6/29/26 — CBP Outlines Process to Re-Activate a Deactivated Importer of Record (IOR) in ACE

In response to the "Strengthening Customs Enforcement" Executive Order, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) advised the trade in a June 26 message that it is using its legal authority to deactivate Importer of Record (IOR) numbers in ACE that have not been used to file an entry for one or more years and that have no outstanding post-entry transactions.

CBP reminded importers that an IOR number can be reactivated, and recommended doing so in ACE in coordination with a customs broker to avoid potential processing delays.

To reactivate an inactive IOR, an Automated Broker Interface (ABI) broker should submit a Transaction Processing (TP) message with Action Code A to change the status from "20-Inactive" to "10-Active." All required CBP Form (CBF) 5106 data elements must be included with the TP message.

Importers unable to reactivate via ABI may instead submit a revised CBF 5106, with all mandatory data elements completed, to a Center Entry Specialist Team for manual reactivation. The email must include "IOR reactivation request" in the subject line and explain in the body that the form is being submitted to reactivate an existing IOR currently in "20 - Inactive" status. The IOR will then be reactivated based on the Center's workload.

Before requesting CBP assistance, the agency recommended querying and verifying the current status of the IOR in the ACE Portal Account.