How Long Can a Package Stay in Customs? Holds, Seizures, and Cutoffs

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has up to 30 days from the moment a package is first presented for examination to make a final decision on whether it can enter the country. That is the outer limit for a routine hold. Most shipments clear in a few business days; packages that get seized or move into forfeiture proceedings can stay out of your hands for months. How long a package can stay in customs, then, really depends on which track it lands on: quick clearance, formal detention, or seizure.¹

The 5-Day, 5-Day, 30-Day Clock

Federal regulations set specific deadlines at each stage. Within five business days of a package being presented for examination, CBP has to decide whether to release it or formally detain it.² If CBP detains it, the agency has another five business days to send the importer written notice explaining why.

From the date the package was first presented, CBP then has 30 days total to make a final call on whether the goods can come in.¹ If CBP misses that 30-day mark without acting, the law treats the silence as a decision to exclude the merchandise, and the importer can file a formal protest.

Those are the ceilings, not the norm. Express carriers like FedEx, UPS, and DHL usually have brokers pre-filing paperwork electronically, and clean shipments can clear the same day they land. USPS international mail takes longer because it moves through a postal sorting facility, then a CBP mail branch for examination, and that handoff adds days even when nothing is wrong.³

Why the Reason for the Hold Drives the Timeline

A package flagged for a paperwork problem clears as soon as the paperwork gets fixed. A package flagged for suspected counterfeits or restricted goods sits until CBP is satisfied, or gets seized. The trigger matters more than the calendar.

Incomplete or Inaccurate Paperwork

This is the single most common cause of delay. Every shipment needs a commercial invoice with an adequate description of the goods, quantities, values, and the correct tariff classification.⁴ A vague description like “gift” or “samples,” a missing invoice, or a suspiciously low declared value will get a package pulled for review. Submitting corrected paperwork usually resolves it quickly, but the 5-day and 30-day windows keep running while CBP waits on you.

Restricted or Prohibited Items

CBP enforces import restrictions for roughly 40 other federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the CDC.⁵ Prohibited items, such as hazardous substances or dangerous toys, get seized outright. Restricted items, including certain fruits and vegetables, animal products, and firearms, need the right federal license or permit before they can enter.⁶ No permit, no entry.

Suspected Counterfeits

CBP screens for merchandise bearing counterfeit trademarks or infringing copyrights. If your package is suspected of carrying knockoffs of a brand recorded with the agency, CBP can detain it for up to 30 days.⁷ You’ll get notice within five business days and seven business days to prove the goods are real. Fail, and CBP seizes them.

Unpaid Duties

Nothing gets released until duties and taxes are paid. Importers with delinquent balances can see future shipments blocked until they settle up and prepay estimated duties upfront.⁸ For international mail, the postal service collects duties on delivery. If nobody claims or pays within 30 days, the package heads back to the sender.³

Random or Targeted Inspections

Even a perfectly documented, perfectly legal package can be pulled for a random inspection. You’ll know afterward because CBP reseals inspected packages with colored tape reading “Examined by CBP.”³ Random pulls rarely add more than a few days. Targeted inspections based on risk profiling can take longer.

Why More Packages Are Getting Held in 2025

If you’ve bought inexpensive items from overseas retailers before and never dealt with customs charges, the rules changed. Executive Order 14324, signed on July 30, 2025, suspended the de minimis provision that had let packages valued under $800 enter duty-free since 2016.⁹ As of August 29, 2025, every dutiable package entering the country is subject to duties regardless of value.

Non-postal shipments now need formal customs entries filed electronically, and postal shipments face duty rates set by the tariff schedule.⁹ More paperwork, more assessments, more packages in the queue. Waits that would have been trivial two years ago can now run longer.

Checking Status and Getting a Package Released

Your carrier’s tracking portal is the first place to look. FedEx, UPS, and DHL typically flag when a package is in customs clearance or on hold. USPS tracking is thinner for international mail but will show when a package reaches a U.S. facility.

Before calling anyone, pull together the tracking number, a description of the contents, the declared value, and the sender’s details. Then call your carrier, not CBP. Express carriers act as customs brokers for their own shipments and can tell you exactly why the package is held and what CBP needs. USPS mail is less transparent because USPS hands off to CBP and may not have live visibility into the examination.³ CBP does not field tracking inquiries from individual recipients; the agency communicates through carriers, or directly with you only when it issues a formal detention or seizure notice.

What you do next depends on the reason for the hold, and speed matters because the 30-day clock keeps ticking:

For unpaid duties on an express shipment, pay through the carrier’s portal or authorize collection on delivery. For USPS mail, take the notice to the post office and pay there. Wait past 30 days and it goes back to the sender.³
For missing paperwork, get the corrected invoice or permit to your carrier fast. Each day of delay is a day the package sits.
For restricted goods, produce the federal license or permit through your carrier. If you can’t get one, the goods won’t be admitted.
For a random inspection, wait. These usually clear themselves in a few days.

When a Hold Becomes a Seizure

Detention and seizure are not the same thing. Detained goods are being held while CBP decides. Seized goods have already been taken because CBP has determined they violate the law. If your package gets seized, you’ll receive a written Notice of Seizure explaining what was taken and why.¹⁰

From that point, you have three routes. You can file a petition for relief within 30 days of the notice being mailed, asking CBP to return the goods or reduce the forfeiture amount. You can file a claim within 35 days to contest the seizure in court under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act, which forces the government to prove its case before a judge. Or you can propose a settlement through an offer in compromise at any point before forfeiture is finalized.¹⁰

Do nothing and CBP executes a Declaration of Administrative Forfeiture, permanently transferring the goods to the government. Forfeited items are destroyed, retained for government use, or sold at auction.¹¹ Start to finish, seizure into forfeiture can run several months, particularly if you file a petition and CBP denies it.

The 30-Day Cutoff for Unclaimed Mail

One deadline is worth knowing regardless of why a package is held. If international mail sits unclaimed at a post office or CBP mail branch for 30 days, it’s returned to the sender, unless the recipient is actively protesting the duty assessment.³ That window is firm. If you’re disputing a charge, file the protest before day 30 or the package ships back overseas and the question is moot.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 U.S. Code 1499 – Examination of Merchandise
2
eCFR. 19 CFR 151.16 – Detention of Merchandise
3
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP – Processing International Mail
4
eCFR. 19 CFR 142.6 – Invoice Requirements
5
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Moving to the United States – What Is the Process in Bringing Prohibited or Restricted Goods/Firearms
6
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Prohibited and Restricted Items
7
eCFR. 19 CFR 133.21 – Articles Suspected of Bearing Counterfeit Marks
8
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Importer Sanctions
9
The White House. Continuing the Suspension of Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries
10
Federal Register. Administrative Forfeiture New Publication Timeline for the Notice of Seizure and Intent to Forfeit
11
eCFR. 19 CFR Part 162 Subpart E – Treatment of Seized Merchandise