CBP Form 3495: Filing, Examination, and TIB Closure

CBP Form 3495, “Application for Exportation of Articles Under Special Bond,” is the document you file with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to record the export of merchandise that entered the country under a Temporary Importation Under Bond (TIB). It is required when CBP designates the outbound shipment for an export examination, and the certified form is what lets you close the TIB entry, cancel the bond, and avoid duties or liquidated damages on goods that were never meant to stay in the United States.

When Form 3495 Is Required

The form is not filed on every TIB closure. It is required when CBP has designated the merchandise for an export examination. In that case you file it with the port director early enough for CBP to inspect and identify the articles before they leave. Regulations do not set a fixed number of hours or days; the standard is simply “sufficient time to perform the examination,” and the port director at the export location decides what that means in practice.¹

Even when CBP does not designate an examination, you still owe the original port of entry satisfactory evidence that the goods left the country. Form 3495 is the standard vehicle for that proof. The formal examination process only engages when CBP flags the shipment, but the paperwork still has to close the loop.

Information You Need to Complete the Form

The form ties your outbound shipment back to the original import entry, so matching details are what matter. You will need:

Your name as the importer, or your broker’s name
The exporting conveyance: vessel name, railroad, or airline and flight number
The scheduled date of departure
The original port of entry and entry number from when the goods were first imported
The country of origin
A detailed description of the articles matching the quantity and value on the original entry documents¹

You must attach a copy of the export invoice describing the articles being shipped out. Supporting shipping documents such as a bill of lading or air waybill help substantiate the actual movement. Keep your original entry summary and TIB entry paperwork within reach, because CBP will compare the export details against what was originally imported.

How Many Copies to File and Where

The filing depends on whether the goods are leaving from the port where they entered or from a different port.

Exporting from the port of entry: file Form 3495 in duplicate with the port director.²
Exporting from a different port: file in triplicate, and include a certified copy of the original import entry or the invoice used at entry.²
Examined at one port, exported from another: file in triplicate. The goods must move to the export port under a transportation and exportation entry.²

If you are exporting by mail or parcel post, the package must be mailed under CBP supervision after examination, and you must endorse a waiver of the right to withdraw the package from the mails on each parcel.² All expenses for delivering articles for examination, cording and sealing, and moving them for export are yours.

What Happens at the Examination

When CBP designates the shipment for examination, the officer inspects the merchandise to confirm that what is leaving matches what came in. The officer checks the articles against the descriptions and quantities on your application and export invoice. Once satisfied, CBP certifies the form and uploads a copy to the Document Imaging System (DIS) for the port of origin.¹

CBP may also verify the fact of exportation after the goods leave, using enforcement procedures to confirm the articles actually departed.² Not every shipment gets that follow-up, but port directors are instructed to order spot checks.

Using the Certified Form to Close the TIB

The certified Form 3495 is your proof that the goods left the country. That certified copy has to reach the original port of entry, which holds the TIB bond, so the entry can be liquidated and the bond canceled. The CBP officer at the export port uploads a copy to DIS for the originating port, but confirming that the port of entry actually has what it needs is ultimately your responsibility as the importer of record.¹

This is where TIB closures fail. Physically exporting the goods is not enough on its own. If the paperwork does not close the loop at the original port within the bond period, CBP can still assess liquidated damages even though the merchandise actually left the country.

Deadlines and Extensions

The initial TIB period is one year from the date of importation, and you can request up to two additional one-year extensions for a maximum of three years total.³ Your export, examination if designated, and the paperwork closing the entry all have to happen inside that window.

Extensions are requested on CBP Form 3173, filed with the Center Director either electronically or on paper.⁴ Two conditions apply: the articles cannot already have been exported or destroyed when CBP receives your application, and liquidated damages cannot already have been assessed under the bond. A request filed after the TIB period has expired gets referred to the Director of the Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division at CBP Headquarters. File early.

What Happens If You Miss the Window

If the TIB articles have not been exported or destroyed within the allowed period, CBP’s Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures Officer issues a written demand for liquidated damages, generally equal to double the estimated duties on the entry. For categories where the bond was set at 110 percent rather than double duties, the demand matches that lower bond amount.⁵ You have 60 days from the demand to file a written petition for relief.

How much relief you get depends on what went wrong, and Form 3495 documentation drives most of it:

Exported on time but paperwork was late: liquidated damages may be reduced to between 1 and 5 percent of the claim, minimum $100.⁶
Exported or destroyed, but after the bond period expired: between 5 and 10 percent, minimum $200.⁶
Failed to obtain the required export examination or destruction supervision: between 10 and 25 percent, minimum $300.⁶
Goods entered U.S. commerce or were sold domestically without being exported: no relief.⁶

The pattern is clear. The closer your situation is to “the goods left on time and I have the certified paperwork,” the more relief CBP offers. If you cannot prove exportation at all, CBP presumes the goods entered domestic commerce and the full amount stands.

If you exported within the bond period but did not get CBP supervision when it was required, you can still seek partial relief by submitting documentary evidence of the actual export, such as a foreign landing certificate, along with a full explanation of why CBP oversight did not happen. The Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures Officer has discretion to reduce or waive damages in that situation.⁷

1
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form 3495 – Application for Exportation of Articles Under Special Bond
2
eCFR. 19 CFR 10.38 – Exportation
3
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Temporary Importation Under Bond
4
Federal Register. Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension; Application for Extension of Bond for Temporary Importation
5
GovInfo. 19 CFR 10.39 – Liquidated Damages
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Mitigation Guidelines: Fines, Penalties, Forfeitures and Liquidated Damages
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eCFR. 19 CFR Part 10 Subpart A – Temporary Importations Under Bond