Methodology
Every rule, limit, and restriction on this site traces back to an official government or intergovernmental source. Here is exactly how we collect, verify, and maintain that information.
What “verified” means
A data point is marked verified only when we have located it in an official primary source — a government customs authority website, a published gazette notice, a treaty text, or an intergovernmental body publication — and confirmed that it is current.
We do not accept secondary reporting (news articles, blog posts, shipping company FAQs) as a verification source. If we cannot find an official source, the status shows as unknown rather than inheriting a value from elsewhere. When we find conflicting official sources we note the conflict and link both.
Inline source links are intentional. We show them so you can click through and read the original text yourself. If the link has changed or the page has been updated since we last checked, that is a signal the rule may have changed too — please report it.
Data sources
We draw from the following categories of official source:
- National customs authorities. The official customs and border protection agency of each destination country is always the primary source for import restrictions, duty rates, and declaration thresholds. Examples include HMRC (UK), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Australian Border Force, and their equivalents in every country we cover.
- World Customs Organization (WCO). The WCO publishes the Harmonized System (HS) nomenclature, binding tariff schedules, and guidance on customs valuation. We use WCO materials for HS chapter definitions and classification notes.
- Universal Postal Union (UPU). The UPU maintains the official prohibited and restricted items lists for international mail. We reference UPU lists for posting restrictions alongside carrier-specific rules.
- Carrier official pages. For postal and parcel carrier rules (prohibited items, weight and dimension limits, insurance thresholds), we use only the carrier's own published terms of carriage, not reseller summaries.
- WHO for medications. The World Health Organization's Model List of Essential Medicines and international narcotic scheduling under the WHO/INCB framework inform our medication classification. Individual country rules override these where stricter national legislation applies.
- Government trade tariff tools. Where available, we link directly to official tariff lookup tools — such as the UK Global Trade Tariff, the EU TARIC database, the U.S. HTS Online Reference Tool, and equivalent national instruments — rather than republishing rate tables that can become stale.
Update cadence and lastVerified dates
Each rule, country profile, and carrier entry carries a lastVerified date. This is the date we last checked the official source and confirmed the information was current — not necessarily the date the rule itself was last changed.
We do not run automated scrapers that update dates without human review. A lastVerified date advances only when a human has read the source and confirmed the data still matches it.
High-traffic and high-change areas — duty-free allowances, de minimis thresholds, medication schedules, and any rule in a country that has announced a customs reform — are reviewed more frequently. Stable classifications (HS chapter definitions, Incoterms, foundational prohibited items) are reviewed on a longer cycle.
If a lastVerified date is more than 18 months ago, treat the information as a starting point and confirm it with the linked official source before acting on it. Rules change; our update cycle cannot always keep pace with every jurisdiction.
Confidence grading
Where a rule schema carries a confidence field, it is one of three values determined on the same basis every time:
- The rule is stated in a primary national-customs source, the text directly answers the rule question, and we have verified the source resolves correctly. No interpretation required.
- The rule comes from a primary source but requires a small interpretive step (e.g. inferring a value from a referenced general schedule), or the source is a secondary official page (ministry guidance rather than the law itself).
- The rule is supported by a sourced authority but the underlying text is vague, partially contradicted by another official source, or the value is changing rapidly. Treat as a strong starting point; confirm before acting.
A rule with no confidence value has not been graded. The absence of a grade is never interpreted as high confidence.
Source-link health monitoring
Government URLs move. When the URL we cite for a rule returns an error or a redirect to an unrelated page, the rule's evidence trail is weakened even if the rule itself is still correct. We run a link-health script (scripts/check-source-links.mjs) against every cited URL and surface broken ones for re-sourcing.
Where an official URL has moved permanently, we update the citation. Where a page has been taken down without a successor, we cite the Wayback Machine snapshot of the last good version alongside the most recent live analogue, so the evidence trail is preserved.
What we explicitly do not do
Our independence from commercial interests is fundamental to providing neutral reference information. Specifically:
- We do not sell shipping. There are no booking flows, rate comparison engines, or click-to-ship integrations on this site.
- We do not take affiliate commissions from carriers. When we reference FedEx, DHL, Royal Mail, or any other carrier, we link to their official published documentation. We receive no compensation from any carrier.
- We do not provide customs brokerage referrals. We do not maintain a directory of customs brokers, recommend specific brokers, or receive referral fees from brokerage firms.
- We are not a freight forwarder. We do not arrange transportation, consolidate shipments, issue bills of lading, or act in any operational capacity in the movement of goods.
- We do not provide legal advice. The information here is reference material, not a legal opinion. For commercial import decisions above de minimis values, consult a licensed customs broker or trade compliance specialist in the destination country.
How we handle uncertainty
Customs regulations are genuinely incomplete or contradictory in many jurisdictions. When we cannot find a reliable official source, or when sources conflict without resolution, we use the status unknown and say so explicitly.
We do not interpolate from similar countries, extrapolate from older versions of a rule, or leave a field blank in a way that could be mistaken for “no rule exists.” A blank or missing status on this site always means we have not found a reliable source — not that the item is necessarily unrestricted.
Where we know a rule exists but cannot determine its precise limit (for example, a country that restricts “personal use quantities” of a medication without specifying a number), we describe what we know and link directly to the source so you can make your own judgment.
Why we show sources inline
Many customs reference sites aggregate rules without attribution, making it impossible to check whether information is current or correctly interpreted. We believe the right approach is to show the official source alongside every claim so that you — or your customs broker, lawyer, or compliance team — can read the primary text directly.
If a source link has moved, a page has been archived, or the rule has changed since our last review, the inline link will break or show outdated content. That is a feature, not a bug: it is a signal to check the current official source rather than relying on our cached copy.
Report an error
If you find information on this site that is incorrect, out of date, or missing a primary source, we want to know. Errors can be reported by clicking the “Report an issue” link that appears on every rule and country profile page.
Helpful error reports include:
- The URL of the page with the error
- What the page currently says
- What it should say
- A link to the official source that contradicts it
We review all reports and update the relevant entries as quickly as possible. We do not guarantee response times, but we take every report seriously.
For background on what this site covers and what it does not, see About Goods Across Borders. For the legal disclaimer that applies to all information on this site, see Disclaimer.