Tool 01 · Free Federal Customs Privacy Filing (19 CFR § 103.31)

CBP Ocean Vessel Manifest Confidentiality Letter Generator

Q: Do air freight, truck, or rail exports require a 19 CFR § 103.31 confidentiality filing?

No. Under federal statute (19 U.S.C. § 1431), public manifest release applies to ocean/vessel manifests. Air waybills, cross-border truck manifests, and rail manifests are not sold to commercial manifest-scraping databases.

Stop competitors from scraping your overseas buyers and suppliers on public ocean Bills of Lading. Generate your signed CBP redaction letter and up to 10 name variations strictly inside your browser tab — nothing is uploaded or stored.

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Statutory Reference & Filing Checklist

How U.S. Customs Ocean Manifest Redaction Works Under 19 CFR § 103.31

Unless a U.S. shipper or importer files an active confidentiality request, Automated Manifest System (AMS) vessel records are legally sold to commercial trade-intelligence platforms.

Inward vs. Outward Coverage Citations

Outward U.S. Exports (19 CFR § 103.31(d)(2)): Withholds your U.S. shipper/exporter name and address on outward foreign vessel manifests so rivals cannot map your overseas distributors or customers.
Inward U.S. Imports (19 CFR § 103.31(d)(1)): Withholds your importer, consignee, and notify-party identity on inward ocean vessel manifests to protect foreign factory and component sources.
Combined Filing ($0 Fee): Requesting both citations in one officer-signed submission protects both directions across every U.S. seaport for 2 years.

Official CBP Submission Channels & Lead Times

Electronic Portal: Submit directly via CBP's official Vessel Manifest Confidentiality online portal using the name variations copied above.
Email or Mail: Send your officer-signed letter to vesselmanifestconfidentiality@cbp.dhs.gov or CBP Disclosure Law Branch, 90 K Street NE, 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20229-1177.
60–90 Day Processing Window: File before your first commercial container sails and calendar your renewal 90 days prior to the 2-year expiration date.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does CBP charge to hide ocean Bills of Lading under 19 CFR § 103.31?

Zero ($0). U.S. Customs and Border Protection processes inward (19 CFR § 103.31(d)(1)) and outward (19 CFR § 103.31(d)(2)) vessel manifest confidentiality requests free of charge across all U.S. seaports for a 2-year period. You do not need to pay third-party filing middlemen to submit this request.

How long does CBP take to activate vessel manifest confidentiality, and does it erase past shipments?

Allow 60 to 90 days for CBP's Disclosure Law Branch to activate your confidentiality filter. Filing is strictly prospective—CBP cannot delete historical ocean manifests already purchased and indexed by third-party trade data brokers prior to your effective date.

Do air freight, truck, or rail exports require a 19 CFR § 103.31 confidentiality filing?

No. Under federal statute (19 U.S.C. § 1431), public manifest release applies to ocean/vessel manifests. Air waybills, cross-border truck manifests, and rail manifests are not sold to commercial manifest-scraping databases.

Why should I include up to 10 company name variations on my CBP request?

CBP's automated manifest redaction filter matches character strings against Master and House Bills of Lading typed by freight forwarders and NVOCCs. Listing punctuation, LLC/Inc suffix, ampersand, and DBA variations (up to CBP's 10-variant limit per entity) prevents typos from leaking your buyer or supplier records.

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