Customs clearance at the Port of San Juan
San Juan files under CBP port code 4909. We file here every day from our Cataño office, minutes from the port across the bay, and it is also the port where the single most misunderstood rule in this market applies: whether your shipment needs a customs entry at all depends entirely on where it came from, and the answer is different for mainland freight and foreign freight arriving at the same pier.
- CBP port code
- 4909
- CBP district
- 49
- Official CBP name
- San Juan, Puerto Rico
Two shipments, one pier, completely different paperwork
Puerto Rico is inside the customs territory of the United States. Freight arriving at San Juan from the mainland is therefore domestic: no CBP entry, no import duty. Freight arriving at San Juan from a foreign country is an ordinary US import: entry, bond, ISF and duty at your HTS rate.
Both can be discharged at the same terminal on the same day. The pier does not tell you which rules apply; the origin does.
What both have in common is Hacienda. Goods arriving on the island are declared to the Puerto Rico Treasury and the local excise and use tax settled before release, and that obligation is not a customs duty and is not owed to CBP.
Why a San Juan broker and a mainland broker are not the same purchase
A mainland broker can file your CBP entry perfectly well and then have nothing to say about the half of the process that happens after it. The island side is where shipments actually get stuck, and it is not customs work.
We are based here. The federal entry and the island declaration are the same file and the same people, which is the entire reason this firm exists where it does.
The airport is a separate port of entry
The Port of San Juan is 4909. San Juan International Airport is 4913. Air and ocean into the same city file under different port codes, and an importer using both is filing under both.
Services
- Tariff Refunds
- Customs Clearance
- Duty Drawback
- ISF Filing
- Customs Bonds
- Customs Exams
- In-Bond and Bonded Moves
- HTS Classification
- Trade Agreements
- PR Excise Tax and SURI
- AES Export Filing
- APHIS Permits
- Warehousing and Distribution
- Freight Forwarding Arrangements
- Binding Rulings
- Duty Payment
- Government Agency Filings
- Compliance and Recordkeeping
FAQ
What is the CBP port code for the Port of San Juan?
4909, in CBP district 49. San Juan International Airport is a separate port of entry at 4913.
Does freight from the mainland to San Juan clear customs?
No. Puerto Rico is inside the US customs territory, so mainland freight is domestic and there is no CBP entry and no import duty. It still has to be declared to Hacienda and the local tax settled before release, which is a different obligation owed to a different authority.
Does foreign freight arriving at San Juan need an entry?
Yes, exactly as at any US port: entry, bond, ISF filed 24 hours before loading at origin, and duty at your HTS rate. The origin decides this, not the pier.
Can a mainland broker handle the Puerto Rico side?
They can file the CBP entry. The island declaration to Hacienda is not customs work, and it is where shipments actually stall. Being based on the island, in Cataño, is the reason we can do both without handing you to somebody else.
Where is your office?
Our main office is at 7 C. Wilson in Cataño, across the bay from the port and minutes from it. We hold the national permit, so the same team files at San Juan and at every mainland port under filer code EWV.
Where did it ship from?
That one answer decides whether you have a customs entry or only an island declaration. Tell us the origin and the bill of lading and we will tell you exactly what this shipment needs.
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