PAPS
PAPS (Pre-Arrival Processing System) is how U.S.-bound truck freight clears CBP before it reaches the border: the carrier assigns a PAPS number, the customs broker files the entry against it in ACE, and the officer pulls it up by scanning a barcode when the truck arrives.
A PAPS number is the carrier's four-letter SCAC followed by a unique shipment number, printed as a barcode label on the invoice and manifest. The carrier sends the ACE e-manifest with that number, and the importer's customs broker transmits the entry data referencing the same number, so CBP can review the shipment before the truck reaches the booth.
PAPS is used on northbound freight from both Canada and Mexico. The ACE truck manifest has to reach CBP at least one hour before arrival, or 30 minutes before for FAST participants.
What this means when you move freight
Most PAPS problems are paperwork timing, not customs. Send the PAPS number to the customs broker with the commercial invoice early, and confirm the entry is filed before the driver reaches the border. A truck that arrives before its entry is on file waits or is turned around. Canada-bound freight uses the mirror-image process, PARS.
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