What Is a Schedule B Number? Filing Rules, Deadlines, and Penalties

A Schedule B number is a ten-digit code, assigned by the U.S. Census Bureau, that classifies a physical product being exported from the United States. There are roughly 9,000 of these codes, and exporters must report the right one when filing shipment data with the federal government.¹ Getting it right controls whether your shipment clears on time, whether additional export-control filings apply, and whether you face civil penalties that can reach $10,000 per violation.

How the Ten-Digit Code Is Built

Every Schedule B number moves from broad to specific as you read left to right. The first six digits come from the international Harmonized System (HS), a classification framework used by 212 countries and economic unions.² Those six digits let customs officials in other countries recognize the same basic category when your goods arrive.

The final four digits are unique to the United States and exist for domestic statistical tracking.¹ The first two digits identify a broad chapter, the middle digits narrow to subcategories, and the last digits pinpoint a specific commodity. The difference between two grades of steel or two types of synthetic fabric often comes down to those final digits.

Schedule B Numbers Are Not HTSUS Codes

If you also import, you already work with the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Schedule B classifies exports; HTSUS classifies imports. The first six digits of both are identical for any given product, but they diverge after that.³

HTSUS is more granular, with roughly 19,000 codes to Schedule B’s 9,000, so multiple HTSUS codes often collapse into a single Schedule B number. Occasionally the reverse happens, as with certain turbojet classifications where Schedule B carries more detail than HTSUS. Federal regulations let you report an HTSUS code in place of a Schedule B number on export filings, with limited exceptions noted in the HTSUS headnotes.⁴ Either way, the commodity description on your filing still has to be complete and accurate.

How to Find Your Schedule B Number

The Census Bureau runs a free Schedule B Search Engine where you can look up codes by keyword or browse chapters.⁵ Before you search, pull together the specifics: what the product is made of, what it does, and how it’s used. Material composition alone can shift a product between chapters. A container made of glass sits in a different chapter than an identical-looking container made of plastic.

When results come back, read the four-digit heading and six-digit subheading descriptions carefully to confirm they actually describe your product rather than something close.⁶ If your product seems to fit more than one category, the system’s general rules of interpretation determine which code takes priority.

If you get stuck, the Census Bureau offers direct classification help at 1-800-549-0595 (option 2) or by email at eid.scheduleb@census.gov. Misclassification doesn’t only skew trade statistics; it can trigger compliance problems downstream.

When You Have to File EEI

Under 15 CFR Part 30, you must file Electronic Export Information (EEI) through the Automated Export System (AES) for any commodity where the value per individual Schedule B number exceeds $2,500.⁷ The threshold applies per code, per consignee, per shipment, not to the total value of everything on the vessel. A $50,000 shipment can contain several commodity lines that each fall below $2,500, and those specific lines are exempt from filing even though the shipment overall is large.

The reverse trips people up too. If you ship multiple items under the same Schedule B number, the values combine. Twenty units of the same product at $150 each add up to $3,000, and that crosses the threshold for that code.⁷ Items of domestic and foreign origin classified under the same code must be reported separately, and filing kicks in when either category crosses $2,500.

Once AES accepts your filing, it returns an Internal Transaction Number (ITN). That confirmation goes on your bill of lading and other shipping documents so customs officers can verify the shipment has been reported before the goods leave.

Exemptions

Two exemptions cover most everyday exports:

The Canada exemption has sharp edges. It does not cover goods sent to Canada for storage if they’re ultimately headed elsewhere, and it does not cover goods routed through Canada to a third country. Shipments that pass through Canada or Mexico between two U.S. points are treated as domestic, which is a different exemption entirely.

When Value Doesn’t Matter

The $2,500 exemption disappears for certain categories of goods. Export-controlled items that require a license application must have EEI filed through AES no matter what the shipment is worth.⁸ The same applies to:

All exports of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations destined for countries in Country Group E:1 or E:2.
Exports of 9×515 or “600 series” military and defense articles, regardless of destination, including exports to close allies such as Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Certain firearms and ammunition classified under specific Export Control Classification Numbers, regardless of value or destination.
Any item on the Commerce Control List destined for China, Russia, or Venezuela.
Any transaction with a party appearing on the Unverified List.⁸

This is where the cost of skipping a filing escalates fastest. Assuming the $2,500 exemption applies to everything and failing to file on a controlled item can produce both trade compliance violations and criminal exposure.

