Customs Protest Deadline Calculator
This free calculator turns the U.S. customs recovery statutes into dates. Enter your liquidation date and it computes the 180-day protest deadline under 19 USC 1514. Enter your entry date and it computes the rest of the clocks: the ACE 314-day scheduled-liquidation estimate, the one-year deemed liquidation, the Post-Summary Correction window (300 days from entry or 15 days before scheduled liquidation, whichever is earlier), the one-year 1520(d) FTA claim, and the five-year drawback deadline. Every row cites its statute, and the math never shows a later date than the law's literal day count.
Primary sources: 19 USC 1514 and 19 CFR 174.12 (protest), 19 USC 1504 and 19 CFR 159.12 (liquidation), 82 FR 50656 (PSC), 19 USC 1520(d), and 19 USC 1313(r) — each read directly for the rules this tool implements.
Already liquidated? The protest window
Not liquidated yet? Every clock from your entry date
Dates are calendar-day math from the statutes cited on each row. Verify your entry's actual dates in ACE and confirm any deadline with your broker or counsel before relying on it — especially within two weeks of a cutoff.
Read before relying on a date
- This is a deadline reference, not advice to protest. Whether a protest, PSC, CAPE declaration, or 1520(d) claim is the right vehicle is a decision for you, your broker, or counsel.
- The clocks run from your entry's actual dates in ACE — an estimated liquidation date here never substitutes for the bulletin notice.
- The 180-day window is jurisdictional. Nothing on this page — including the weekend note — extends it.
- For the IEEPA-specific countdown, see our 180-day IEEPA deadline guide.
Protest and liquidation deadline FAQ
How long do I have to file a customs protest after liquidation?
180 days from the date of liquidation or reliquidation, under 19 USC 1514(c)(3) — an entry liquidated March 6, 2026 can be protested through September 2, 2026. The window is jurisdictional: CBP cannot extend it, a late protest is void rather than merely weak, and the money becomes legally unrecoverable through protest on day 181. For decisions that aren't liquidations (exactions, exclusions, drawback denials), the 180 days runs from the date of that decision.
What date actually starts the 180-day protest clock?
The posting date of the electronic bulletin notice of liquidation on cbp.gov — under 19 CFR 159.9(c)(1), that posting is the legal evidence of liquidation. The courtesy notice your broker forwards is informational and does not set the date. Pull the official date from your ACE entry-summary reports or CBP's bulletin notices of liquidation before computing anything from memory.
What if day 180 falls on a weekend or federal holiday?
CBP's stated practice treats a filing due on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday as timely on the next business day — but that rule is administrative practice, not codified anywhere in 19 CFR Part 174. Because the deadline is jurisdictional, this calculator always shows the literal 180th day and flags weekend landings: file before the weekend, and treat the roll-forward as a safety net you never plan to use.
When will my entry liquidate?
Most consumption entries sit in ACE's default 314-day liquidation cycle, with auto-liquidations posting on Fridays — so a reasonable estimate is the first Friday on or after day 314 from entry. That is scheduling practice, not law. The legal backstop is 19 USC 1504: an entry CBP hasn't liquidated within one year is deemed liquidated by operation of law, unless the period was extended or suspended.
What is deemed liquidation?
If CBP takes no action for one year from the date of entry, the entry is deemed liquidated at the rate, value, and amount of duty you asserted at entry (19 USC 1504(a)). That starts your 180-day protest clock too. CBP can extend the one-year period for cause, in one-year increments up to three times (19 CFR 159.12), but four years from entry is the absolute ceiling: an entry still unliquidated at four years is deemed liquidated as entered no matter what.
What is the PSC deadline — 300 days or 270 days?
300 days. A Post-Summary Correction must be filed within 300 calendar days of the date of entry, or up to 15 calendar days before the scheduled liquidation date, whichever comes first (82 FR 50656, effective November 2017). The 270-day and 20-day figures still quoted on some broker sites are the superseded pre-2017 numbers — ACE will auto-reject a PSC filed outside the current windows. If your entry's liquidation was extended, the 300-day cap drops away but the 15-days-before-liquidation cutoff still applies.
Should I fix an entry by PSC or by protest?
PSC while the entry is unliquidated, protest after. A PSC amends the entry summary before liquidation — no dispute, just a correction, and it works in both directions including corrections that increase duty. Once the entry liquidates, PSC is off the table and the 180-day protest window is the remedy for recovering overpaid duty. The practical failure mode is the gap: waiting on a PSC decision while the protest clock runs. Track both dates for any entry with money at stake.
For IEEPA tariff refunds, do I use a protest or a CAPE declaration?
It depends on liquidation status. CBP's CAPE process (Phase 1, live April 20, 2026) covers unliquidated entries and entries within 80 days of liquidation. Entries liquidated longer ago than that need a protest within the 180-day window — which is why liquidated IEEPA entries from early 2026 are on hard countdowns right now — and past day 180 the last resort is a Court of International Trade complaint under its 2-year statute. Our guide on the CAPE-versus-protest-versus-PSC decision walks the full tree, channel by channel.
My entry is suspended for AD/CVD — do these deadlines still run?
No. Suspension of liquidation by statute or court order — routine for entries under AD/CVD administrative review — stops the clocks: the entry cannot deem-liquidate while suspended, and the protest window never starts because there is no liquidation yet. When the suspension lifts, CBP must liquidate within six months of notice of removal (19 USC 1504(d)), and the bulletin notice of that liquidation finally starts your 180 days. For suspended entries, monitor the suspension, not the calendar.
I forgot to claim USMCA at entry — how long do I have?
One year from the date of importation, under 19 USC 1520(d). The post-importation preference claim is its own channel — you don't need a protest, and it recovers both duty and MPF on qualifying goods, with the certification of origin filed alongside. Miss the year and the preference is gone even if the goods plainly qualified.
How long do I have to file a drawback claim?
Five years from the date the merchandise was imported (19 USC 1313(r)(1)) — the longest recovery window in customs law, which is why duty paid years ago on goods you later exported or destroyed may still be recoverable. The claim must be complete within the five years, not merely started. Our duty drawback hub covers which tariff programs are drawback-eligible and which are not.
More free tools
Recovering duty is one side; the fees on every entry are the other — check them with the MPF & HMF calculator, size your bond with the customs bond calculator, or browse all free tools.
For general reference only. See compliance disclaimer.