The DS-2031 Shrimp Declaration remains a critical entry document for U.S. shrimp imports, connecting environmental eligibility requirements with customs compliance. A proposed renewal of the information collection gives importers and customs brokers an opportunity to review form controls, record retention practices, and related duty drawback documentation.
Why the DS-2031 Shrimp Declaration Matters
Supporting Admissibility and Sea Turtle Protections
The Shrimp Exporter's/Importer's Declaration, Form DS-2031, documents whether imported shrimp and shrimp products satisfy U.S. requirements intended to protect sea turtles. Section 609 of Public Law 101-162 generally prohibits the entry of shrimp harvested using commercial fishing methods that may adversely affect protected sea turtle populations, subject to applicable certifications and exceptions.
The declaration is therefore more than a routine commercial attachment. It supports the admissibility determination for a regulated agricultural and seafood commodity. Missing, incomplete, inconsistent, or improperly executed documentation can complicate entry processing and may lead to questions from U.S. Customs and Border Protection or the Department of State.
The collection is mandatory for covered imports. The Department of State is seeking to extend the existing approval for Form DS-2031 without proposing substantive changes to the form. The current process generally remains in place while the renewal proceeds.
Responsibilities Across the Transaction
Completion may involve the foreign exporter, the U.S. importer, and, under certain conditions, an authorized government official in the harvesting country. Each participant contributes information needed to establish the shipment's origin, harvest circumstances, and eligibility for importation.
Importers remain responsible for presenting the required declaration at the port of entry. Customs brokers may transmit entry information and help identify document problems, but broker involvement does not transfer the importer's underlying compliance responsibility.
For shipments from certified nations, equivalent data may generally be transmitted through the Automated Commercial Environment where permitted. Shipments associated with uncertified nations typically require closer documentary review and may require an original signed declaration. Importers and brokers should determine the applicable documentation path before cargo arrives rather than attempting to resolve eligibility questions after entry filing.
Operational Controls for Shrimp Import Compliance
Validate the Declaration Before Entry
A strong review process begins before the entry is transmitted. Importers and customs brokers should confirm that the DS-2031 corresponds to the commercial invoice, transportation documents, country information, product description, and shipment quantity. Party names, dates, signatures, and required governmental certifications should also be checked for completeness and consistency.
The review should distinguish the country of harvest from the country of export. Shrimp may be harvested in one jurisdiction, processed in another, and exported from a third. Treating these countries as interchangeable can create errors in certification analysis and entry documentation.
Brokers should establish escalation procedures for declarations that are missing signatures, contain ambiguous harvest information, or conflict with other shipment records. A document being present does not necessarily mean it is sufficient. Exception handling should occur before release whenever possible, with unresolved questions directed to the importer and relevant supply chain parties.
Although the estimated average reporting time is 10 minutes per response, the practical compliance burden can be higher when documents must be obtained across time zones, translated, corrected, or matched to consolidated shipments. The broader collection is estimated to involve approximately 3,000 respondents, 10,000 annual responses, and 1,666 total burden hours.
Preserve a Defensible Record
The importer must generally retain the DS-2031 for three years after entry and make it available to CBP or the Department of State upon request. The declaration should be stored with the complete entry package, including invoices, packing lists, bills of lading, entry records, origin support, harvest documentation, and relevant communications.
A practical retention program should make documents searchable by entry number, shipment reference, importer, supplier, product, and entry date. Importers should also address records maintained by customs brokers or third-party platforms. Reliance on a service provider does not eliminate the need to ensure that records remain accessible for the full retention period.
Periodic sampling can identify recurring supplier errors, inconsistent naming conventions, missing pages, and records that are stored outside the primary entry file. Those findings can then inform supplier instructions, broker procedures, and internal compliance training.
Renewal, Comments, and Duty Drawback Considerations
What the Renewal Process Means
The 60-day comment period is scheduled to begin on November 9, 2026, and continue through approximately January 8, 2027. The action seeks to extend the current information collection approval, which is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2027. It does not propose changes to the DS-2031 itself.
Importers, exporters, brokers, and other affected parties may use the comment period to address the practical burden of collecting, reviewing, presenting, and retaining the declaration. Useful comments typically identify a specific operational problem, explain its frequency and business impact, and recommend a workable improvement.
Potential topics include unclear instructions, duplicate data collection, difficulties coordinating signatures, recordkeeping costs, or opportunities to improve electronic submission. Organizations planning to comment should coordinate trade compliance, legal, brokerage, procurement, and seafood sourcing teams so that the submission reflects actual transaction workflows.
The absence of proposed form changes does not make the renewal irrelevant. It provides a natural point for importers and brokers to confirm that current procedures remain aligned with the continuing requirement.
