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# 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:

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

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

3. 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:


![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/e/a/5/b/ea5b318969f4c800/5106form-imageeg1_1mbiax8.png =301xauto)
![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/e/a/5/b/ea5b318969f4c800/5106form-eg3_1xfq0g9.png =334xauto)

### 🚫 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
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