If you are exporting goods from the United States, Electronic Export Information filing requirements generally kick in when a single commodity code in your shipment is worth more than $2,500, or whenever the goods need an export license regardless of value. The filing goes through the AESDirect application inside the Automated Commercial Environment portal, and the deadline depends on how the cargo leaves the country: 24 hours before vessel loading, two hours before an aircraft or train departs, one hour before a truck reaches the border. The Census Bureau uses the data for trade statistics; Customs and Border Protection uses it to screen for national security and export-control risks.
When You Have To File
The core rule sits in 15 CFR Part 30. You must file EEI whenever the goods shipped under a single Schedule B or Harmonized Tariff Schedule commodity code are worth more than $2,500. The threshold applies per commodity code, not per shipment. A pallet holding $2,000 of one product and $3,000 of another triggers a filing only for the second product.1eCFR. 15 CFR Part 30 – Foreign Trade Regulations
Two situations require filing no matter the value. Any shipment that needs a license from the Bureau of Industry and Security or the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls must have EEI on file before it leaves.2eCFR. 15 CFR 30.16 – Export Administration Regulations Shipments between the United States and Puerto Rico, and from the United States to the U.S. Virgin Islands, also fall under the same filing requirements.1eCFR. 15 CFR Part 30 – Foreign Trade Regulations
A note on Canada: exports where Canada is the final destination are generally exempt. That exemption disappears if the goods are stored in Canada before moving to a third country, transit Canada en route elsewhere, or require an export license.3eCFR. 15 CFR 30.36 – Exemption for Shipments Destined to Canada
One nuance on the low-value exemption worth flagging: items of domestic origin and foreign origin classified under the same commodity code are evaluated separately. So $2,000 of domestically made goods and $1,500 of foreign-origin goods under a single code each stay below the line individually and are exempt on that basis, while a mixed pallet where either origin category exceeds $2,500 triggers a filing for that category. Claiming an exemption you are not entitled to carries the same penalties as failing to file.4eCFR. 15 CFR 30.37 – Miscellaneous Exemptions
What Information Goes Into the Filing
AESDirect walks you through data fields across several tabs. Gathering the information first makes the process much faster.
The Parties
The U.S. Principal Party in Interest (USPPI) is the person or company in the United States that benefits most from the export, usually the seller. You provide the USPPI’s Employer Identification Number. If the USPPI has more than one EIN, use the one tied to employee wage reporting rather than a separate earnings-only number.5eCFR. 15 CFR 30.6 – Electronic Export Information Data Elements
The ultimate consignee is whoever finally receives the goods abroad. You need their full name and physical address, plus a classification of their role: direct consumer (using the goods, not reselling), government entity, reseller or distributor, or other/unknown.5eCFR. 15 CFR 30.6 – Electronic Export Information Data Elements
Product Classification
Every commodity gets a ten-digit Schedule B number, the standard classification for U.S. exports. You can substitute the Harmonized Tariff Schedule code in most cases, though certain tariff schedule headnotes restrict that option. If your product falls under the Export Administration Regulations, you also provide its Export Control Classification Number (ECCN), which flags items with potential dual-use applications. Products not controlled under a specific ECCN are designated “EAR99.”5eCFR. 15 CFR 30.6 – Electronic Export Information Data Elements
Routed Exports
When a foreign buyer arranges the shipping, the transaction is a “routed export.” The foreign principal party in interest (FPPI) authorizes a U.S.-based agent to handle the EEI filing, and the agent needs a power of attorney or written authorization to do it. The U.S. seller still has to hand over accurate commodity, value, and other data listed in Appendix C of Part 30. Neither side can assume the other has it covered. The regulations call for continuous communication between the parties.6eCFR. 15 CFR 30.3 – Electronic Export Information Filer Requirements, Parties to Export Transactions, and Responsibilities of Parties to Export Transactions
Registering and Submitting Through AESDirect
All EEI filings go through the AESDirect application inside the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) portal, run jointly by the Census Bureau and Customs and Border Protection. You need an ACE account before you can file.
Confirm first that your company does not already have an ACE top account. If a customs broker or other agent has linked your EIN to their account, you will be blocked from creating a separate one. You designate a Trade Account Owner (who does not have to be the company’s owner), then submit the exporter application through CBP’s portal. Once approved, the Trade Account Owner receives login credentials by email.7U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Applying for an ACE Secure Data Portal Account
Inside AESDirect you fill out the data fields, review a summary screen, and submit. Real-time validation flags logical errors or missing information. When the filing is accepted, you receive an Internal Transaction Number (ITN), an alphanumeric code confirming Census has the data and the shipment can proceed. Keep every ITN. It is your proof of filing for compliance audits, and you must provide it to the exporting carrier before departure.8U.S. Census Bureau. How to Receive an Internal Transaction Number (ITN) Through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE)
Deadlines by Mode of Transport
Deadlines track how the cargo physically leaves the country. Miss one and your goods may sit at the port or border while everything gets sorted out.
