19 U.S.C. 1504 · 1514

CBP liquidation and protest deadline calculator

Know the day your protest window shuts before it shuts.

Enter the date of entry, or the liquidation date from the CBP liquidation bulletin, to see every deadline on the entry with the statute or regulation it comes from, as dates only and never as legal advice.

Last updated 2026-09-28. Math runs in your browser, no data leaves your computer.

Work one entry at a time, with the dates from the entry summary your broker filed or from your ACE reports. If the entry has already liquidated, the liquidation date on the bulletin is the one that counts, because 19 CFR 159.9(c) makes the posting the legal evidence of liquidation.

Take it from the entry summary, since the 1 year liquidation limit in 19 U.S.C. 1504(a) runs from this date.

Leave it blank if the entry is still open, and the tool works from the 314 day estimate instead.

Each extension adds up to 1 year, and 19 CFR 159.12(e) caps the total at 3 years.

Antidumping and countervailing entries are often suspended, and then no date can be worked out until the suspension lifts.

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General guidance only. Verify against the cited primary sources before you commit to a shipment, declaration, or contract.

How each date is worked out

The estimated liquidation date is the date of entry plus 314 days, the routine cycle named on the CBP post summary correction page, moved forward to the next Friday because section 9.2 of the ACE Entry Summary Business Rules says liquidations post on Fridays. Treat it as an estimate only, because CBP can liquidate earlier or later, and the scheduled date for your entry is visible in ACE.

The post summary correction cut off is the earlier of the date of entry plus 300 days and 15 days before the scheduled liquidation date, both from the CBP PSC page. The deemed liquidation limit is the date of entry plus 1 year under 19 U.S.C. 1504(a) and 19 CFR 159.11, plus 1 year for each extension CBP posted, never past 4 years. A 29 February start rolls back to 28 February, which keeps the answer on the early side.

From the liquidation date the tool adds 90 days for CBP's own reliquidation window under 19 U.S.C. 1501 and 180 days for the protest under 19 U.S.C. 1514(c)(3), or 90 days for an entry made before 18 December 2004 under 19 CFR 174.12(e). When you have not entered a liquidation date, it shows the protest deadline both from the 314 day estimate and from the latest date the entry could be deemed liquidated.

Worked example. A classification protest nearly missed

The booking. An importer entered a container of a resin on 3 March 2025 under a tariff line the broker later decided was wrong, with a higher duty than the correct line. The team plans to fix it by post summary correction once the lab report arrives, around mid January 2026, which looks fine on paper.

The failure. The PSC window closed before the lab report arrived. The date of entry plus 300 days is 28 December 2025, and 314 days puts the estimated liquidation on 11 January 2026, a Sunday, so the next Friday posting is 16 January 2026 and the 15 day cut off is 1 January 2026. The earlier limit, 28 December 2025, had already passed, and after liquidation 19 U.S.C. 1514 leaves one route: protest within 180 days, or pay the higher duty for good.

The fix. The entry liquidated on 16 January 2026, so 180 days runs to 15 July 2026. The broker files the protest in the ACE protest module in March with the lab report attached, well inside the window, and the classification question goes to CBP for review instead of dying on a calendar.

Exporting some of the same goods again? The duty drawback calculator estimates the 99 percent refund on duty paid and shows the 5 year claim deadline, which runs from the import date, not from liquidation.

Frequently asked

When does CBP liquidate an entry?

Most entries liquidate on CBP's routine cycle, which the CBP post summary correction page calls the 314 day liquidation cycle, and the ACE business rules say liquidations post weekly on Fridays. The legal limit is different: under 19 U.S.C. 1504(a) an entry not liquidated within 1 year from the date of entry is deemed liquidated at the rate and value the importer declared. The real scheduled date for your entry is in ACE, so treat 314 days as an estimate.

How long do I have to file a protest?

180 days after the date of liquidation for entries made on or after 18 December 2004, under 19 U.S.C. 1514(c)(3) and 19 CFR 174.12(e). Entries made before that date had 90 days. The protest cannot be filed before liquidation, and 19 CFR 174.12(f) treats the day CBP receives it as the filing date, so a protest sent on day 180 that lands on day 181 is late.

Can CBP extend the liquidation date?

Yes. Under 19 CFR 159.12 CBP can extend the 1 year period for up to 1 year at a time, either because it needs more information or because the importer asked in writing with good cause before the period ran out. Extensions cannot add more than 3 years in total, so an entry that is not suspended is deemed liquidated 4 years after the date of entry at the latest. A suspension ordered by statute or a court, common on antidumping entries, stops the clock altogether.

What is the deadline for a post summary correction?

CBP's PSC page says a correction can be filed within 300 days from the date of entry and up to 15 days before the scheduled liquidation date, whichever is earlier, and ACE rejects a PSC outside that window. If CBP has granted a liquidation extension, the 300 day limit falls away but the PSC still has to go in 15 days before the scheduled liquidation date. Once the entry is liquidated, a protest or a prior disclosure are the remaining routes.

Does this tool tell me whether I am owed an IEEPA refund?

No, the tool gives dates and the rule behind each one, nothing more, and it is not legal advice. CBP runs IEEPA duty refunds through the CAPE process described on its IEEPA duty refunds page, which treats unliquidated and liquidated entries differently, so check that page and speak to your licensed customs broker or a trade attorney about your own entries.

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Sourzi shows what official files say. It is not customs or legal advice. For a binding answer, ask a licensed customs broker, a CBP ruling or an Australian Border Force Tariff Advice.

File dates and links are on Data sources.