CBP Form 6059B is the one-page customs declaration you hand to a Customs and Border Protection officer when you arrive in the United States from abroad. It asks who you are, where you’re staying, and whether you’re carrying food, plants, more than $10,000 in cash, or goods you bought overseas. One form covers an entire family traveling together, provided everyone lives in the same household.1U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Traveler Entry Forms Filling it out takes about five minutes. Filling it out wrong can cost you money, your goods, or a long detour through secondary inspection.
Where to Get the Form
Flight attendants usually pass out paper copies during descent. If you don’t get one on the plane, you can pick one up at a kiosk in the arrivals hall or download a fillable PDF from the CBP website before your trip.2U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form 6059B Customs Declaration – English (Fillable) The form is printed in several languages, but your answers must be written in English.
Filling In Your Identifying Information
Write your name exactly as it appears on your passport, along with your date of birth and country of citizenship. Enter the airline and flight number, or the vessel name if you’re arriving by ship. Add the country where your trip began and the U.S. city where you’re clearing customs.
You also need a U.S. address where you’ll be staying. A hotel name and address works. So does a friend’s or relative’s home address.
If your family lives together, use one form for the whole group. Write down how many family members are traveling with you and keep all passports handy, because the officer may ask to see them. When you list what the group bought or received abroad, give the total value for everyone combined, not a separate figure per person.
The Yes or No Declaration Questions
The core of the form is a short checklist. Answer “yes” to anything that applies, even if you think the item is allowed. Declaring something does not mean losing it. Failing to declare it is what triggers penalties. The questions cover:3U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form 6059B Customs Declaration
- Fruits, vegetables, plants, seeds, food, or insects
- Meats, animals, or animal and wildlife products
- Disease agents, cell cultures, or snails
- Soil, or whether you’ve been on a farm, ranch, or pasture
- Close contact with livestock
- Currency or monetary instruments over $10,000, in U.S. or foreign equivalent
- Commercial merchandise, meaning items for sale, samples, or anything that isn’t personal effects
- Whether the primary purpose of your trip is business
Below the checklist is a space to list each item you bought abroad along with its price. Fill it in even if your total is well below the duty-free threshold. The officer uses those figures to decide whether you owe duty and whether your bags need a closer look.
Agricultural Items and Food
Agriculture is where travelers get tripped up most often. Every piece of fruit, every vegetable, every plant, and every seed has to be declared, whether or not it will ultimately be allowed in.4U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Importing Plants and Plant Products CBP agriculture specialists inspect these items separately because a single undeclared orange can carry pests that devastate domestic crops.
Fresh, dried, and canned meats from most foreign countries are prohibited, and that includes prepared foods containing meat, such as bouillon cubes and soup mixes. Bakery items and many hard cheeses generally clear. So do condiments, vinegar, oils, packaged spices, honey, coffee, and tea.5U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Prohibited and Restricted Items Fresh fruits and vegetables are the highest-risk category, with many barred outright and others requiring a USDA permit.
The civil penalty for failing to declare an agricultural item is $300 for a first offense and $500 for a second.5U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Prohibited and Restricted Items For non-commercial quantities, first-offense penalties can reach up to $1,000 depending on the item.6U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Bringing Agricultural Products Into the United States The penalty is not for bringing the item. It’s for not declaring it. Answer “yes” and the inspector may confiscate your mangoes, but you walk away with no fine. Answer “no” and the X-ray catches them, and you’re writing a check.
Currency Over $10,000
If you’re carrying more than $10,000 in currency or monetary instruments, counting everything across the whole family group, you must report it.7eCFR. 31 CFR 1010.340 – Reports of Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments The threshold covers cash in any currency, traveler’s checks, money orders, and other negotiable instruments. Foreign currency is valued at its current U.S. dollar equivalent.
Reporting means filing a separate FinCEN Form 105 at the time of entry. There is no tax or fee for bringing large sums into the country. The government simply wants a record. What triggers serious consequences is failing to report. Under federal law, undeclared monetary instruments are subject to seizure and forfeiture, and criminal penalties can follow.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 5317 – Search and Forfeiture of Monetary Instruments In practice, you could lose the entire amount, not just the portion above $10,000.
Duty-Free Exemptions
The standard personal exemption for a U.S. resident returning from most countries is $800 worth of goods. Coming back from a U.S. insular possession like the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, or American Samoa, the exemption rises to $1,600. A lower $200 exemption applies in narrower cases, such as trips shorter than 48 hours or when you’ve already used your full exemption in the past 30 days.9U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Know Before You Go – Traveling Abroad
Families traveling together can pool exemptions. Four household members who each qualify for $800 share a combined $3,200 allowance, applied to goods regardless of which family member owns them.10U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Family Grouping of Exemptions for Articles Acquired Abroad One catch: the exemption for a family member under 21 cannot be applied to alcoholic beverages.
