Articles on: VAT / Duties / Customs

Why Has My U.S. Customer Been Asked to Fill In a 5106 Form?

If you're shipping from South Africa to the U.S., your customer might get a request from FedEx, UPS, or another carrier to fill in a 5106 form. It’s not spam. It’s a U.S. customs thing - and it’s important.

📌 What’s a 5106 Form, Anyway?

The 5106 (officially, the CBP Form 5106) is a one-time form U.S. Customs uses to register someone receiving goods in the U.S. for the first time.

It captures basic info:

Name and address of the recipient

Tax ID or Social Security number

Contact details and whether they’re an individual or a business

This helps U.S. authorities confirm who’s receiving the goods and speeds up customs clearance.

🧭 Why Is It Needed?

The carrier might ask for a 5106 if:

The recipient hasn’t received international parcels before

Their details have changed

The parcel hits a certain value threshold

If the form’s not filled in, customs won’t release the shipment. So it’s key to avoiding delays.

📦 What Should My Customer Do?

They should:

Fill in the form using the link or instructions from the carrier

Make sure their info is accurate (especially tax ID and contact details)

Submit it online - usually via email or the carrier’s portal

Once it’s done, they usually won’t need to do it again unless their info changes.

Here are a few examples of what the form looks like:

🚫 What If They Don’t Fill It In?

If the form isn’t submitted:

The shipment might get stuck at customs

Customs fees requests could be delayed

Worst case, the parcel gets returned to South Africa

🦸‍♀️ Have more questions? We're here to help!

If you run into any issues or have questions, reach out to our support team via Whatsapp here or on chat here.

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Updated on: 29/08/2025

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