September 21st, 2026
Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) Interim Final Rule
To address ongoing aviation security threats, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published an interim final rule to enhance its Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) program on November 21, 2025.
Under this program, air carriers like FedEx are required to collect additional data elements from shippers for certain international shipments that move through our connected global network.
While we are currently operating under a phased enforcement period, full enforcement starts on May 1, 2027. Capturing the complete information now will ensure a seamless transition and help prevent shipping delays. For full details on the enforcement phase and timing, view the CBP announcement.
Some of the enhanced ACAS data elements that FedEx will need to collect from shippers include the following mandatory data elements:
- Consignee email address
- Consignee phone number
- Ship to Party name and address (if different from Consignee)
- The shipper’s Verified Known Consignor status
In certain scenarios, additional data elements will need to be collected from shippers, including:
- Shipper email address
- Shipper phone number
- Biographic data
- The unmasked IP address or MAC address of the device used by the consignee to purchase the product and the product's:
- URL link; or
- SKU number
Due to the strict enforcement of this rule, significant impacts are expected if data is missing or incomplete when full enforcement begins on May 1, 2027. For instance, non-compliant shipments could face shipping delays. As a result, please take action now to avoid such impacts, including updating your shipping systems. APIs may need to be updated to capture the new fields.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has provided Enhanced ACAS FAQs with more details and you can view the official Federal Register announcement for more information.