For goods over your exemption, the first $1,000 above the threshold is taxed at a flat 3 percent of the item’s fair retail value in the country where you bought it. Goods from U.S. insular possessions get a lower flat rate of 1.5 percent. Anything beyond that first $1,000 overage is classified and taxed at the regular tariff rate for that product, which varies widely.11eCFR. 19 CFR Part 148 – Personal Declarations and Exemptions
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Medications
You can bring back one liter of alcohol duty-free if you’re at least 21 and it’s for personal use. Some states allow more than a liter, but you’ll owe customs duty and internal revenue tax on the excess. The tobacco exemption covers up to 200 cigarettes and 100 cigars, also limited to travelers 21 and older.12U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Customs Duty Information Cuban cigars purchased in Cuba face additional restrictions under U.S. sanctions rules.
Prescription and over-the-counter medications need to comply with FDA rules, and controlled substances also fall under DEA rules. Keep medication in its original labeled container and carry a prescription or a doctor’s note written in English. Visitors should bring no more than a 90-day supply for personal use.13U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Traveling With Medication to the United States
Controlled substances, including narcotics, tranquilizers, sleeping pills, stimulants, and antidepressants, must be declared to the officer. You’ll need a prescription or a written physician statement confirming the medication is taken under medical supervision and is needed during travel. A few drugs cannot be brought in at all, even with a foreign prescription. Rohypnol, GHB, and Fen-Phen are specifically prohibited and will be confiscated on the spot.13U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Traveling With Medication to the United States
Skipping the Paper Form
You don’t have to fill out a paper 6059B. Two electronic options handle the same declaration digitally, and both usually move faster than the paper line.
Automated Passport Control kiosks are touchscreen terminals in the arrivals hall. Scan your passport, answer the same declaration questions that appear on the paper form, and take a photo. The kiosk prints a receipt to hand the CBP officer. APC is free, requires no pre-registration, and is open to U.S. and Canadian passport holders as well as travelers from Visa Waiver Program countries.
Mobile Passport Control lets you skip both the paper form and the kiosk line. Download the free app from the Apple App Store or Google Play before your trip and build a profile with your passport information. On arrival, open the app, pick your airport and airline, take a selfie, and answer the inspection questions. The app produces an encrypted QR code receipt. Show that receipt and your passport to the officer in the dedicated MPC lane.14U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Mobile Passport Control (MPC) MPC is available to U.S. citizens and Canadian visitors at participating airports.
Handing It to the Officer
Whether you used paper, a kiosk, or the app, the process ends at the same place. Collect your checked bags and walk to CBP primary inspection. Hand the officer your passport, your completed form or digital receipt, and any supplemental paperwork such as FinCEN 105. The officer reviews your answers, may ask a few questions about where you traveled and what you’re bringing back, and stamps you through.
If something looks off, whether a “yes” on the agricultural questions, a declared value that seems low, or a random selection, you’ll be sent to secondary inspection. There, officers may X-ray or physically search your bags to check that what’s inside matches what you wrote. Most secondary inspections finish in 15 to 30 minutes when the bags line up with the declaration.
Penalties for False Declarations
Penalties scale with the seriousness of the violation. For undeclared dutiable goods discovered by an officer, the standard first-offense penalty is three times the duty owed, with a $50 minimum, or the item’s domestic value, whichever is lower. For duty-free articles that should have been declared, the penalty runs from 1 to 5 percent of the domestic value, with a $50 floor and a $1,000 ceiling.15eCFR. 19 CFR Part 171 – Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures
A false declaration can also cost you trusted-traveler privileges. CBP has revoked Global Entry memberships over single incidents of undeclared items, sometimes paired with a $500 civil penalty.16U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Revokes Global Entry Membership – Traveler Fails to Provide Truthful Declaration At the far end, knowingly smuggling prohibited goods or hiding large sums of cash can bring criminal charges, imprisonment, and forfeiture of the property.
If CBP Seizes Your Property
If CBP seizes cash, merchandise, or anything else, you have 30 days from the date the seizure notice is mailed to file a petition for remission or mitigation. The petition goes to the Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures Officer named in the notice.17eCFR. 19 CFR 171.2 – Filing a Petition Explain the circumstances, attach supporting documentation, and ask for the property back or the penalty reduced. Miss the 30-day window and you effectively forfeit your right to administrative relief, so mark the deadline the day the notice arrives.