Single-entry vs. continuous customs bond: which one actually saves you money
A plain-English, break-even look at the two customs bond types, so you can tell which one fits your import volume instead of guessing.
By Joy Xue
If you’re importing commercially, CBP requires a customs bond. The bond guarantees CBP that the duties, taxes, and fees will get paid. It does not insure you. You have two choices, and picking the wrong one quietly costs money. Here’s how to tell them apart without the jargon.
The two types
Single-entry bond. Covers one shipment. The cost scales with the value of the goods (and any duties/fees), so a bigger or higher-duty shipment means a bigger bond. As a rough guide, single-entry bonds often run anywhere from around $50 to several hundred dollars per shipment, sometimes more for high-value or regulated cargo.
Continuous bond. Covers all your entries at all U.S. ports for a full year. It’s sized at a minimum of $50,000 (or 10% of the duties, taxes, and fees you paid in the prior year, whichever is higher). The premium you pay for a $50,000 continuous bond is typically in the ballpark of $400–$600 per year.
The break-even, in practice
The math is simpler than it looks. A continuous bond is a flat annual cost; single-entry bonds are a per-shipment cost. So:
- Importing a few times a year? Single-entry bonds may be cheaper. You only pay when you ship.
- Importing regularly (even a handful of times a month)? A continuous bond almost always wins, because those per-shipment fees add up fast and a continuous bond caps your annual bond cost.
A useful rule of thumb: once you’re filing more than a handful of entries a year, the continuous bond usually pays for itself, and it keeps paying off the more you import. There’s also a convenience factor that doesn’t show up in the price: with a continuous bond you’re not arranging a new bond every single time cargo shows up.
There’s one more wrinkle worth knowing in 2026: with duties elevated by the current tariff environment, the “10% of prior-year duties” sizing can push some importers into a larger required continuous bond than they’d expect. It’s worth having someone size it correctly rather than being surprised at renewal.
The part brokers don’t always mention
A continuous bond is often billed as a separate annual line item. It doesn’t have to be. Some brokers (us included) bundle your own entity’s continuous bond into the higher-volume plans, so it’s just part of the service, not another invoice to track. When you’re comparing brokers, ask whether the bond is included or extra, it’s an easy place for costs to hide. (One structural note: a bond is issued in the importer of record’s own name and belongs to that one legal entity, even between related companies. So if you import under multiple entities, or reach a broker through a freight forwarder, each additional importer holds its own bond; it isn’t something one plan can share across entities.)
Borderless sets up and renews both single-entry and continuous bonds. For an importer, the account’s own continuous bond is included from 80 entries a month and $500 a year below that, never a surprise line. For a freight forwarder, each client’s bond is a flat $420 a year when we arrange it. Additional importers on an account, subsidiary or client, each hold their own, billed separately. A single-entry bond is $5 per $1,000 of the bond amount with a $50 minimum, figured when the 7501 is issued. If you’re not sure which bond fits your volume, it’s a two-minute conversation, and getting it right is real money.
Sources & further reading
Written by Joy Xue
A licensed U.S. customs broker at Borderless (CBP filer code NQR). Verify our license · About the broker