CBP Form 3499 is the application you file with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to get permission to clean, sort, repack, or otherwise change the condition of goods held in a bonded warehouse. Download the current version (revised July 2025) as a free PDF from the CBP forms page, complete it using your original entry and shipping documents, and file it with the port director who has jurisdiction over the warehouse where your goods sit.1U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form 3499 – Application and Approval to Manipulate, Examine, Sample, or Transfer Goods Once the port director signs it, the same document becomes your permit.
What the Form Authorizes
The form’s full title is “Application and Approval to Manipulate, Examine, Sample, or Transfer Goods,” so it covers a few related operations. For manipulation specifically, 19 CFR 19.11 groups the allowed work into three categories: packing or repacking (including breaking bulk shipments into retail units), sorting and grading by quality or size, and cleaning to remove dust or contaminants.2eCFR. 19 CFR Part 19 – Customs Warehouses, Container Stations and Control of Merchandise Therein
The statutory line, drawn at 19 U.S.C. 1562, is that goods may be changed in condition but not manufactured.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 1562 – Manipulation in Warehouse If the work would give the product a new name, character, or use, Form 3499 is the wrong vehicle. Manipulation that lowers the duty rate is expressly permitted, so a sort or repack that reduces the dutiable quantity or shifts the classification is not a problem.4eCFR. 19 CFR 19.11 – Manipulation in Bonded Warehouses and Elsewhere
Completing the Fields
Most of what the form asks for comes directly off your original entry summary and bill of lading. Consistency matters. When a name, number, or mark on Form 3499 does not match what CBP already has on file, the application tends to come back.5U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form 3499 Application and Approval to Manipulate, Examine, Sample or Transfer Goods
- Permission is requested to. Describe the exact operation in plain, specific terms. “Repack 200 cartons of ceramic tiles from palletized bulk into retail boxes of 10 tiles each” works. “Repack goods” does not. The port director uses this description to decide whether the work qualifies as manipulation or crosses into manufacturing.
- Goods consigned to. The consignee, usually the importer or buyer named on the entry.
- Goods exported from. Country of origin or export.
- Port, port code, and date of application. The port where the goods are located, its assigned code, and the filing date.
- Location of goods. Name and address of the bonded warehouse holding the merchandise.
- Carrier or ship. The vessel, airline, or carrier that brought the goods in. This must match manifest records.
- Bill of lading or CBP 7512 number. The shipping document number, or the in-bond number if the goods moved between ports.
- Is area bonded. A yes-or-no confirmation that the storage location holds bonded status.
- Entry information. Entry number and entry date from your CBP Form 7501 or its electronic equivalent.
- Entry type. Whether the goods were entered for warehouse or for consumption.
- Marks and numbers. The identifying marks and package numbers printed on the containers. They must match the physical markings so CBP officers can find the right lots.
- Description. What the goods are, the quantity, and their physical characteristics.
- Manipulated value. The anticipated value of the goods after the work is complete.
Signing and Filing
The form has two signature blocks. You sign the first as the applicant. The second is left blank until the CBP officer reviews and approves the application; that signature is what turns the application into a permit.5U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form 3499 Application and Approval to Manipulate, Examine, Sample or Transfer Goods The warehouse proprietor has no signature block on this form, though the proprietor carries independent recordkeeping duties once work begins.
File the completed form with the port director who has jurisdiction over the warehouse or other designated place where the manipulation will occur.4eCFR. 19 CFR 19.11 – Manipulation in Bonded Warehouses and Elsewhere No work can start until the permit is issued. Do not plan to submit the application on the same day you want to begin.
Blanket Approvals for Recurring Work
If you run the same manipulation on incoming shipments as a matter of course, a new form for each lot is not necessary. The port director can approve a blanket Form 3499 covering continuous or repetitive manipulation for up to one year.4eCFR. 19 CFR 19.11 – Manipulation in Bonded Warehouses and Elsewhere
The recordkeeping load rises in exchange. Under a blanket permit, the warehouse proprietor must maintain a running record of every operation performed: quantities before and after, marks and numbers of the packages involved, location within the facility, and a description of the goods before and after the work. The port director can revoke a blanket approval at any time and require lot-by-lot applications if that becomes necessary to protect the revenue or enforce trade rules.
Manipulation Outside a Bonded Warehouse
The statute allows manipulation outside a bonded warehouse in limited circumstances. Goods that have remained in continuous customs custody can be manipulated elsewhere when neither revenue protection nor the orderly conduct of customs business requires the work to happen inside a warehouse.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 1562 – Manipulation in Warehouse The work still takes place under customs supervision and at the consignee’s risk and expense, and Form 3499 still goes to the same port director. One added condition: the merchandise must have been regularly entered for consumption or warehouse and must belong to a class entitled to the warehousing privilege.4eCFR. 19 CFR 19.11 – Manipulation in Bonded Warehouses and Elsewhere
The Officer’s Report and Withdrawal
Page two of the form is reserved for the CBP officer’s report on the completed work. The supervising officer records whether the manipulation was carried out as requested, and, for repacked goods, documents the marks and numbers of the repacked packages along with their weights or measurements after repacking.5U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form 3499 Application and Approval to Manipulate, Examine, Sample or Transfer Goods That report ties the manipulated goods back to the original entry in the permanent record.
Withdrawals follow standard warehouse procedures. Each withdrawal must include a summary statement showing the quantity in the warehouse account after manipulation and immediately before withdrawal, the quantity being withdrawn, and the quantity remaining. No withdrawal may cover less than an entire repacked package.4eCFR. 19 CFR 19.11 – Manipulation in Bonded Warehouses and Elsewhere
How Manipulation Affects Duty
Duty on manipulated goods withdrawn for consumption is assessed on the condition, quantity, and weight of the merchandise at the time of withdrawal, not at the time of original entry. The appraised value is adjusted to reflect the change in condition.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 U.S. Code 1562 – Manipulation in Warehouse Sorting a mixed shipment into higher- and lower-grade lots means each lot is assessed on its own post-manipulation condition and value. Removing waste or damaged material through sorting reduces the dutiable quantity, and repacking into different units can shift the weight basis for assessment.