How to Fill Out and Submit CBP Form 4811: Special Address Notification

CBP Form 4811, the Special Address Notification, lets an importer of record name an agent to receive courtesy notices of liquidation, duty bills, and refund checks on the importer’s behalf. Filing it is a two-step job: submit the form to your assigned Center of Excellence and Expertise (or add the notify party through the ACE Portal), then make sure the agent’s number is listed on every entry summary you want redirected. CBP typically processes the form within ten business days.¹

What the Form Redirects

Form 4811 covers three specific categories of CBP communication, and you pick which ones the agent should receive:

Courtesy notices of liquidation, which tell you CBP has finalized the duty calculation on an entry. The official notice is still posted on cbp.gov under 19 CFR 159.9; the courtesy notice is the electronic heads-up.²
Bills for supplemental duties, taxes, or other charges CBP issues after reviewing an entry.
Refunds for overpaid duties or fees, whether by check or electronic payment.

The form does not change your address of record for any other purpose. It only routes these financial communications to the agent you designate, which is useful when a broker or an accounting office handles duty payments and reconciliation for you.³

How to Fill Out the Form

Download the current PDF from cbp.gov/document/forms. It’s a single page. Work through it field by field:

Importer of record information. Enter your legal name and importer number exactly as they appear on your entry summaries. Mismatches will cause processing delays.
Notification type. Mark which category the agent should receive: liquidation notices, bills, refunds, or a combination.⁴
Agent’s identifying number. The designated agent needs a number already on file with CBP. That can be an IRS Employer Identification Number, a Social Security Number, or a CBP-assigned number. This is the number that will later tie the notify party to your entry summaries.¹
Agent’s name and full mailing address, including suite or unit, city, state, and ZIP.

If your agent prefers not to use an SSN, an EIN or CBP-assigned number is equally acceptable.

Where to Submit It

You have two routes. Both are valid; pick whichever fits how you already work with CBP.

Email to Your Center of Excellence and Expertise

Complete the PDF and email it to the Center of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) assigned to your account. CBP assigns importers to one of ten Centers based mainly on the tariff classification of the goods they import most.⁵ If you don’t know your assignment, look up the Center whose industry category matches the tariff number of your highest-value commodity. The Center directory is on cbp.gov.

Allow ten business days. CBP will reply by email to confirm the form has been accepted.¹ Don’t start listing the notify party on entry summaries until that confirmation arrives.

ACE Portal

If you have an ACE Portal account, you can add a notify party electronically and skip the PDF:

Log in as the Trade Account Owner.
From the Accounts menu, select Importer and choose the importer account you want to update.
Open the Notify Parties tab and click Add Notify Party.
Select the notification type, enter the notify party’s identifying number, acknowledge the authorization statement, and submit.⁶

The Second Step: List the Agent on Every Entry Summary

A processed Form 4811 sitting in CBP’s system does nothing by itself. Once you have confirmation, the designated agent’s number must appear as the 4811 Notify Party on every future entry summary (CBP Form 7501) you want covered. Whoever files your entries, usually your customs broker, needs the agent’s number and needs to put it in the correct field. Entries filed without that reference will keep sending notices, bills, and refunds to the importer of record’s address on file.³

Changing or Revoking a Notify Party

To change the agent, update an address, or add another notification type, email a revised Form 4811 to your assigned Center or use the ACE Portal’s Add Notify Party feature. To remove a notify party entirely, you have to contact your assigned Center directly. The ACE Portal doesn’t currently support removing or editing existing notify party records.⁷ Without a Center assignment, contact the Center that matches the tariff number of your highest-value commodity.⁶

When a Form 4811 Expires

A Form 4811 on file becomes ineffective if no customs transaction using the importer’s number has been made within three years of the filing date, or if there is no unliquidated entry tied to that number.⁸ If your import activity goes quiet for a stretch, verify the form is still active before assuming your agent will get the next notice.

Why It’s Worth Getting Right Before Entries Flow

Missed duty bills get expensive. CBP charges interest on delinquent duty payments, and for the first quarter of 2026 the underpayment rate is seven percent for both corporations and individuals.⁹ If a bill goes to an outdated address because no Form 4811 is on file, or because the entry summary didn’t list the notify party, the importer of record is still liable. CBP doesn’t waive interest because the notice didn’t reach you; the official liquidation is posted on cbp.gov, and that posting is the legal evidence of liquidation.² Get the agent designated, confirmed, and listed on your entry summaries before shipments start moving.

1
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CSMS 62234804 – CBP Form 4811, Special Address Notification, Procedural Guidance
2
eCFR. 19 CFR 159.9 – Notice of Liquidation and Date of Liquidation for Formal Entries
3
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form 4811 – Special Address Notification
4
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form 4811 Special Address Notification
5
eCFR. 19 CFR 101.10 – Centers of Excellence and Expertise
6
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. ACE Portal Notify Party Information
7
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Cargo Systems Messaging Service
8
Federal Register. Electronic Refunds
9
Federal Register. Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in Calculating Interest on Overdue Accounts and Refunds of Customs Duties