How to Enter Goods Into a Bonded Warehouse: The Type 21 Warehouse Entry, Step by Step (2026)

How to Enter Goods Into a Bonded Warehouse: The Type 21 Warehouse Entry, Step by Step (2026)

Every article on this site about duty deferral, tariff timing and the rate-on-withdrawal rule assumes the goods are already sitting in a bonded warehouse. This one covers the step before that: how a container that just landed at the Port of Charleston — or crossed at Detroit, or railed in from Savannah — actually gets *into* bond, who files what, what CBP checks, what it costs at the door, and the handful of mistakes that turn a routine warehouse entry into a General Order problem.

The short version: a bonded warehouse entry is a Type 21 entry on CBP Form 7501, filed by your customs broker in ACE the same way a consumption entry is, with the same classification, valuation and documentation — except that no duty is deposited. Duty is calculated and paid later, at the rate in effect on the day you withdraw. That single difference is why importers bond cargo during a tariff transition, and it is also why CBP treats the warehouse entry with the same seriousness as a consumption entry.

What a warehouse entry is — and what it is not

Under 19 U.S.C. 1557 and 19 CFR Part 144, imported merchandise may be entered for warehousing and stored in a CBP-bonded warehouse for up to five years from the date of importation without payment of duty. During that period the goods are in CBP's constructive custody: they are physically in a private facility, but they are not in U.S. commerce, and they leave the warehouse only on a withdrawal that CBP has authorized.

Three things a warehouse entry does not do:

- It does not fix the duty rate. Rate is assessed on the withdrawal date, not the entry date. Goods bonded under a 10% surcharge and withdrawn after it expires pay zero surcharge; goods bonded under a 25% rate and withdrawn after it rises to 50% pay 50%. The rule cuts both ways, which the Section 338 scope changes on September 15 illustrate line by line. - It does not exempt the goods from admissibility rules. Goods barred from importation cannot be warehoused. Goods subject to a UFLPA detention, an FDA hold or an AD/CVD order remain subject to those regimes; bonding changes where they sit while the question is resolved, not whether the question exists. - It does not let you skip classification. The 7501 for a Type 21 carries the full HTS classification and entered value. CBP can examine, request documents and, at withdrawal, liquidate against that declaration. An importer who bonds cargo hoping to "sort out the HTS later" has misunderstood the instrument.

For the broader case for bonding — cash-flow deferral, re-export without duty, avoiding a tariff that is about to expire — see the bonded warehouse guide and the FTZ versus bonded warehouse comparison. This article assumes you have decided to bond and want to know how.

Who has to be in place before the container lands

1. A CBP-bonded warehouse with capacity. Bonded warehouses are licensed by class under 19 CFR 19.1. For most importers the relevant classes are Class 3 (public bonded warehouse, open to any importer's goods) and Class 8 (bonded for cleaning, sorting, repacking or otherwise changing the condition of goods, but not manufacturing). Class 11 is the General Order warehouse — where unclaimed cargo goes, not where you choose to put it. Ask the facility for its class, its CBP-issued warehouse number (your broker needs it on the 7501) and whether it also holds a Class 8 designation if you expect to relabel or repack in bond. Confirm the facility has room *before* the vessel arrives; a bonded warehouse that is full on the day your free time expires is not a plan.

2. An importer of record with a valid continuous bond. The importer's Activity Code 1 continuous bond covers the warehouse entry the same way it covers a consumption entry. Two wrinkles matter here. First, the bond sufficiency formula uses duties, taxes and fees paid over the prior twelve months — and because bonded goods pay nothing at entry, a large program of warehouse entries can leave the bond looking smaller than the liability sitting behind it. CBP can and does issue insufficiency notices on that basis; size the bond for what you will eventually withdraw, using the Customs Bond Calculator as a starting point. Second, the IOR number itself has to be clean: CBP begins voiding importer numbers with deficient Form 5106 data on September 18, 2026, and a voided IOR cannot file the Type 21 or the later withdrawal.

3. The warehouse proprietor's bond. The facility posts its own Activity Code 2 bond to CBP covering the goods in its custody. You do not file this, but it is why the warehouse — not you — is answerable to CBP for shortages, unauthorized removals and record-keeping failures while the goods are inside. A serious bonded operator will show you its bond and its most recent CBP compliance review without being pushed.

4. A customs broker who files Type 21 entries routinely. Warehouse entries are a small fraction of total entry volume, and a broker who files three a year is more likely to miss the warehouse number, the bonded-status flag or the withdrawal follow-through than one who files them weekly. Ask.

