Due to increased scrutiny and significant delays at U.S. customs, effective Sept. 25, 2025, Purolator will temporarily not be accepting shipments and/or manifests for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated shipments destined for the United States. This includes:
- Food products and dietary supplements
- Packaged foods, beverages, and processed items for human, animal and plant consumption
- Vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and other supplements
- Houseware items used for food preparation
- Drugs and biologics
- Prescription and over-the-counter medications
- Biologic products (vaccines, blood products) and samples
- Eye prescriptions, including glasses and contact lenses
- Devices
- All medical devices from thermometers to MRI equipment
- Radiation-emitting devices such as X-ray machines and CT scanners
- Microwaves, computer monitors, televisions
- Laser products, such as industrial lasers, welding equipment, laser pointers, and automatic laser toys
- Security screening systems
This pause will remain in effect until further notice as we continue to monitor the situation.
As of Aug. 29, 2025, all shipments into the U.S., regardless of value, are now subject to duties and full customs clearance procedures. This change has resulted in a substantial increase in formal and informal customs clearances, leading to significant delays due to increased processing times, and an increase in shipments being returned to the point of origin.
We are working closely with our border team to process shipments currently at customs where possible, but they may be subject to extended delays and possibly subject to return.
Customers shipping into the U.S. are advised to add robust detail to the commercial invoice prepared for these shipments, including:
- Prior Notice must be provided for all food for humans and animals that is imported or offered for import into the United States. Learn more about prior notice.
- Provide Purolator with a document or CUSMA certification for your goods, if applicable.
- Provide the certification with your shipment for CUSMA exports to the U.S.
- Ensure complete and accurate commercial invoice information, including detailed product descriptions, country-of-origin, quantity, and value and HS code. If you don’t know the HS code, please refer to the Purolator Trade Assistant tool found here: https://ship.purolator.com/pta/en/index.html#/productInfo
- It is mandatory for all shipments to the U.S. to include information pertaining to the country-of-origin for each commodity on your commercial invoices when creating your shipment.
- For shipments requiring formal entries, provide an Importer Tax ID, EIN or SSN. A POA may also be required for surety bond execution, if not already on file with Purolator or the customs broker.
- Include the recipient’s email and contact information for duty and tax collection.
Failure to provide proper documentation for commercial shipments into the U.S. may result in them being returned to the point of origin.
Due to the significant delays being experienced, Purolator has temporarily paused on-time delivery guarantees for all southbound shipments until further notice. These shipments are not eligible for refund or credit should delivery be delayed or impacted.
For more information or support, please contact your Account Executive or contact Customer Care by calling 1 888-SHIP-123 (1 888-744-7123).
