ATA Carnet for Robotics brought to you by RobotLife

The ATA Carnet in the United States

Say your company is flying a demo robot to a Las Vegas trade fair, or trucking one up to a customer in Toronto. An ATA Carnet lets that equipment leave the country and come back without paying import duties or posting a cash deposit at the border each time. It's the standard document for temporary exports, and it works at every US port. This guide walks through the whole thing, including the sharp edges: nobody stamps you out automatically when the goods leave, and trade-fair goods enter under a specific customs label.

How the process works

Two organisations share the job, and neither one is a state agency:

From there the path is short: apply through one of the two providers, have CBP activate the carnet before your first trip, get it stamped on the way out, and present it again when the goods come home. The step-by-step guide below covers each stage.

One thing companies often ask: the process is the same in all 50 states. Customs is federal, so CBP applies one rulebook at every border point, whether you fly out of New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. The only thing that changes from port to port is practical, opening hours and phone numbers, which is why "call the port before you travel" runs through this whole guide. By regulation, carnets are valid in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, but not in Guam or the US Virgin Islands.

The guide, step by step

1 Get a carnet
USCIB's two providers, the tiered fees, the 40% security bond 2 Use it at the border
Arrival validation, re-export deadlines, and getting that exit stamp 3 Fix a problem
Missed stamps, claims and liquidated damages, the TIB route for longer stays

Quick answers instead? The US ATA Carnet FAQ covers costs, deadlines, trade-fair rules and more in short Q&As.

Where to get it stamped

Any CBP port can validate a carnet; the law names no restricted list. The guide below pairs each major gateway with its address, phone and hours, plus the advice that runs through this whole section: call the port before you fly.

US airports

JFK, O'Hare, LAX, Las Vegas, Miami and more - CBP offices, hours, and why you should call ahead

Key US facts

Issued by USCIB, via two appointed service providers, Roanoke and Boomerang Carnets
Typical cost Tiered by goods value, $255 to $545 basic fee (as published 2026-07-06, confirm with the issuer), plus security of 40% of the goods value, usually as a surety bond
Validity 12 months, never extendable. The US doesn't accept replacement carnets either; converting to a TIB entry before expiry is the only longer-stay route
Customs side CBP validates and stamps at ports of entry and departure; find yours in the CBP port directory (English)
Trade-fair quirk The US isn't a party to the Exhibitions & Fairs convention. Trade-fair goods still get in, but as commercial samples or professional equipment, never as "exhibition goods"

New to carnets entirely? Start with What is an ATA Carnet? and the robotics guide, then come back here for the US specifics.

Sources

Every factual claim on this page comes from the sources below, checked on the "last reviewed" date in the footer. Official resources are linked in whatever language they are published in.