# ISF 10+2: The Twelve Data Points Your Ocean Shipment Cannot Sail Without

Source: https://bordereasehq.com/blog/2026-11-15-isf-10-2-data-points-ocean-shipments.html

Cross-border operations guide · November 15, 2026


**Short answer:** ISF, the Importer Security Filing, requires ten data elements from the importer and two from the carrier, filed electronically through ACE before the vessel is loaded at the foreign port. The first eight importer elements are due 24 hours before lading. A late, missing, or inaccurate filing draws liquidated damages of $5,000 per violation.

## Two clocks, not one

The rule everyone quotes is 24 hours before loading, and it is only half the rule. The first eight importer elements, seller, buyer, importer of record, consignee, manufacturer, ship-to party, country of origin, and the HTS number, must reach CBP at least 24 hours before the cargo is loaded onto the vessel at the foreign port. The remaining two importer elements, the container stuffing location and the consolidator, are due as early as possible and no later than 24 hours before the vessel arrives at a US port.

The carrier supplies the other two elements: the vessel stow plan and container status messages. The filing travels through ACE or the Automated Broker Interface, and it needs an active customs bond behind it. Without a bond, CBP cannot assess liquidated damages for a violation, but that does not make the importer safe: failure to file without a bond is treated as a separate enforcement matter. Most importers run a continuous bond, calculated at 10 percent of duties, taxes, and fees paid over the prior 12 months, with a $100 minimum.

## The mistakes that cost $5,000 each

CBP can assess $5,000 in liquidated damages for each ISF violation, and the violations stack per filing. A late filing is one violation. An inaccurate filing is another. An inaccurate update is a third, because the rule requires you to correct the filing when information changes before the goods arrive, and a bad correction carries the same penalty as a bad original. Repeated violations or intentional disregard can push penalties higher, and CBP's mitigation guidelines weigh compliance history, voluntary correction, and how close to the deadline the fix arrived.

The most common failure is not a missing field. It is a field filled from the wrong document: a manufacturer name taken from the commercial invoice when the factory that actually made the goods is a subcontractor, or an HTS number copied from a previous shipment of a similar product. Both look complete in the filing and both are wrong, and CBP finds out when the container is already on the water. The fix is a 48 to 72 hour internal cutoff before departure, which leaves a full day of buffer beyond CBP's 24-hour legal minimum to catch and fix errors before they become CBP's problem.

## Who carries the risk when a broker files

The importer of record carries the risk, even when a licensed customs broker transmits the filing. The regulation names the ISF importer as responsible, and delegating the keystrokes does not delegate the liability. That is why the practical control is not the broker's checklist but your own data handoff: the ten elements, sourced from the purchase order and the factory, delivered to the broker with the 48 to 72 hour buffer intact, and confirmed back with the filing receipt before the vessel sails.

If you import by ocean and have never seen your own ISF filings, ask your broker for the last three and read them against the purchase orders. The fields to check first are manufacturer, country of origin, and HTS number, because those three are where a wrong guess hides longest. For the document that follows the ISF into the entry, [how to read a CBP Form 7501 entry summary](https://bordereasehq.com/blog/2026-11-14-how-to-read-cbp-form-7501-entry-summary.md) walks the form line by line, and [what a customs bond is, and when you need one](https://bordereasehq.com/blog/2026-11-14-customs-bond-when-you-need-one.md) covers the bond that has to be in place before any of this files.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the ISF 10+2 filing?

The Importer Security Filing is a CBP pre-arrival filing for ocean cargo. The importer supplies ten data elements and the ocean carrier supplies two, all filed electronically through ACE before the vessel is loaded at the foreign port.

### When is the ISF due?

The first eight importer elements are due at least 24 hours before the cargo is loaded onto the vessel at the foreign port. The remaining two importer elements are due no later than 24 hours before the vessel arrives at a US port.

### What is the penalty for a late or wrong ISF?

CBP can assess $5,000 in liquidated damages per violation. A late filing, an inaccurate filing, and an inaccurate update can each draw a penalty, and repeated violations can push penalties higher.

### Does my broker carry the risk if they file the ISF?

No. The importer of record is responsible for the filing even when a licensed customs broker transmits it. Delegating the filing does not delegate the liability, so check the filed data against your purchase order.