A customs hold is an instruction from the customs authority preventing release of a shipment until it completes a review: document checks, examination, or other agency clearance. The container stays at the terminal or a designated facility, and free time may keep running while it waits.
Holds are triggered by risk scoring, random selection, documentation mismatches, or referrals from other agencies (food, drugs, product safety, and similar). Some resolve with paperwork; others escalate to a physical examination. Duration ranges from hours to weeks depending on type and queue.
The costly ambiguity is chargeability: many tariffs let demurrage accrue during holds even though the importer cannot move the box. Records of the hold’s start and end, and prompt responses to information requests, are the levers you control.
In tracking, a hold is the explanation behind an anomaly: discharged, within reach, and motionless. TrackingMCP shows the lengthening discharge-to-gate-out gap in tracking, and where carriers publish hold flags, surfaces them; either way the pattern says check customs status now, before the last free day arrives rather than after.
Customs procedures and filing requirements vary by country and change over time. This page is general orientation, not customs or legal advice. Confirm current rules with your customs broker or the relevant authority.
A customs hold is an instruction from the customs authority preventing release of a shipment until it completes a review: document checks, examination, or other agency clearance. The container stays at the terminal or a designated facility, and free time may keep running while it waits.
Risk systems weigh shipper history, commodity, origin, and data consistency, alongside random selection. The precise trigger is rarely disclosed; clean, consistent filings lower the odds over time.
Often yes, since many tariffs run free time regardless of holds; some ports and contracts provide relief. Document the hold window and raise it with the carrier where the tariff allows waivers.
Spot hold patterns in tracking →
Free-time exposure →
More in Customs & compliance: Customs clearance · Customs examination · Importer Security Filing (ISF) · AMS (Automated Manifest System) · ENS (Entry Summary Declaration) · HS code · Bonded warehouse · Dangerous goods (IMO classes) · Browse all 106 terms →