The document set

The Type 21 entry uses the same commercial documents as a consumption entry. Your broker will need, at minimum:

- Bill of lading (ocean or truck) or air waybill, with the container and seal numbers. - Commercial invoice meeting 19 CFR 141.86 — seller, buyer, description, quantity, unit price, currency, terms of sale, country of origin. - Packing list with piece counts per pallet or carton, which becomes the basis for the warehouse's receiving tally. - ISF (10+2) already on file for ocean cargo — a late or missing ISF generates a hold and a penalty regardless of the entry type. - Any partner-government-agency data the HTS triggers (FDA prior notice, Lacey, EPA, APHIS). PGA requirements attach at the time of entry into the warehouse, not at withdrawal, so an FDA-regulated product must satisfy prior-notice and registration requirements before it can be bonded. - The bonded warehouse's CBP number and address, which appear on the 7501. - Any section 232, 301 or 338 supporting data — country of smelt and cast for covered copper, steel and aluminum articles, for example. The copper smelt-and-cast reporting requirement is enforced by ACE on the entry summary line, and a Type 21 line is not exempt.

Step by step: from the terminal to the rack

Step 1 — Broker files the entry in ACE. The broker transmits the entry (CBP Form 3461 data) and entry summary (7501, entry type 21) through ACE. The summary shows classification and value for each line but no estimated duty deposit; the Harbor Maintenance Fee on ocean cargo is collected at this point, while the Merchandise Processing Fee is collected on withdrawal. Timing matters: the entry should be filed before or promptly on arrival, because merchandise not entered within 15 calendar days of arrival at the port becomes eligible for General Order under 19 CFR 127.1 — and G.O. is the worst outcome on the board, as the General Order cargo guide explains.

Step 2 — CBP releases the goods to the warehouse. CBP may release electronically or select the entry for examination. An exam on a warehouse entry works the same as on a consumption entry: the container goes to the Centralized Examination Station, the importer pays the exam charges, and demurrage and chassis per diem run while it sits. Once released, the goods are authorized to move to the bonded warehouse under the entry — within the same port, no separate in-bond document is needed. If the bonded warehouse is in a *different* CBP port than the port of arrival — cargo landing at Savannah and bonding in Charleston, say — the broker files an Immediate Transportation (IT) in-bond on CBP Form 7512 to move the goods to the destination port, where the Type 21 is then filed. The in-bond transit guide covers IT, T&E and IE mechanics and the 30-day transit clock.

Step 3 — Drayage to the facility. The container moves from the terminal to the bonded warehouse on a bonded carrier if it is moving under a 7512, or on any carrier if it is moving under the released warehouse entry within the port. In Charleston the practical questions are the same as any drayage move: a terminal appointment, a chassis, and a driver who can make the round trip inside the terminal's free time. The Charleston drayage cost guide has current per-move ranges.

Step 4 — Receipt and tally. The warehouse proprietor receives the goods, breaks the seal under its CBP-approved procedures, counts against the packing list and records the receipt in its bonded inventory system. Any discrepancy between the entered quantity and the received quantity is reported to CBP; a shortage at receipt is the warehouse's problem to document and the importer's problem to explain, so a facility that counts carefully at the door is protecting both parties. This is also where container devanning happens — the 40-foot box is unloaded, palletized if it arrived floor-loaded, and the empty is returned to the terminal to stop per diem. Container devanning cost covers what that step typically runs.

Step 5 — Storage. The goods sit under the proprietor's bond. Storage is billed by the facility, usually per pallet per month; bonded warehouse cost per pallet has the Charleston-market ranges. The five-year clock runs from the date of importation, not the date of entry into the warehouse.

Step 6 — Manipulation, if any. Goods in a Class 8 warehouse may be cleaned, sorted, repacked or relabeled under 19 U.S.C. 1562 with CBP permission on CBP Form 3499. Country-of-origin marking can be corrected in bond, which is the usual reason. Manufacturing is not permitted; that requires an FTZ or a Class 6 manufacturing warehouse.

Step 7 — Withdrawal. Goods leave on one of three instruments: a Type 31 withdrawal for consumption (duty at the rate on that day, plus MPF), a T&E or IE withdrawal on Form 7512 to export without duty, or a Type 22 rewarehouse entry to move the goods to a different bonded warehouse. Partial withdrawals against orders are routine and are the mechanism that turns a bonded warehouse into a cash-flow tool during peak season. The withdrawals guide covers cadence, minimums and the paperwork.

What it costs to enter, and when the duty is actually due

At the door, a warehouse entry costs the broker's entry fee (often modestly higher than a consumption entry because of the bonded-status handling), HMF on ocean cargo, drayage, devanning and the first month's storage. No duty. No MPF.