Keep DS-2031 Records With Drawback Support
When imported shrimp later supports a duty drawback claim, the DS-2031 should remain connected to the underlying import record. Drawback substantiation generally depends on the ability to trace eligible imported merchandise, duties, exports, destruction events, and applicable inventory records. A fragmented entry file can make that analysis slower and more difficult.
The declaration does not independently establish drawback eligibility. It supports the compliance history and admissibility of the import transaction on which a potential claim may rely. Importers and brokers should maintain a clear relationship among the DS-2031, entry number, line-level merchandise, duty data, receiving records, inventory movements, and export or destruction evidence.
Duty treatment also requires careful classification by payment type. Ordinary customs duties may potentially qualify for drawback when all statutory and program requirements are satisfied. Antidumping duties assessed on shrimp are not drawback-eligible. Those amounts should be excluded from expected refund calculations rather than combined with potentially recoverable duties.
Brokers offering drawback services should make this distinction clear during opportunity analysis. Separating eligible duties from antidumping deposits and final assessments helps prevent overstated refund projections and unsupported claims.
- State Department 60-day comment period on DS-2031 renewal (no form changes proposed).* On November 6, 2026, the Department of State filed Public Notice 13156 (FR Doc. 2026-22786, docket DOS-2026-1189) for publication in the Federal Register on November 9, 2026. It seeks OMB approval to extend the currently approved information collection (OMB Control Number 1405-0095) for Form DS-2031. Comments are accepted for 60 days after publication (through approximately January 8, 2027) via Regulations.gov, email to DS2031@state.gov, or mail. The notice proposes an extension only and does not announce changes to the form.
- Unchanged burden estimates and mandatory use.* The collection documents shrimp and shrimp product imports under Section 609 of Public Law 101-162 (sea turtle protections). State estimates 3,000 respondents, 10,000 responses, 10 minutes per response, and 1,666 total burden hours. Responding is mandatory. The form is completed by the exporter, importer, and (in some cases) a harvesting-country government official. Importers must present it at the CBP port of entry, retain it for three years, and make it available on request.
- Current OMB approval status.* As of an October 8, 2026 OMB.report update, the latest Form DS-2031 approval expires April 30, 2027 (under ICR 202402-1405-002). The form (revised November 2023) remains available at eforms.state.gov.
- Ongoing import requirements from April 2026 certifications still in force.* The State Department’s April 21, 2026 determination (effective that date) certified numerous nations and Hong Kong for wild-caught shrimp eligibility. All shrimp and shrimp-product imports continue to require a completed DS-2031 (or equivalent ACE data for certified nations). Uncertified-nation shipments generally need original signed forms. No new certifications or form revisions were identified in the past 30 days.
- No prominent practitioner discussions on X or additional industry news specifically addressing the November 2026 comment notice were located in the past 30 days. Affected parties include shrimp exporters/importers, harvesting-country officials, customs brokers, and CBP.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the DS-2031 Form Being Changed?
No changes to the form are currently proposed. The Department of State is seeking an extension of the approved information collection. Importers and brokers should continue using the applicable current form and existing submission process unless revised instructions are formally implemented.
Who Completes the Shrimp Exporter's/Importer's Declaration?
The exporter and importer complete the portions applicable to their roles. Under certain conditions, an authorized government official in the harvesting country must also complete or validate part of the declaration. The exact workflow depends on the shipment's origin, harvest circumstances, and certification status.
How Long Must Importers Keep Form DS-2031?
Importers must generally retain the form for three years after entry. It should be readily retrievable and available to CBP or the Department of State upon request. Retaining it within the complete entry package supports both regulatory responses and internal audits.
Does Every Shrimp Shipment Require a Paper DS-2031?
Covered shrimp and shrimp product imports require the applicable declaration information, but the transmission method may vary. Equivalent ACE data may generally be accepted for eligible shipments from certified nations. Shipments involving uncertified nations often require original signed documentation and additional review.
Can Duties Paid on Imported Shrimp Be Recovered Through Drawback?
Some ordinary customs duties may qualify for drawback if the imported merchandise and subsequent export or destruction satisfy the applicable requirements. Antidumping duties on shrimp are not drawback-eligible. A claim analysis should separate each duty type and connect potentially eligible amounts to complete import, inventory, and export records.
How Stable Software Can Help
Support Broker-Led Drawback Programs
Customs brokers managing shrimp duty drawback need reliable connections among entry data, eligible duties, merchandise records, and export activity. DS-2031 declarations should remain within the supporting entry package, while antidumping duties must be excluded from recoverable duty calculations.
DrawbackAI is flat-license duty drawback software that U.S. customs brokers can white-label for importer clients and use to file under their own filer code. Stable Software charges a flat software license and never takes a percentage of the refund. Brokers evaluating shrimp drawback opportunities can use this model to retain control of client relationships, filing responsibilities, and refund economics while building a more scalable drawback service.
Resources
| Type | Resource |
|---|---|
| Source | Primary source |
