CBP flagged your container for exam? Here's how VACIS, tailgate, and intensive CES exams work at PortMiami — the costs, the delays, and how to keep demurrage from compounding.
Why CBP Picks Your Container
Few things rattle an importer like the message that a container has been "flagged for exam." Suddenly a shipment you've already sold against is frozen — and the clock on demurrage doesn't stop while it sits. At PortMiami, where free time is tight and storage fees are steep, understanding the exam process is the difference between a minor delay and a five-figure surprise.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection selects shipments for examination for a mix of reasons: random screening, a new importer or supplier with little history, incomplete or inconsistent paperwork, a commodity that's high-risk for intellectual-property or trade issues, or a referral from a partner agency like the FDA or USDA. You rarely get a "why." What you get is a hold and an exam type.
The Three Exam Types — From Quick to Painful
CBP uses three main exam types, each with different costs and timelines:
Who Pays? You Do.
The importer of record is responsible for every cost the exam generates: drayage to and from the CES, devanning and restuffing, and CES storage — which runs roughly $150–$200 per day during the exam. And here's the trap: the shipping line's demurrage clock keeps running the whole time, often $300–$350 per day on top of the CES fees. An intensive exam typically takes anywhere from 7 days to 3 weeks depending on the inspection queue, so the bill compounds fast.
How a Good Drayage Partner Limits the Damage
Once a container is flagged, speed is everything. Your carrier should be tracking the hold status daily, ready to move the box to the CES the moment it's ordered and back the moment it's released, and watching the demurrage and per-diem clocks so nothing sits an extra day. Asset-based carriers have the edge here — they're not waiting on third-party capacity to free up while your storage fees climb.
What You Can Do to Reduce Exam Risk
File complete, accurate entry data through your customs broker; make sure your commercial invoice, packing list, and HTS classifications match; build a relationship and compliance history with CBP over time; and pad your lead times during peak season, when exam queues are longest. You can't eliminate exams — but clean paperwork and a fast drayage partner keep them from becoming a crisis.