At withdrawal for consumption, the withdrawal pays general duty, any Section 232, 301, 338 or AD/CVD layer, and MPF — all at the rates and values in effect on the withdrawal date, on the quantity withdrawn. The Duty Deferral Calculator models the carrying cost of bonding against the duty deferred or avoided for a given lot; the Tariff Stacking guide builds the combined rate per HTS line.

Importers bonding a multi-line container during a tariff transition often need a line-by-line view of what each SKU will owe on several possible withdrawal dates. That is a classification-and-duty modeling exercise, and software such as Zonos is built for running it across a full invoice. (Disclosure: this is an affiliate link — FreightFigures may earn a commission if you sign up, at no additional cost to you. See our full affiliate disclosure.)

The five mistakes that cause real damage

1. Missing the 15-day entry window. Waiting for a tariff announcement, a customer decision or a quote while the container sits at the terminal is how cargo ends up in General Order. File the Type 21 and decide later; the entry commits you to nothing except storage.

2. Bonding goods with an unresolved PGA hold. FDA, USDA and EPA requirements attach at entry into the warehouse. A product that cannot clear FDA cannot be bonded to buy time; it can only be held at the terminal, exported or destroyed.

3. Undersizing the continuous bond. Twelve months of warehouse entries that paid nothing at the door produce a bond-sufficiency review that does not reflect the liability. Size the bond for the withdrawals, and revisit it when the tariff rate on bonded goods rises.

4. Confusing the 7512 with the 7501. An IT in-bond moves goods between ports; it is not a warehouse entry. Cargo that arrives at the destination port on a 7512 still needs the Type 21 filed there, within the in-bond's arrival window, or it is again exposed to G.O.

5. Letting the five-year clock run without a plan. Goods still in bond at five years from importation must be withdrawn, exported or they are treated as abandoned. A bonded facility's inventory report should show the importation date on every lot; if yours does not, ask why.

Where this happens in Charleston

Cargo landing at Wando Welch, North Charleston or the Leatherman Terminal can be entered under a Type 21 and drayed to a bonded warehouse within the Charleston port without a separate in-bond move. Cargo arriving by rail at Inland Port Greer or by truck from the northern border moves on an IT and is entered on arrival. C&C Warehouse operates a CBP-bonded and General Order facility minutes from the Port of Charleston, receiving in-bond cargo by truck and rail, with container devanning, transload and cross-dock, and documented bonded inventory control for goods held pending a withdrawal decision or a CBP ruling. If you have a container arriving that you want bonded rather than entered, or a Canadian or overseas lot you want positioned in the Southeast under bond ahead of a tariff date, ask below and include the arrival date and piece count.

The Bottom Line

A bonded warehouse entry is a consumption entry with the duty deposit removed and the rate decision deferred to withdrawal day. The filing is a Type 21 on Form 7501 in ACE, by your broker, with the same documents, classification and PGA obligations as any other entry — plus the facility's CBP warehouse number and a continuous bond sized for the duty you will eventually pay. File inside the 15-day window, dray to a Class 3 facility with capacity, count carefully at the door, and the goods will wait for as long as five years while you decide when, whether and where they enter commerce.

FAQ

What entry type is a bonded warehouse entry? Entry type 21 on CBP Form 7501, filed in ACE by a licensed customs broker. It carries full classification and valuation but no duty deposit. Withdrawals for consumption are filed as entry type 31; transfers between bonded warehouses as type 22.

Do I pay any duty or fees when goods enter a bonded warehouse? No duty and no Merchandise Processing Fee at entry. The Harbor Maintenance Fee on ocean cargo is collected on the warehouse entry. Duty, trade-remedy tariffs and MPF are paid at withdrawal for consumption, at the rates in effect on the withdrawal date.

How long do I have to file the warehouse entry after arrival? Merchandise not entered within 15 calendar days of arrival at the port of entry becomes eligible for General Order. File the Type 21 promptly on arrival; the entry itself commits you only to storage, not to a withdrawal decision.

Can goods move from the port to a bonded warehouse in another city? Yes, on an Immediate Transportation in-bond (CBP Form 7512) filed at the port of arrival. The Type 21 warehouse entry is then filed at the destination port when the goods arrive. Within the same CBP port, the released warehouse entry itself authorizes the move.

Can I repack or relabel goods while they are in bond? In a Class 8 bonded warehouse, yes — cleaning, sorting, repacking and relabeling are permitted under 19 U.S.C. 1562 with CBP approval on Form 3499. Manufacturing is not permitted in a bonded warehouse; that requires a foreign trade zone.

Is there a bonded warehouse near the Port of Charleston that accepts Type 21 entries? Yes. C&C Warehouse is a CBP-bonded and General Order facility minutes from the Port of Charleston, receiving in-bond cargo by truck and rail with container devanning, transload and cross-dock services.

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