ACAS filing that completes, checks and answers CBP before every US-bound flight loads
Every US-bound shipment filed correctly before loading, no referral open at departure.
See one case, screen by screen ↓ACAS filing is the advance data an inbound air carrier, or another eligible filer, sends CBP for every house shipment bound for the United States under the Air Cargo Advance Screening rule, 19 CFR 122.48b, before the cargo is loaded. ACAS Filing Compliance adds seven agents that complete and check each house filing, answer CBP referrals with every word cited and guard each do-not-load, while the ACAS specialist approves and signs.
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Under the Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) rule, 19 CFR 122.48b, the ACAS filing for every house shipment on a US-bound flight must reach CBP before the cargo is loaded. Forwarders send their house data late, sometimes with a PO box for a shipper address, no consignee phone, or a description like “SPARE PARTS”, “GIFT” or “SAMPLES” that CBP will not accept. CBP answers each filing: assessment complete, a referral for information, a referral for screening, or a do-not-load. Every referral has to be resolved before the aircraft departs, and today that is a specialist reading CBP's message, digging out the commercial invoice, rewriting the description and re-filing by hand while the load controller builds the ULDs.
The rule is getting harder. CBP's Enhanced ACAS interim final rule added consignee email and phone, ship-to party and packing location on every house, shipper contact and account data for shippers who are not verified known consignors, and shipping cost and device IP address for walk-in shippers, with enforcement from May 1, 2027. A late answer means an offload and a shipper who misses its flight; a missed element means a penalty; and when CBP or TSA asks a question weeks later, the evidence sits in emails, the cargo system and the filing service's message log.
Estimated split of one ACAS specialist's eight-hour shift covering eight to ten US-bound flights, by hand and with the solution.
Seven specialist agents complete, check and answer every CBP filing on the loading clock; the ACAS specialist approves and signs.
Thursday, October 15, 2026, 11:47 UTC. Nadia Brooks is on the Corvane Cargo compliance desk. Eight US-bound flights load in the next 12 hours with 5,112 house filings. Here is how she works with the agents, screen by screen, in the working solution.
Departures lists the 8 flights in loading order: 5,112 house filings, 4,746 accepted, 13 that need her, 5 waiting on forwarders and 348 in progress. CV 205 CDG–JFK loads in 53 minutes with a do-not-load held apart. CV 141 AMS–IAD loads in 3 h 03 m, and its row already says what the agents did. The ACAS agent beside the board briefs her, nearest first.
ACAS agent on CV 141: “Two filings on CV 141 lack a valid shipper address; I drafted fixes.”
Nadia types the question the way she would ask a colleague. The load control agent answers: HWB 88231 cannot load until CBP accepts the answer she approves, and HWB 88602 still lacks consignee phone and email. It will warn Pieter Haasbroek at 13:20 and propose tomorrow's flight at 13:50 if nothing arrives. Every claim carries a numbered source, and “Open CV 141” takes her there.
“Everything else on CV 141 is accepted or drafted.”
The intake agent read 384 house messages from 23 forwarders and built each filing. The ACAS agent checked every one against 19 CFR 122.48b(d) and the description list, sent the clean, unchanged filings under the standing rule — 379 accepted by CBP — and held two houses whose shipper address was a PO box, “Postbus 4410, Tilburg”, with the street address drafted from the forwarder's booking. Nadia ticks both and approves them in one step, reason A2.
“Clean, unchanged filings go to CBP under the standing rule Grace Achterberg signed; every changed value waits for a person.”
Halvard Logistics sent house 88231 late, at 11:32: four pieces, 38.0 kg, from Vandermolen Hydrauliek BV in Utrecht to Prairie Row Implement Co. in Des Moines. The description “HYDRAULIC PARTS” passed the description list, so it was filed at 11:34. At 11:41 CBP sent a referral for information. The filing screen shows CBP's words, what they mean in plain words, and every field as filed against what is proposed.
CBP: “Cargo description is too vague to assess. Provide a precise description of the goods.”
The referral agent read commercial invoice INV-2026-1187 and packing list PL-2026-1187. Line 1 of the invoice reads “Hydraulic gear pump, cast aluminum housing, model HG-32, for agricultural tractors”, qty 4, tariff code 8413.60. Its draft: “HYDRAULIC GEAR PUMPS FOR AGRICULTURAL TRACTORS, CAST ALUMINUM, 4 UNITS”, with HTS 8413.60. Each word links to the passage it came from; one click opens the invoice line.
