How to Fill Out and Submit CBP Form 400: ACH Debit Application

CBP Form 400 is the ACH Debit enrollment application that authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection to withdraw duties, taxes, and fees directly from your bank account through the Automated Clearing House network. You fill out three sections of a fillable PDF (Request, Payer Information, and Banking Information), sign it, and send it to CBP’s Revenue Division by email or mail. New applications take up to 15 business days to process from the date CBP receives them.¹

Make Sure You Actually Want ACH Debit

CBP runs two electronic payment programs, and each has its own enrollment form. Form 400 covers ACH Debit, where CBP pulls funds from your account once you transmit payment authorization through your entry filing software.² If you would rather instruct your own bank to push each payment to CBP before the settlement date, that is ACH Credit, and it uses Form 401 instead.³ Everything below applies only to Form 400.

What You Need Before You Start

The form itself is a fillable PDF on CBP.gov.⁴ Have these ready before you open it:

Your 11-digit importer number (9-digit EIN plus a 2-digit suffix, usually “00” if your company is not a subsidiary), or your 3-character self-filer or broker ID.
The company name and address as registered with CBP.
A contact name, email, and phone number. A shared department email is fine.
Your bank name, 9-digit ACH routing number, and account number, confirmed directly with the bank. Some banks use a different routing number for ACH than the one printed on checks.

Banking errors are the most common reason applications stall, and CBP holds you responsible for what you enter, so verify the routing and account numbers with the bank rather than reading them off a check.²

Filling Out the Form

Request Section

Pick one action type at the top:

Add — for initial enrollment.
Change — to update payer or banking details on an existing enrollment. Include an effective date (today or later) and your existing Payer Unit Number (PUN).
Delete — to cancel enrollment. Include an effective date and your PUN.

The effective date controls when CBP processes a Change or Delete, not the date the form arrives.⁴

Payer Information

Identify your company using one field, not both. Use the Importer Number/Tax ID field if you file under an 11-digit importer number (formatted XX-XXXXXXX00). Use the Self-Filer/Broker ID field if you file under a 3-character broker or self-filer code. Filling in both, or picking the one that does not match how you file entries, will delay processing.⁴

The rest of this section is company name and address, contact name, email, and phone. The contact person is who CBP will notify when your PUN is ready and who they will reach out to about future account issues.⁴

Banking Information

Three fields link CBP to the account:

Bank name — the institution holding the account.
Bank routing number — a 9-digit U.S. ACH routing number that begins with 0, 1, 2, or 3. Numbers starting with other digits are for internal bank use and will not work for ACH.
Bank account number — the full U.S. account number.

Confirm both numbers with the bank.

Signature

Someone with authority to bind the company signs. CBP does not require a specific title such as CEO or CFO; the signer just needs actual authority to submit the request. Handwritten signatures, Adobe secured digital signatures, and computer-generated signatures are all accepted.⁴

Submitting the Form

You have two options. Email is faster and is what CBP recommends: send the completed PDF to ACH-Customs@cbp.dhs.gov. If you prefer to mail it, the address is U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Revenue Division – ACH Team, 8899 East 56th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46249. Questions before submitting go to the ACH team at (317) 298-1200 ext. 1098.¹

What Happens After You Submit

Processing takes up to 15 business days from the date CBP receives your form.¹ During that window CBP verifies your tax identification and validates your banking details against the ACH network.

Once approved, CBP assigns a unique Payer Unit Number and sends it to the contact person you listed. CBP also provides the PUN to the Treasury-designated ACH processor. The PUN is what tells the ACH network which account to debit, so if you use a broker, pass the number along so they can include it on entries filed for you.⁵ Keep the number secure. Using the wrong PUN on an entry sends the debit to the wrong account.

Enrollment alone does not trigger any withdrawal. CBP debits your account only after you transmit payment authorization through your entry filing, and the statement total you authorize must match CBP’s records exactly, or the transaction will not process.²

Whitelist CBP at Your Bank

Many business accounts run ACH debit filters that reject withdrawals from unrecognized originators. Before your first live debit, contact your bank and ask them to authorize CBP as an ACH originator. Otherwise your bank’s fraud controls may silently reject CBP’s debit attempts. If the confirmation you receive after enrollment does not include CBP’s originator ID, request it from the ACH team using the email or phone number above.

Changing or Canceling Later

Whenever your banking information changes, file a new Form 400 with “Change” selected, your existing PUN, and the updated details. Pick an effective date that gives CBP room to process the change before your next entry is due; submitting the day before a duty payment invites a rejected transaction.⁴

To end enrollment, file the form with “Delete” and an effective date. That removes the account from future debit authorizations but does not erase outstanding obligations. If your company’s structure changes and produces a new tax ID or importer number, the old PUN does not carry over, and you file a fresh “Add” application under the new identity.

While a change is pending, plan for a brief gap in your ACH link. CBP accepts certified checks, cashier’s checks, and money orders as alternative payment methods, so having a backup ready keeps a payment gap from turning into interest charges or holds on your shipments.⁶

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) Debit, Credit, and Refund Procedures
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Automated Clearinghouse (ACH)
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form 401 – ACH Credit Application
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form 400 – ACH Debit Application
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eCFR. 19 CFR 24.25 – Statement Processing and Automated Clearinghouse
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eCFR. 19 CFR 24.1 – Collection of Customs Duties, Taxes, Fees, Interest, and Other Charges