Procedural Guidance: CBP Form 4811, Special Address Notification
- Sarai Sepulveda
CBP Form 4811 allows the Importer of Record (IOR) to authorize a Designated Agent, also known as a 4811 Notify Party, to receive any checks, bills, refunds, and/or notices of liquidation due on a particular entry.
While checks, bills, refunds, and notices are still issued in the name of the applicable IOR, CBP Form 4811 allows the IOR to authorize a Designated Agent to receive such checks, bills, refunds, and notices mailed and sent by CBP.
Following the proper procedures will ensure that checks, bills, refunds, etc., are sent to the correct party. This procedure does not apply to Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) Refund. Processing CBP Form 4811 requires a two-step process that may be initiated through written or electronic requests. Both steps of the process are required for CBP Form 4811 to be accepted and given effect.
1. Submission of CBP Form 4811:
CBP Form 4811 must be submitted to the importer’s assigned Center of Excellence and Expertise (Center).
If an importer has not yet been assigned to a Center, CBP Form 4811 may be submitted to the Center that most closely aligns with the tariff number of the importer’s highest-valued commodity.
CBP Form 4811 must list the Agent’s Number, which may be an Employer Identification Number issued by the Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Number, or CBP-Assigned Number.
Please allow 10 business days to process CBP Form 4811.
CBP personnel will reply to the email to confirm that CBP Form 4811 has been processed.
A Center directory is available on: Centers of Excellence and Expertise Directory | U.S. Customs and Border Protection (cbp.gov).
2. Identification of the 4811 Notify Party on Entries:
After an IOR or broker acting as the IOR’s agent has verified that CBP has processed CBP Form 4811, they may file entries listing the Designated Agent as the 4811 Notify Party.
The Agent’s Number must be listed as the 4811 Notify Party on subsequent entry summaries that are intended to be covered by CBP Form 4811.
The correct execution of both steps in the proper order will authorize CBP to send the check, bill, refund, etc., to the Designated Agent instead of the IOR. Taking these steps out of order, i.e., electronically transmitting a 4811 Notify Party on an entry summary transmitted via the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) without first submitting CBP Form 4811 to the correct Center and allowing CBP enough time to process CBP Form 4811, will NOT result in a check, bill, refund, etc. being sent to a party other than the IOR listed on the entry.
If the IOR or broker acting as the IOR’s agent wants a refund to be sent to a Designated Agent after an entry summary has liquidated, they may file a protest if a protestable issue exists. When the protest is filed, block 11 in section IV of CBP Form 19 or its equivalent must be completed. The designation on CBP Form 19 supersedes any existing designation previously authorized on CBP Form 4811.
Any protest filed solely to add a Designated Agent/4811 Notify Party will be rejected as non-protestable.
Members of the trade community who have an ACE Portal account can view their refund information in the Trade Refund Report (REV-603), accessed through the ACE Secure Data Portal at https://ace.cbp.dhs.gov. All other refund questions must be directed to the Office of Finance (OF), Revenue Division at revenuerefunds@cbp.dhs.gov.
More information may be found in these sources:
When Refunds, Bills, or Notices of Liquidation are to be Mailed to Agent. 19 C.F.R. § 141.61(d)(3)