Who pays for a customs exam in the US?

The importer. CBP does not charge for cargo examinations, but the importer bears the cost of preparing the goods, moving and storing them, and the exam station's bill; CBP says a complete devanning may cost several hundred dollars.

A centralized examination station: a privately operated facility, not in the charge of a customs officer, where imported goods are made available to CBP for physical examination.

Can I be present at a customs exam?

In the EU, yes: the Union Customs Code gives the declarant the right to be present when goods are examined and samples taken, and puts the costs of the handling on the declarant too.

Term

Customs examination

A customs examination is customs checking imported goods against their declaration, from an X-ray scan to unloading the whole container. In the US, CBP charges nothing for the exam itself, but the importer pays to move, unload, store and repack the goods — and at a privately run exam station, a complete devanning can cost several hundred dollars.

Also called customs inspection, cargo examination, customs exam, intensive exam, non-intrusive inspection, centralized examination stationUpdated 14 October 2026

From a scan to a full devanning

CBP's non-intrusive inspection lets officers see inside containers and vehicles without opening or unloading them. As of 2 December 2025, CBP had deployed 405 large-scale scanning systems, and in fiscal 2025 it scanned over 17 million sea containers, rail cars and vehicles. CBP uses intelligence to pick out high-risk shipments and concentrate its inspections on them.

When a shipment is chosen for an intensive exam, the goods go to a centralized examination station: a privately operated facility, not in the charge of a customs officer, where merchandise is made available for physical examination. The broker or importer names its preferred devanning or exam site on CBP Form 3461.

Who pays

United States: CBP does not charge for cargo exams, but the importer bears any expense of preparing the goods for examination; the exam station bills for unloading and reloading, and moving and storing the cargo cost extra.
European Union: moving the goods to where they are examined, and all the handling that needs, is done by or under the responsibility of the declarant, who bears the costs. The declarant has the right to be present.

Worked example: what an intensive exam adds

CBP's charge: $0 · exam station devanning and reloading: up to several hundred dollars · drayage to and from the station + storage while the box waits → every line billed to the importer, not the carrier or CBP

CBP's Tips for New Importers: rates vary across the country and a complete devanning may cost several hundred dollars; 19 CFR 151.6 puts the cost of preparing goods for examination on the importer.

The mistake people make

Budgeting for duty and freight but not for an exam. The importer cannot decline one, the exam station's bill arrives whatever the result, and the container may wait at the station while storage runs. A clean exam still costs money, and a declaration that does not match the goods turns a scan into a full devanning.

FAQ