- Vessel (ocean): at least 24 hours before the cargo is loaded onto the ship at the U.S. port.
- Air, including express couriers: no later than two hours before the aircraft’s scheduled departure.
- Truck, including express consignment couriers: no later than one hour before the truck arrives at the U.S. border.
- Rail: no later than two hours before the train arrives at the U.S. border.
- U.S. Postal Service: no later than two hours before exportation.
- Pipeline: within four calendar days after the end of the month in which the export occurred.
These windows exist so CBP officers can screen shipments and flag high-risk cargo for physical inspection before it crosses the border.
Post-Departure Filing
If you regularly export and cannot always assemble complete information before departure, which is common with seasonal or agricultural commodities, you can apply for post-departure filing privileges. Approved USPPIs get up to five calendar days after the export date to submit the EEI. Approval is not automatic. You apply through the Census Bureau, which coordinates the review with CBP and other agencies, and a decision comes within 90 days. Census can deny an application for reasons including a history of noncompliance, low filing volume, or an active investigation involving federal export laws. Post-departure filing is never available for shipments requiring an export license or destined for Country Group E countries.10eCFR. 15 CFR 30.5 – Postdeparture Filing
When AES Is Down
If the AES system itself is unavailable, non-licensed predeparture shipments can still leave using an AES downtime citation formatted as “AESDOWN” followed by your Filer ID and the date. You must file the EEI electronically as soon as the system is back up. Licensed shipments and those destined for embargoed countries cannot export during system downtime. You wait until AES is operational.11U.S. Customs and Border Protection. AES Downtime Policy
Fixing Mistakes After Filing
The regulations require corrections “as soon as possible,” with specific deadlines by error type.12eCFR. 15 CFR 30.9 – Transmitting and Correcting Electronic Export Information
- Fatal errors on predeparture filings must be corrected and resubmitted before the goods export.
- Fatal errors on post-departure filings must be corrected within five calendar days of the export date.
- Warning and verify messages must be corrected within four calendar days of the original transmission.
- Sold-en-route shipments require consignee information updates within four calendar days of the original filing.
To amend an accepted filing, locate the shipment in the AESDirect Shipment Manager and use the amend function. The system retrieves the original record with the ITN, Shipment Reference Number, and Filer ID, and lets you update the fields that need changing.13U.S. Census Bureau. AESDirect User Guide
Recordkeeping
Every party to the export, meaning the USPPI, the foreign principal party, the authorized agent, and the carrier, must retain documents related to the shipment for five years from the date of export. That includes the EEI data itself along with invoices, purchase orders, packing lists, and correspondence. The Census Bureau, CBP, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Bureau of Industry and Security can request these records at any time during that five-year window.14eCFR. 15 CFR 30.10 – Retention of Export Information and the Authority to Require Production of Documents
Census maintains its own database of AES records, but that does not relieve you of the duty to keep your own copies. If another agency, such as the State Department, imposes a longer retention period for certain controlled items, the longer period applies.14eCFR. 15 CFR 30.10 – Retention of Export Information and the Authority to Require Production of Documents
Penalties
Penalties come in two tiers. On the civil side, a late filing can bring a penalty of up to $1,100 for each day it is overdue, capped at $10,000 per violation. Other Part 30 violations that do not fall into the late-filing or more serious categories carry penalties of up to $10,000 per violation. These base amounts are adjusted upward for inflation each year under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act, so the actual dollar figures in any given year run somewhat higher than the statutory floor.1eCFR. 15 CFR Part 30 – Foreign Trade Regulations
Knowingly failing to file, or submitting false information, crosses into criminal territory. The maximum is a $10,000 fine per violation, up to five years in prison, or both. The same penalty applies to anyone who uses AES to further illegal activity. A conviction also triggers forfeiture: the government can seize the exported goods, any property used in the export, and any proceeds from the violation.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 13 USC 305 – Penalties for Unlawful Export Information Activities Honest mistakes stay in the civil lane and get expensive. Once the government can show you knew you were filing late, filing incorrectly, or skipping the filing altogether, the exposure jumps.