Without seeing the first agent's reasoning, the check agent confirms that the draft names the item and what it is for, as CBP asks; that every word is in the invoice and the count matches the packing list; and that 8413.60, rotary positive-displacement pumps, fits a gear pump. Confidence 0.96. The ACAS agent proposes adding “hydraulic parts” to Corvane's description list, a change that waits for Grace Achterberg.
A disagreement from the check agent holds the draft for a person.
Nadia can approve and send, edit the wording (reason E1, re-checked before it goes) or reject it and ask the forwarder (R2). She approves with reason A1, “Corrected from the shipper's documents”, and her e-signature. The answer goes to CBP through Corvane's approved connection the moment she signs.
“Nothing goes to CBP until you sign. Your decision, its reason and the sources are kept on the trail.”
Three minutes after Nadia signs, CBP returns assessment complete for HWB 88231. The house moves to accepted on CV 141 with nearly three hours to spare before load close at 14:50.
“Approved and sent by Nadia Brooks · reason A1 · sent 11:49 UTC · CBP: assessment complete, OK to load at 11:52.”
House 88602 from Dutchgate Forwarding still lacks consignee phone and email, both mandatory at the house level. The forwarder agent asked at 10:12 and reminded at 10:42 and 11:12. At 13:20 the load control agent warns Pieter Haasbroek, the AMS load controller, and at 13:50 it proposes tomorrow's CV 141. Moving a house is his decision.
“It never moves the house itself.”
CBP issued a do-not-load on HWB 61442 on CV 205 CDG–JFK at 10:18. The ACAS agent paged Camille Dufresne and Nadia at 10:19 and opened the protocol; Nadia acknowledged to the CBP ACAS desk at 10:24; Camille located the piece in build-up and held it apart at 10:31, ULD not yet built, and informed airport police at 10:33. Shipper and consignee are shown only to people on the protocol.
“Only CBP can release a do-not-load. No agent and no button here can.”
The same US-bound flights, seen by five of the people who carry them — what their shift looked like, and what it looks like now.
Seven specialist agents complete, check and answer every CBP filing on the loading clock; the ACAS specialist approves and signs.
Reads bookings and master and house air waybill messages (FHL and XFZB) from the cargo management system and the forwarders, and builds each house filing.
Checks every filing against 19 CFR 122.48b and the description list, sends clean, unchanged filings under the standing rule, drafts fixes and watches CBP's answers. On a do-not-load it pages the station and opens the protocol.
Reads every draft separately, without the first agent's reasoning, and agrees or disagrees against the source documents and CBP's guidance.
Reads each CBP referral and gathers exactly what CBP asked for — the commercial invoice, packing list, marketplace order line or station screening record — and drafts the answer with every word cited.
Drafts and chases requests for missing data on Corvane's approved wording, scores the 46 forwarders and tracks enhanced-element gaps.
Watches every house against its flight's loading time and warns the station 90 and 60 minutes before, with a proposal such as the next flight.
Keeps the chained audit trail, builds read-only evidence packs per arrival and drafts the monthly ACAS report for the Head of Cargo Compliance to sign.
Approve every answer; only CBP releases a do-not-load. The agents propose; a named person decides.
Every main screen has the agents beside it. Ask in plain words; each answer cites its source and offers the next step, and nothing is sent until a person approves.
What could miss CV 141?
Two things. HWB 88231 cannot load until CBP accepts the answer you approve. HWB 88602 still lacks consignee phone and email; I warn Pieter Haasbroek at 13:20 and propose tomorrow's flight at 13:50 if nothing arrives. Everything else on CV 141 is accepted or drafted.
Why was HWB 88231 referred?
The filed description, “HYDRAULIC PARTS”, does not say what the item is. The invoice says hydraulic gear pumps for agricultural tractors, 4 units; CBP asks to name the part and what it is for. I proposed adding “hydraulic parts” to Corvane's description list.
Which forwarders are late today?
Two. Calder Freight owes consignee email or phone on 4 CV 93 houses; Dutchgate Forwarding owes it on HWB 88602. Both reminded; I copied Dutchgate's export desk lead at 11:12.
What changes on May 1, 2027?
CBP starts enforcing the elements added in November 2025: consignee email and phone, ship-to party and packing location on every house, and account and device data for shippers who are not verified known consignors. Penalties: $5,000 per violation, up to $100,000 per arrival.
