Business Sending to the United States

Updated 19 October 2026

The United States is introducing new customs clearance requirements for certain postal shipments entering the country. While U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has extended the implementation date to 20 January 2027, NZ Post will introduce some changes ahead of this date to help customers prepare and support compliance with the new requirements. As part of these changes, some goods sent to the U.S. will require more detailed product information than is currently captured on a standard customs declaration. This information may include compliance documentation, manufacturer details, product identifiers, and other supporting information required for customs clearance.

To help customers meet these requirements, NZ Post has partnered with Zonos, a global cross-border ecommerce and customs compliance provider. Customers sending items to the U.S must create a Zonos Lite Dashboard account and upload product information for the goods they ship.

When do I need to be ready? 

While the new U.S. customs requirements will not become mandatory until 20 January 2027, NZ Post will begin introducing validation checks ahead of this date to help customers prepare and support compliance with the new requirements.

From 8 December 2026, our labelling systems will validate product information for U.S.-bound Economy and Courier shipments. Shipping label requests may be rejected if the required product information is not available or has not been uploaded to Zonos.

We recommend setting up your Zonos Lite Dashboard account and uploading the required product information before 8 December 2026 to avoid disruption to your shipments and ensure you're ready for the new U.S. customs requirements.

What do I need to do?

If you ship products to the U.S:

1. Create a Zonos Lite Dashboard account using the registration link provided by NZ Post. You will need your NZ Post Account Number/ Trade Partner ID (TPID) to complete the account creation.
2. Upload the products and SKUs you send to the U.S. 
3. Add as much product information as possible, including product descriptions, HS codes, country of origin, manufacturer details, and any relevant certifications.
4. Review and respond to any requests from Zonos for additional product information. If further details are required, Zonos will contact you directly and provide instructions on how to update your product data.

Important: Required product information must be available in the Zonos Lite Dashboard before shipments can be processed. If information is missing, you may be asked to provide additional details before a shipping label can be generated.

When creating shipping labels

Product information must be linked to your shipping label requests for U.S.-bound shipments. The SKU and NZ Post account number recorded in the Zonos Lite Dashboard are used to identify the product information required for U.S. customs clearance.

• eShip users: Enter the SKU value from Zonos Lite Dashboard into the SKU field in eShip

• API users: Provide the SKU value from Zonos Lite Dashboard in the parcel_details.parcel_contents.sku field.

Important: You can begin populating the SKU field as soon as you are ready. NZ Post systems will not validate the associated product information until 8 December 2026.

Small Business Sending users

You can continue to send to the US as you do today. We are working through the solutions to meeting the requirements and will provide updates once the details are available.

Status of services

The following service availability applies for shipments to the United States for business senders. 

Our Economy, Economy Tracked, Economy Plus and Courier services are available for on-account business customers, with duties and taxes paid solutions (Delivered Duty Paid) for eligible items. You must have the required product information available in your Zonos Lite Dashboard to use the services to send.