What Happens If Your Package Gets Seized by Customs?

If your package gets seized by customs, a federal agency has taken legal custody of it and will not release it without a formal process. U.S. Customs and Border Protection must send you written notice as soon as practicable, and no later than 60 days after the seizure.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 983 – General Rules for Civil Forfeiture Proceedings Once that notice arrives, you have a short window to decide whether to contest the seizure, ask the agency for leniency, or let the government keep the goods. Beyond losing the package itself, you may face civil fines and, depending on what was inside, criminal charges.

The Notice That Starts Your Clock

The written notice is the document everything turns on. It must identify the laws you allegedly violated, describe the specific conduct involved, describe the merchandise and how it entered or tried to enter the country, and explain any revenue loss to the government. It also has to tell you about your right to seek relief through a petition for remission or mitigation.2eCFR. 19 CFR 162.31 – Notice of Fine, Penalty, or Forfeiture Incurred The agency also publishes a public notice of the seizure for at least three consecutive weeks.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 US Code 1607 – Seizure; Value $500,000 or Less, Prohibited Merchandise

Read the letter carefully the day it arrives. Your response deadlines run from the date the notice was mailed, not the day it landed in your mailbox. Miss a deadline and you lose that option entirely.

Your Three Options After a Seizure

Once the notice arrives, you have three paths. Each has a firm deadline and different consequences.

File a Claim to Contest the Seizure

A claim tells the government you dispute the seizure and want the case moved out of the agency and into federal court. In an administrative forfeiture, you must file within 20 days of the first publication of the seizure notice. You also have to post a bond of $5,000 or 10 percent of the property’s value, whichever is lower, with a minimum of $250.4GovInfo. 19 USC 1607 – Seizure You forfeit that bond if the government wins in court.

If the government files its own civil forfeiture complaint in court first, you have 30 days from service of that complaint to file your claim, and 20 days after that to submit a formal answer.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 983 – General Rules for Civil Forfeiture Proceedings Once the case is in court, the government must prove by a preponderance of evidence that the property was connected to criminal activity.5Justice.gov. Types of Federal Forfeiture

Petition for Remission or Mitigation

A petition doesn’t argue the seizure was illegal. It asks the seizing agency to return the property or reduce the penalty as a matter of leniency. For seizures handled by CBP, the petition must be filed within 30 days of the date the seizure notice was mailed.6eCFR. 19 CFR Part 171 – Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures The petition can take any format, but it needs to describe the property, say when and where the seizure occurred, lay out the facts supporting your request, and prove you have a legitimate interest in the seized items.

Watch for one procedural trap. Unless you specifically agree in writing to pause the forfeiture while your petition is reviewed, the agency can move ahead with forfeiture even as your petition sits in queue. If you want to preserve your right to file a judicial claim later, state that explicitly in the petition itself.2eCFR. 19 CFR 162.31 – Notice of Fine, Penalty, or Forfeiture Incurred

Abandon the Property

Doing nothing, or explicitly declining to contest the seizure, hands permanent ownership to the government through administrative forfeiture. For a low-value package where legal fees would exceed what the goods are worth, this is often the practical choice. Just understand that walking away from the property does not shield you from civil penalties or criminal charges tied to what was inside.

If You Didn’t Know What Was in the Package

Federal law protects owners who genuinely had no idea their property was connected to illegal activity. Under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act, if you can show by a preponderance of evidence that you didn’t know about the conduct that triggered the forfeiture, the government cannot take your property.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 983 – General Rules for Civil Forfeiture Proceedings If you learned about it after the fact, you must show you did everything reasonably possible to stop it, such as contacting law enforcement or revoking permission for others to use the property.

This defense matters most when someone shipped you a package you didn’t order, or when a legitimate purchase turns out to contain hidden contraband. The burden is on you to prove your innocence, not on the government to prove you knew. That’s an unusual feature of civil forfeiture, and it’s where a lawyer’s help stops being optional.

What You Could Owe Beyond Losing the Package

Losing the shipment is often the smallest part of the problem. The financial and criminal exposure depends on what was inside.

Controlled substances change the picture entirely. Drug trafficking charges carry mandatory minimum sentences under federal law, and a single package can qualify depending on the type and quantity. A matter that begins with customs can be referred to federal prosecutors, and investigators may go well beyond the one package to examine your shipping history, financial records, and communications.

When a Package Simply Never Arrives

Not every seizure produces a letter right away. When law enforcement finds contraband in a package, they sometimes reseal it and deliver it themselves. An undercover officer or postal inspector poses as the mail carrier, and the moment you accept the package or sign for it, agents execute a search warrant. Accepting delivery becomes evidence of intent to receive the contraband.

If a package you were expecting simply never shows up, that silence can be the first step of an investigation rather than a shipping error. Calling the carrier to ask where it is can generate additional evidence. If you suspect a controlled delivery, speak with a criminal defense attorney before doing anything else.

Effects on Future Travel and Shipments

A seizure can follow you well past the case itself. CBP keeps records of every seizure, and those records influence how closely your future shipments are scrutinized. If you hold Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or another trusted-traveler membership, a seizure can trigger revocation. CBP has revoked Global Entry privileges for violations as minor as failing to declare agricultural products; in one case a traveler lost membership and received a $500 civil penalty after inspectors found undeclared rice and peanuts in their luggage.11U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Revokes Global Entry Membership; Traveler Fails to Provide Truthful Declaration

Repeated seizures also raise the odds that the next one gets referred for criminal investigation instead of handled as a civil forfeiture. Agencies notice patterns.

When to Bring In a Lawyer

For a low-value package of mislabeled but legal goods, you can probably file a petition for remission on your own. Anything involving controlled substances, large dollar amounts, or potential criminal exposure is a different situation. Federal forfeiture attorneys typically charge between $179 and $570 per hour. That’s real money, but the alternative is navigating bond requirements, court filings, and evidentiary hearings alone in a system built around the government’s structural advantages.

If law enforcement contacts you about a seized package, talk to a lawyer before you respond. Anything you say to investigators, including over the phone, can be used against you. The instinct to explain and cooperate is natural, and it is where most people make their most damaging mistakes.