Empty ACE Manifest (CBP)
| This article is part of the BorderConnect ACE eManifest Guide and the Shipment Release Types Guide |
An Empty ACE Manifest is an ACE eManifest trip that is transmitted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) without any shipment bills attached. It is commonly used for empty trucks, bobtail moves, or certain situations where the driver must still notify CBP of the conveyance arrival but there is no standard ACE shipment to report.
Training video: How to create an empty ACE Manifest in BorderConnect.
CBP's advance truck-cargo regulations apply to trucks required to report arrival that will have commercial cargo aboard.[1] Although CBP does not generally require ACE cargo data when a truck is physically empty or bobtailing, some ports or carrier procedures may still require or recommend filing an empty ACE Manifest. When in doubt, confirm with the port, broker, or carrier compliance contact before the driver arrives.
Creating an Empty ACE Manifest in BorderConnect
Step 1
Navigate to Start New ACE eManifest under the ACE eManifest menu option.
Step 2
Enter the ACE eManifest trip data, but do not create any shipment records. Click Save in the top left of the page. This will bring you to the ACE eManifest details page.
Step 3
Confirm that the trip information is correct, then click Sync with CBP. This transmits the empty ACE eManifest to CBP and indicates that no shipments are being transmitted with the manifest.
Wait for Acceptance
Once CBP accepts the empty trip ACE eManifest and the status changes to On File, indicated in BorderConnect by three blue bars, the driver can proceed to the border.
Creating an Empty Trip for Other Shipment Types
Some shipments or movements may not have standard ACE eManifest shipment functionality. In those cases, carriers may use an empty or trip-only manifest to report the conveyance while the driver presents the required paperwork to CBP.
- ATA Carnet
- In ACE eManifest there is presently no standard functionality to declare a Carnet shipment. As such, highway carriers can leave the Carnet shipment off the manifest, have the driver verbally declare the shipment, and present the Carnet document to the officer. If there are no other shipments on the truck, it is recommended that the carrier still prepare an empty truck manifest so CBP has advance notice of the driver's arrival.
- Military or Department of Defense Goods
- Department of Defense or other U.S. Government shipments may have special release or duty-free entry procedures, including procedures under 19 CFR Part 10.[2] If the carrier has other shipments aboard, those other shipments should be reported on the ACE eManifest as usual. If the only freight loaded on the truck is the government or DOD shipment and it cannot be reported as a standard ACE shipment, the carrier should confirm the correct process with CBP or the port and may need to create an empty truck manifest to notify CBP of the driver's arrival.
- Instruments of International Traffic Under 10.41b
- There may be no standard ACE shipment functionality for certain Instruments of International Traffic under 19 CFR 10.41b, such as CHEP pallets or similar pooled shipping devices.[3] If there are no other shipments on the ACE Manifest, it is often recommended to create an ACE Manifest without a shipment and have the driver declare the instruments at the port.