CBP Is Auto-Deactivating Dormant Importer Accounts Starting July 16. Here Is Who Gets Caught and How to Fix It.
On July 16, CBP deploys a new status in ACE Production called "Inactive for Entry Purposes." It does one thing: it automatically deactivates Importer of Record accounts that have not filed an entry within 366 days, in accordance with 19 CFR 24.5(e). An IOR carrying that status is ineligible to transmit ACE Cargo Release and ACE Entry Summary transactions.
That reads like a maintenance notice. It is worth more attention than that, for two reasons.
This is the Executive Order arriving early
CBP has tied this change directly to the Strengthening Customs Enforcement Executive Order signed on June 3. That order directed DHS to revise importer eligibility regulations within 180 days, which puts the outer deadline in early December. A lot of importers read that timeline and reasonably concluded there was time to plan.
The first piece landed in six weeks. It is small compared to what the order describes, minimum domestic assets, higher bonds, beneficial ownership disclosure, a formal good-standing standard, but the pace is the signal. If dormant-account deactivation shipped in six weeks, the assumption that the substantive eligibility rules will drift to the back of the window is not a safe one.
Who actually gets caught
The 366-day clock is mechanical. It does not evaluate why an account went quiet, which means it catches several groups that are not doing anything wrong.
Seasonal importers are the obvious one. If your program runs on a long cycle, holiday goods, agricultural windows, project cargo, a gap over a year is normal operations, not dormancy in any meaningful sense.
Entities set up ahead of a restructuring are the second group, and this one has an irony to it. The same Executive Order pushes companies out of foreign IOR structures and toward US-based importers. Companies that got ahead of that, registered a domestic IOR, and have not yet moved volume through it are now sitting on an account that may deactivate before they use it.
The third group is the largest and the least discussed. A lot of importers paused specific lanes in 2025 when tariffs spiked, holding out for better conditions or working through alternative sourcing. If that pause has run past a year, the account is already dormant under the new rule. The problem surfaces when they try to resume, and it surfaces at the port.
What this does not touch
The scope is narrower than some summaries suggest, and precision matters here. The status affects entry filing only. An IOR marked inactive for entry purposes can still act as a consignee, file drawback claims, file reconciliations, secure bonds, transmit Importer Security Filing data, and use other ACE business functions.
For anyone tracking the IEEPA refund process, that includes CAPE. Reconciliations are explicitly unaffected, and CAPE declarations are not entry transmissions. A dormant IOR does not block a refund filing.
How reactivation works
The mechanics are straightforward. An ABI customs broker submits a Transaction Processing message in ACE using Action Code A, which moves the IOR status from 20-Inactive to 10-Active. All required CBP Form 5106 data elements have to be submitted with the message. If reactivation cannot be handled through ABI, a revised CBP Form 5106 with all mandatory data elements goes to the appropriate Center Entry Specialist Team.
Neither path is complicated. Both take time you have not planned for if you discover the problem when a shipment is already on the water. CBP is recommending importers verify IOR status in the ACE Portal before contacting support, which is a reasonable ask and also a hint about the volume of calls they expect.
What to do this week
Check the status of every IOR number your business uses in the ACE Portal. Not just the primary one. Companies accumulate IORs through acquisitions, subsidiaries, and restructurings, and the dormant ones are exactly the ones nobody thinks about until they are needed.
If any are inactive, work with your broker on reactivation now rather than at the point of entry. And if your business model includes long dormant periods by design, this is worth building into your compliance calendar as a recurring check rather than a one-time cleanup.
The technical contacts are the ACE Account Service Desk at 866-530-4172 or ace.support@cbp.dhs.gov, and the Entry Summary Accounts and Revenue division at esar@cbp.dhs.gov. Form 5106 questions go to IORProgram@cbp.dhs.gov.
We can check IOR status and handle reactivations for clients. If you are not certain where your accounts stand, reach out to your ShipTech account manager and we will confirm before it becomes a problem at the border.