The UPS Power of Attorney form authorizes UPS to act as your customs broker when goods you own cross the U.S. border. Federal regulations require any customs broker to hold a valid power of attorney before transacting customs business for you, so the form has to be on file before your first international shipment reaches the border.1eCFR. 19 CFR 141.46 – Power of Attorney Retained by Customhouse Broker Download the PDF from UPS, fill in your business details, get the right person to sign it, and send it back by email, fax, or mail.
Where to Download the Form
UPS publishes the form as a PDF at ups.com/media/en/Power_of_Attorney.pdf.2UPS. UPS Power of Attorney Form Your UPS account representative can also send you a copy. If you ship through UPS Supply Chain Solutions, a separate import/export version with its own terms and conditions is available through that portal.3UPS. Customs (Import/Export) Power of Attorney Both do the same job: naming UPS as your authorized agent for customs transactions.
What to Have Ready Before You Start
Most rejections come from mismatched or missing data. Every round trip pushes your clearance date back, so gather everything before you open the PDF.
- Legal entity name. The exact name on your government filings. A trade name or DBA that doesn’t match your IRS records will bounce.
- Business address. Your principal place of business as registered with federal agencies.
- Tax identification number. A nine-digit EIN for businesses, or a Social Security Number if you’re a sole proprietor. Nonresident aliens without an SSN use an ITIN.4Internal Revenue Service. Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN)
- Entity type. Corporation, LLC, partnership, or sole proprietorship. This determines who can sign.
- State of incorporation or organization. The state whose laws formed the business.
- Names of all partners, if you’re a partnership. Federal regulations require every partner to be listed. A limited partnership only needs to list its general partners unless the partnership agreement says otherwise.5GovInfo. 19 CFR 141.39 – Partnerships
Filling In the Form
The form is short. Most of the work is confirming that what you write matches your IRS records. The top section takes your legal name, address, and tax ID. Below that, you designate UPS as your agent to transact customs business on your behalf.
You can grant either a general or a limited power of attorney.6eCFR. 19 CFR 141.31 – General Requirements and Definitions A general POA gives UPS full authority to handle all of your customs business: classifying goods, determining tariffs, paying duties, signing entry documents, and responding to CBP inquiries. A limited POA restricts UPS to specific transactions or types of goods. Most commercial shippers grant a general POA to avoid executing a new document for every shipment or commodity.
Nonresident individuals and foreign corporations have additional requirements: the agent designated must be a U.S. resident who can accept legal service of process, and unqualified foreign corporations need documentation of the signer’s authority.7eCFR. 19 CFR 141.36 – Nonresident Principals in General8eCFR. 19 CFR 141.37 – Additional Requirements for Nonresident Corporations
Who Can Sign
The authorized signer depends on how your business is organized. This is the most common thing people get wrong.
Corporations and LLCs
A duly authorized officer must sign. UPS accepts signatures from a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Corporate Secretary, CEO, CFO, CIO, or COO.9UPS. UPS Power of Attorney Form By signing, that person attests they have authority to grant the power of attorney for the company. If your bylaws restrict who can bind the company to third-party agreements, confirm the signer actually has that authority before the form goes out.
Partnerships
Any one general partner can execute the POA for the whole firm.5GovInfo. 19 CFR 141.39 – Partnerships The document must list every partner, though a limited partnership only lists its general partners. A limited partner who isn’t also a general partner cannot sign unless the partnership agreement grants that authority.
Sole Proprietors
You sign in your own name. Your SSN goes in the tax ID field, or your EIN if you have one for the business.10Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your EIN The name of the signer and the business name should match your IRS records either way.
Does an Electronic Signature Work
Federal regulations don’t prohibit electronic signatures on a customs power of attorney. CBP treats a POA as a private agreement between the importer and the broker, so its validity turns on the applicable state law. Under federal law, electronic signatures in interstate or foreign commerce can’t be denied legal effect simply because they’re electronic.11Customs Mobile. HQ H297978 Some states, however, carve powers of attorney out of their electronic signature statutes. If you’re not sure how your state treats them, a wet-ink signature on a printed form removes the question. UPS still has to keep the original in a readable format and produce it if CBP asks.1eCFR. 19 CFR 141.46 – Power of Attorney Retained by Customhouse Broker
CBP doesn’t require a corporate seal, notarization, or witness for a customs POA. Some companies apply a seal as internal policy, but it isn’t mandatory.
How to Submit the Form
Once the form is signed and dated, send it to UPS through any of the following:
- Email: Scan the signed form and send to UPSPOAEXPORT@UPS.COM.
- Fax: 1-888-895-4189.
- Mail: UPS, 1930 Bishop Lane, Suite 600, Louisville, KY 40218.2UPS. UPS Power of Attorney Form
You can also hand the form to your UPS account representative and let them route it. If you’re using UPS Supply Chain Solutions, that version may print different submission instructions on the document itself; follow those instead.
Expect a confirmation once the brokerage team links the POA to your shipping account. If your legal name or tax ID doesn’t match federal records, the form comes back for correction and any shipments already moving will stall. Storage charges accumulate at the destination facility while that happens. UPS Air Cargo, for example, charges $0.10 per kilogram per day with a $25 minimum, starting as soon as 24 hours after notification.12UPS Air Cargo. U.S. Accessorial Rate Chart
How Long It Lasts and How to Revoke It
A POA granted by a partnership expires no later than two years from the date it’s signed. Corporations, LLCs, and sole proprietors can grant one for an unlimited period.13eCFR. 19 CFR 141.34 – Duration of Power of Attorney Partnerships should calendar a renewal before the two-year mark; otherwise shipments will hold at the border.
You can revoke the POA at any time by giving written notice to CBP at the port of entry, or electronically.14eCFR. 19 CFR 141.35 – Revocation of Power of Attorney Notify UPS separately. CBP receiving the revocation doesn’t update UPS’s internal records. If you’re switching brokers, sign the new broker’s POA before you revoke the UPS one so no in-transit shipment gets caught in a coverage gap.
Does This Form Cover Exports
The UPS POA isn’t only for imports. UPS also needs authorization to prepare and submit Electronic Export Information on your behalf when you ship out of the United States.15UPS. Submit Paperless International Documents to UPS Some versions of the UPS form cover both import and export authority in a single document. If the version you downloaded addresses imports only, ask your account representative for the combined import/export form so you don’t have to sign a second one later.
Your Liability for What UPS Files
Once UPS acts under this power of attorney, the declarations it makes to CBP are legally binding on you. If those declarations contain false information, whether from bad data you supplied or an error further along, you face civil penalties. The tiers scale with fault:16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 1592 – Penalties for Fraud, Gross Negligence, and Negligence
- Negligence: up to two times the duties and fees lost, or 20 percent of the dutiable value if no revenue was affected.
- Gross negligence: up to four times the lost duties and fees, or 40 percent of dutiable value if no revenue was affected.
- Fraud: up to the full domestic value of the merchandise.
These penalties fall on the principal, which is you, not UPS. The POA makes UPS your agent; it does not transfer your responsibility for the accuracy of what UPS files. Verify commodity descriptions, values, and country-of-origin data before handing them off. If you find an error after a shipment has cleared, disclosing it to CBP before an investigation opens can materially reduce the penalty.