Filing Deadlines by Transport Mode

AES deadlines depend on how the goods leave the country:⁹

Ocean cargo: no later than 24 hours before loading at the U.S. port.
Air cargo: no later than 2 hours before scheduled departure.
Truck cargo: no later than 1 hour before the truck arrives at the U.S. border.
Rail cargo: no later than 2 hours before the train reaches the U.S. border.

Exporters with a strong compliance track record can apply for postdeparture filing privileges, which allow EEI to be submitted up to five calendar days after the export date.¹⁰ Postdeparture filing is not available for shipments requiring a license, used self-propelled vehicles, or goods classified as sensitive by executive order.

Who Is Responsible for Filing

The U.S. Principal Party in Interest (USPPI), meaning the person or company in the United States that receives the primary benefit from the transaction, bears ultimate responsibility for accurate and timely EEI filing.¹¹ In most cases, that’s the U.S. seller or manufacturer.

You can delegate the actual filing to a freight forwarder or customs broker with a power of attorney or written authorization.¹² Delegating the task does not delegate the responsibility. If your forwarder files late or reports the wrong Schedule B number, you as the USPPI are still on the hook. You’re expected to give your agent accurate information and retain documentation supporting whatever they filed on your behalf.¹¹

Routed export transactions work differently. In a routed transaction, the foreign buyer (the Foreign Principal Party in Interest, or FPPI) arranges the transportation and may authorize a U.S.-based agent to file the EEI. The FPPI’s agent takes on the filing obligation, but the USPPI still has to provide accurate commodity information and keep supporting documents. A missing power of attorney in a routed transaction is a red flag compliance reviewers look for.

Penalties

Civil penalties scale with the type of violation:¹³

Late filing: up to $1,100 per day, capped at $10,000 per violation.
Failure to file: up to $10,000 per violation. Any filing submitted more than ten calendar days after the due date is treated as a failure to file, not a late filing.
False or misleading information: up to $10,000 per violation, and this penalty can stack on top of others.

Criminal penalties apply when violations are knowing or intentional. A person who knowingly fails to file, submits false information, or uses AES to further illegal activity faces fines up to $10,000 per violation, imprisonment up to five years, or both.¹⁴ Convictions can also trigger forfeiture of the goods, the property used to export them, and any proceeds. Civil penalty amounts are adjusted for inflation annually.

Records You Have to Keep

All parties to the export transaction, including the USPPI, authorized agents, freight forwarders, and carriers, must retain documents supporting the EEI filing for five years from the date of export.¹⁵ That includes any power of attorney or written authorization, the commodity descriptions and Schedule B numbers reported, and correspondence supporting the classification. Five years is a long time to reconstruct a shipment from memory, so keeping organized digital records from day one is the only workable approach when an audit request lands.

1
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Schedule B / Export Number
2
World Customs Organization. List of Contracting Parties to the HS Convention and Countries Using the HS
3
United States Census Bureau. Exporting With Import Classification Numbers
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eCFR. 15 CFR 30.6 – Electronic Export Information Data Elements
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United States Census Bureau. Schedule B
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United States Census Bureau. Finding Your Schedule B Number
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eCFR. 15 CFR Part 30 Subpart D – Exemptions From the Requirements for the Filing of Electronic Export Information
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eCFR. 15 CFR 758.1 – The Electronic Export Information (EEI) Filing to the Automated Export System (AES)
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eCFR. 15 CFR 30.4 – Electronic Export Information Filing Procedures, Deadlines, and Certification Statements
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eCFR. 15 CFR 30.5 – Electronic Export Information Filing and Compliance Review Options
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eCFR. 15 CFR 30.3 – Electronic Export Information Filer Requirements, Parties to Export Transactions, and Responsibilities of Parties to Export Transactions
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Bureau of Industry and Security. Freight Forwarder Guidance and Best Practices
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eCFR. 15 CFR Part 30 Subpart H – Penalties
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 13 USC 305 – Penalties for Unlawful Export Information Activities
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eCFR. 15 CFR 30.10 – Retention of Export Information and the Authority to Require Production of Documents