13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.
The rules the agents follow are settings. Changes from anyone else are proposals that wait for the Head of Cargo Compliance, and every approval is on the trail.
| Setting | Default | Choose from |
|---|---|---|
| Standing rule for clean filings | On | On · Off — a filing the forwarder sent, unchanged, that passes every check goes to CBP without waiting for a person |
| Any changed value needs a person | Always on | Fixed — cannot be turned off |
| The check agent must agree | On | On · Off — a disagreement holds the draft for a person |
| Lowest confidence for a draft | 0.90 | Below this the agent asks the forwarder instead of drafting |
| Cutoff warnings (minutes before loading) | 90 and 60 | First warning to the load controller; then the proposal to move a house |
| Description list | CBP Pub. 3714-0524 + 38 Corvane additions | Descriptions held before filing; additions proposed from referrals |
| Forwarder readiness target | 95% | Share of houses carrying every enhanced element |
| Do-not-load | Always on | Agents page, record and remind; no agent can clear it |
Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.
“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample data for Thursday, October 15, 2026 and the 30 days before · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate · “typical” = published figures (19 CFR 122.48b; Enhanced ACAS interim final rule, 90 FR 52796, November 21, 2025; CBP CSMS #69486540, enforcement from May 1, 2027; FreightWaves on CBP's estimates — $5,000 per violation, up to $100,000 per arrival, $877M–$1.04B industry cost; CBP Publication 3714-0524 on acceptable cargo descriptions). Corvane Airways, its people, forwarders, shippers, consignees, invoices and air waybills are fictional — characters and sample data in the working solution.
ACAS filing is the advance data an inbound air carrier, or another eligible filer, sends CBP for every house shipment bound for the United States under the Air Cargo Advance Screening rule, 19 CFR 122.48b, before the cargo is loaded. ACAS Filing Compliance adds seven agents that complete and check each house filing, answer CBP referrals with every word cited and guard each do-not-load, while the ACAS specialist approves and signs.
CBP's Enhanced ACAS interim final rule added consignee email and phone, ship-to party and packing or pickup location on every house, plus shipper email and phone and account billing type for shippers who are not verified known consignors, and shipping cost and device IP address for walk-in or occasional shippers. CBP extended phased enforcement to May 1, 2027. The Readiness screen measures every filing against these elements today and rehearses enforcement on the day's flights.
The referral agent reads what CBP asked and gathers exactly that from the commercial invoice, packing list, booking or marketplace order line, then drafts the answer with each word linked to its source. A separate check agent must agree before the specialist can approve. Nothing goes to CBP until the specialist signs with a reason code.
The ACAS agent pages the station load controller and the specialist and opens a protocol where every step is timed and logged: the acknowledgment to the CBP ACAS desk, the piece located and held apart, law enforcement informed, the ULD built without it. No agent and no button can clear a do-not-load; only CBP can release it, and a person records CBP's instruction.
Every filing is checked against a description list built from CBP's published examples of unacceptable and acceptable descriptions plus the airline's own additions. When a description such as “SPARE PARTS” or “SAMPLES” is held, the agents draft a precise one from the shipper's documents, and descriptions that drew a referral can be proposed for the list.
The rule lets forwarders and other eligible filers file, but the inbound air carrier must file if no one else does, and many forwarders send their house air waybill data to the carrier. This solution is built for the carrier's compliance desk: it takes house messages from every forwarder, chases missing data on approved wording and scores each forwarder's first-time-right and readiness.
Yes. Only clean, unchanged filings go under a standing rule signed by the Head of Cargo Compliance. Any value an agent changed waits for the specialist's approval, reason code and e-signature; agents never answer CBP by themselves, never offload or move a shipment, and every rule change needs the Head of Cargo Compliance.
The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents — your filer profile, cargo system and forwarder feeds, station screening records and description list — and it goes live once every quality gate has passed. We will walk you through it on your own US-bound filings first.
Spot quotes in minutes, priced to the rule and the space on the flight.
1-min demoAir Cargo Revenue ManagementEvery kilo sold at what it is worth, with the reason on every published rate.
1-min demoAir Waybill Data ValidationEvery waybill right before acceptance: fewer holds, and the bill matches the freight.
1-min demoWe'll run ACAS Filing Compliance on a sample of your own house filings, CBP replies and forwarder data.