Recently, many sellers in the cross-border circle have suddenly become panicked. Many containers bound for the United States have been directly detained or even returned by customs as soon as they arrive at the port, and the storage fees and demurrage fees are rising every day.

Many sellers have been asking recently: Why are containers suddenly detained? Why are they directly returned? The answer may be only two words - 5H Inspection.

Starting from 2026, the US Customs will launch a large-scale 5H enhanced inspection on Chinese export goods. Ports such as Los Angeles and Long Beach have become the hardest hit areas, with thousands of containers detained or even forcibly returned, causing huge losses to cross-border sellers.

1. What is 5H Inspection?

5H Inspection (Entry Processing Hold) is a declaration processing detention instruction of the US Customs CBP in the AMS/ACE system. When the goods are marked as 5H, it means that the goods are temporarily detained by customs, and customs will conduct a deep review of the declaration documents and release them only after the review is passed. In the system:

H = HOLD (Detained)

I = RELEASE (Released)

If the review is passed, the status will change to 5I release. The process is usually:

① Customs locks the container (HOLD);

② Deeply review the customs declaration materials;

③ If there is no problem with the documents: change to 5I release;

④ If there are doubts: transfer to unpacking inspection;

⑤ If it is confirmed to be illegal: directly return it.

The whole process usually takes 3-5 working days or even longer. The biggest difference from traditional inspections is that 5H is an enhanced review with "document inspection as the main focus".

2. What does 5H mainly inspect?

The core of 5H inspection is the authenticity of declaration and trade compliance, focusing on checking:

1. Whether the importer (IOR) is legal: whether it really exists, whether it is the real owner of the goods, whether there is borrowing of IOR;

2. Whether the Bond is genuine and valid: whether to use Bond for customs clearance, whether the Bond limit is sufficient;

3. The authenticity of the declared information: including: product name, declared value, quantity, place of origin;

4. Document consistency: Focus on checking: commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, customs declaration materials.

Any inconsistent information will trigger risks.

3. Common reasons for triggering 5H inspection

At present, the situations that are most likely to trigger 5H mainly include:

1. Underreporting or concealing the value of goods: Many logistics companies press down the value of goods in order to do low-price channels, and it is easy to trigger inspection once the customs system compares with the market price.

2. Vague declaration of product name: For example: (accessories, parts, plastic goods) This kind of vague declaration is the key target. Customs requires material + purpose + product name.

3. Borrowing importers (IOR): Use shell companies for customs clearance, non-real owners import, share Bond, which is a high-risk behavior in the United States.

4. Dual-clearance tax-included mode: Some low-priced logistics channels underreport the value of goods, vaguely declare, and have non-real customs clearance entities, which are easily recognized by the system.

5. Product compliance issues: For example (FDA, FCC, CPC, intellectual property), lack of certification will also trigger inspection.

4. What to do if you encounter 5H inspection?

If you have been marked as 5H HOLD, it is recommended to deal with it in this way:

1. Contact the freight forwarder / customs broker immediately

Confirm the reason for the inspection and whether supplementary materials are required.

2. Prepare complete trade documents

including: commercial invoice, packing list, purchase contract, payment voucher, to prove the authenticity of trade.

3. Confirm importer information

Check: Whether IOR is real, whether Bond is valid.

4. Assess the risk of return

If it is confirmed to be illegal, you may face: forced return, destruction, high storage fees, and many sellers can only choose to return in the end.

Finally:

The future trend is that 5H may become the norm. It is generally judged in the industry that in the future, US customs will enter the era of "strong supervision + compliant customs clearance", so the goods may have an increased inspection rate, stricter document review, and dual-clearance tax-included will gradually become invalid.

In the future, cross-border sellers want to ship stably, only four words: real declaration + compliant customs clearance.

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