email on file.
Source: Federal Register 2026-16911 (August 19, 2026)
The Form 5106 is CBP's record of who an importer is. Every detail on it must be accurate, complete and the importer's own: the physical address, the email, the phone number, and the EIN (or Social Security number) the record is keyed to. The table above lists what's allowed.
A customs broker submitting the form for a client needs a power of attorney signed directly with that importer. The notice carries out an executive order on customs enforcement, Executive Order 14411.
From September 18, 2026, if CBP finds the information inaccurate or incomplete, it voids the IOR number right away. It emails a written notice, with the reason, to the email address the importer most recently submitted. A voided number can't be used to make entry, so goods arriving under it stop at the border.
The notice gives one way back: a request to reestablish the number, emailed to CBP's IOR Program with the subject line "Enforcing IOR Accuracy." It gives no timeline for an answer.
Because the voiding notice goes to the email on the Form 5106. Say a broker set up your record years ago with its own email, exactly what the notice now forbids. You never see the notice, and you learn the number is void when a shipment can't be entered.
The importer of record, or a licensed customs broker holding a power of attorney signed directly with that importer. Filing it for someone else is customs business, so the fix sits with the broker or with the importer's own submission.
What an importer can do today: ask the broker who set up the number to pull the Form 5106 on file and read back every detail (address, email, phone, EIN), then check each against the table above. Any detail that belongs to a broker or forwarder is the one to have corrected, because it's now grounds for CBP to void the number.
Your importer number (CBP calls it your IOR number) is how U.S. Customs knows who is bringing the goods in. For a business with an EIN, it's that EIN, with a two-digit ending CBP sets to "00" unless you ask for branch codes. With no EIN, CBP uses a Social Security number, and with neither, CBP assigns a number. It goes on your customs paperwork (the entry, the bond, the security filing), not on your CPSC certificate or your Product Registry file.
Every entry is filed against that number: the bond, the duties owed and any notice CBP sends attach to it. That's why a stale Form 5106 can now stop a shipment that's otherwise in order.
The free document check reconciles the importer named on your commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading — the party CBP's importer record has to match — and flags what a broker will ask for before filing. Nothing is stored.
Check my documents — free →The rules on this page do change — an eFiling date, a list, a threshold. Leave an email and a short note goes out if one does: a few a year at most, one click to stop, and the address is used for nothing else. A summary of the guide and a link arrive now, as confirmation.
Information current as of 2026-10-31.
This report is an automated, informational screening tool only. Tiana & Co. is not a licensed customs broker and does not conduct customs business. This report does not constitute legal advice, a compliance determination, or a certification of admissibility for any supplier, product, or shipment.
Verdicts in this report are produced by deterministic code, not by a language model. The explanatory paragraph accompanying each check is model-generated and checked against the cited sources before delivery. No part of this report is reviewed by a person before it is issued, so every material finding and citation should be confirmed against the underlying government source before it is relied on.
This report reflects data available as of the report date. The OFAC SDN and Consolidated lists, the other U.S. Consolidated Screening List constituents, the UFLPA Entity List, CBP withhold release orders, CPSC's eFiling list, and regulatory guidance are updated frequently and without prior notice. Users should re-screen periodically and consult qualified counsel for compliance decisions.
Name-similarity results do not establish or rule out the identity of any company. Where multiple similarly named records exist, none should be treated as confirmed without independent verification against the primary government source.
This tool is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a substitute for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, or any other government agency. No warranty is made as to the accuracy, completeness, or currency of any finding.
Use of this report for import, procurement, sanctions-compliance, or investment decisions is at the user's own risk. Anyone with compliance obligations under UFLPA, OFAC, or CPSC regulations should consult qualified legal counsel before making a transactional decision.
This report is an automated, informational screening tool only. Tiana & Co. is not a licensed customs broker and does not conduct customs business. This report does not constitute legal advice, a compliance determination, or a certification of admissibility for any supplier, product, or shipment.
Verdicts in this report are produced by deterministic code, not by a language model. The explanatory paragraph accompanying each check is model-generated and checked against the cited sources before delivery. No part of this report is reviewed by a person before it is issued, so every material finding and citation should be confirmed against the underlying government source before it is relied on.
This report reflects data available as of the report date. The OFAC SDN and Consolidated lists, the other U.S. Consolidated Screening List constituents, the UFLPA Entity List, CBP withhold release orders, CPSC's eFiling list, and regulatory guidance are updated frequently and without prior notice. Users should re-screen periodically and consult qualified counsel for compliance decisions.
Name-similarity results do not establish or rule out the identity of any company. Where multiple similarly named records exist, none should be treated as confirmed without independent verification against the primary government source.
This tool is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a substitute for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, or any other government agency. No warranty is made as to the accuracy, completeness, or currency of any finding.
Use of this report for import, procurement, sanctions-compliance, or investment decisions is at the user's own risk. Anyone with compliance obligations under UFLPA, OFAC, or CPSC regulations should consult qualified legal counsel before making a transactional decision.