Can a customs broker be the importer of record?

Yes. US law lets the owner, purchaser or consignee designate a licensed customs broker to make entry as importer of record.

Can a foreign company be the importer of record in the US?

Yes. A non-resident corporation can enter goods, but it needs a resident agent in the state of the port of entry who can accept service of process, and a bond with a resident corporate surety.

Who is the importer of record in the UK?

The declarant: whoever makes the import declaration is the debtor for the customs debt. An agent acting as indirect representative shares that liability jointly and severally.

Term

Importer of record (IOR)

The importer of record is the party legally responsible for an import: it makes the customs entry, or has a licensed customs broker make it, and is primarily liable for the duties. Under US law it must be the owner or purchaser of the goods, or a broker they designate, and it must use reasonable care.

Also called IOR, importer of record service, non-resident importer, customs declarantApplies in US, UK, EUUpdated 13 October 2026

Who can be the importer of record

The owner of the goods.
The purchaser of the goods.
A licensed customs broker, designated by the owner, purchaser or consignee.

That list is 19 USC 1484. CBP's regulations define the importer as the person primarily liable for paying any duties, and the statute requires the importer of record to use reasonable care in making entry. The first formal entry goes with CBP Form 5106, the Create/Update Importer Identity Form. A company incorporated outside the US can be the importer of record, but it needs a resident agent, in the state of the port of entry, authorised to accept service of process — and a bond with a resident corporate surety.

Worked example: the broker that didn't pay

Duty owed on an entry: $14,000 · paid by the importer to its broker: $14,000 · passed on to CBP: $0 → the importer of record still owes CBP $14,000

The figures are illustrative; the rule is CBP's: payment to a broker covering duties does not relieve the importer of liability if the broker doesn't pay them.

In the UK and EU

In the UK the role falls to the declarant: the person or organisation who made the import declaration is the debtor for the customs debt. When an agent acts as indirect representative, agent and importer are jointly and severally liable. A business not established in the UK that imports into Great Britain can only use an agent acting indirectly on its behalf — and needs a GB EORI number either way.

The mistake people make

Handing the role to whoever is convenient — a supplier selling DDP, a forwarder, an 'IOR service' — without checking who answers when customs comes back. The importer of record carries the reasonable-care duty and the duty debt for that entry, whoever paid the freight, and a later audit lands on the name on the entry.

FAQ