Every importer needs a customs bond — it’s a CBP requirement, not optional. But which type makes sense depends heavily on how often you import. Get it wrong and you’re either paying for coverage you don’t need or scrambling to post a new bond every time a shipment arrives. Here’s how continuous and single-entry bonds actually differ and how to pick between them.
A customs bond is a financial guarantee to CBP that duties, taxes, and fees on an import will be paid, even if the importer of record doesn’t pay directly. It’s required for most formal entries — generally shipments valued over $2,500, or any shipment subject to other federal agency requirements regardless of value. The bond protects the government’s revenue, not the importer, which is why the surety company underwriting it cares a great deal about your compliance history.
A single-entry bond (SEB) covers exactly one shipment through one port of entry. The bond amount is generally set at the total value of the merchandise plus duties, taxes, and fees, and for goods regulated by agencies like the FDA or EPA, CBP often requires it be set at three times that value. SEBs make sense for importers who bring in freight occasionally — a handful of shipments a year — where the cost of a continuous bond wouldn’t be justified by the volume.
A continuous bond covers all of an importer’s entries at any port for a full year, renewing automatically until cancelled. The minimum bond amount CBP will accept is $50,000, but the actual required amount is based on 10% of duties, taxes, and fees paid in the prior 12 months, so higher-volume importers need a larger bond. For anyone importing regularly — monthly or more often — a continuous bond is almost always cheaper per shipment than paying for a new SEB every time.
The breakeven point usually comes down to shipment frequency: importers bringing in more than four or five shipments a year typically save money switching to a continuous bond, since the annual premium is often comparable to the cost of just two or three single-entry bonds. It’s also worth revisiting your bond amount annually — if your import volume grows, CBP can require you to increase your continuous bond, and getting caught with insufficient coverage can hold up shipments at the port.
Bond type is one piece of a larger customs compliance picture that includes accurate HTS classification and duty calculation. Argents helps importers evaluate bond coverage alongside their broader customs services so nothing holds up freight at the border.