---
title: "How to file EEI in ACE AESDirect yourself: a first-filing walkthrough for small US exporters"
description: "File your own EEI in ACE AESDirect for free: open the exporter account, gather the data, beat the deadline for your mode, submit, and get the ITN."
canonical: https://exportdocshub.com/blog/how-to-file-eei-in-aesdirect
published: 2026-10-01
---

# How to file EEI in ACE AESDirect yourself: a first-filing walkthrough for small US exporters

> File your own EEI in ACE AESDirect for free: open the exporter account, gather the data, beat the deadline for your mode, submit, and get the ITN.

The other posts in this series answer the questions around the filing. The [decision guide](/blog/do-i-need-to-file-eei-in-aes) tells you whether a shipment needs Electronic Export Information at all. The [fatal error reference](/blog/aes-fatal-errors-response-codes) tells you what to do when AES rejects one. The [ITN post](/blog/what-is-an-itn-number) tells you what the number you get back means. This one covers the part in the middle: sitting down in ACE AESDirect for the first time and getting a filing accepted.

It is written for the person who types the commercial invoice and now has to type the export declaration too. Everything here comes from the Census Bureau's [ACE AESDirect User Guide](https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/aesdirect/ACE_AESDirect_User_Guide.pdf) (last updated April 8, 2026), its [ACE AESDirect FAQ](https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/aesdirect/ACE-AESDirect-FAQ.pdf), its [registration guide](https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/aesdirect/register_access_aesdirect.pdf), and the Foreign Trade Regulations in [15 CFR Part 30](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/15/part-30).

> This is reference guidance, not legal or classification advice. Your Schedule B number, your ECCN, and whether a license is required are yours to establish. When the answer is not obvious, a licensed customs broker or export counsel is the right call.

## First, confirm you actually have to file

Filing when you did not need to is not a violation, but it wastes your time, and skipping a filing you needed is a violation. The short version: file when any single [Schedule B number](/blog/schedule-b-number-vs-hs-code) on the shipment is worth more than $2,500, or when the goods [need an export license](/blog/do-i-need-an-export-license) at any value. Most shipments to Canada, and lines at or under $2,500, take a [NOEEI exemption legend](/blog/noeei-exemption-codes) instead. The full decision tree is in [do I need to file EEI in AES](/blog/do-i-need-to-file-eei-in-aes).

If the answer is "file," keep going.

## Part 1: Get access (once per company)

### Who signs up

The account belongs to the company, the US Principal Party in Interest (USPPI), not to an individual employee. The person who applies becomes the account owner, and the Census FAQ explains that the account owner can add other users later from the Tools tab. The ACE Exporter Account application states that only US and US territory entities may apply.

### Step 1: Have an EIN

The [registration guide](https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/aesdirect/register_access_aesdirect.pdf) starts here: you need an IRS Employer Identification Number before you can register. Getting one requires a US Social Security Number and a US physical address. If you run payroll you already have one. It is the same nine digits that become your USPPI ID in every filing, as covered in [every number on a US export declaration](/blog/export-declaration-numbers).

### Step 2: Submit the ACE Exporter Account application

The form is on CBP's site: [Apply for an ACE Exporter Account](https://ace.cbp.dhs.gov/acexpub/acexpub_Apps/ExporterAccountApplication/expForm.php). It asks for:

- **Corporate information:** EIN (entered twice), company name, an optional DUNS number, your fiscal year end, and the company address. The form says the address "may not be a Post Office box."
- **ACE account owner:** first and last name, a date of birth, telephone, and email (entered twice). Use an email address you will still read in five years.
- The owner's address, or a box to reuse the company address.
- Agreement to the terms and conditions, and a CAPTCHA.

### Step 3: Turn the emailed credentials into a login

CBP emails a username (Account ID) and a temporary password. Then, per the Census FAQ:

1. Go to [ace.cbp.gov](https://ace.cbp.gov/) and choose **Trade/PGA User Login**.
2. Click **Create an Account** and enter your first name, last name, email, and a new password.
3. When prompted, enter the username and temporary password from the email. This links your new login to the exporter account.

From then on, logging in is email, password, and a security token sent to your email.

### Step 4: Open AESDirect

Once signed in, choose **Exporter** under the **Accounts** menu, click your account name, and select **Submit AES Filing** on the right. Census asks for two browser settings: turn off the pop-up blocker completely ("If you do not disable your pop-up blocker, the portal will not open") and use Microsoft Edge for best performance. The first time in, you agree to the certification statements, then land on Shipment Manager.

### What you do not need

Some guides online still describe a tutorial, a quiz, or a letter of intent before you can file. None of those appear in the current Census registration guide. The Census FAQ is explicit that a letter of intent is only for filers using self-developed software or an AES certified service center or software vendor, and "the LOI is not needed if you will use ACE AESDirect." The certification process on the [Census AES page](https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/index.html) is for direct software connections.

### Keep the account alive

The Census FAQ lists three rules worth a calendar reminder. Log in at least once every 30 days or the account is disabled for inactivity (you do not need to file to keep it active). The password must be changed every 45 days. Three failed login attempts disable the account. Locked accounts go to the CBP ACE Account Service Desk on 866-530-4172 or ace.support@cbp.dhs.gov.

One legal obligation also comes with the login. Under [15 CFR 30.5(d)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/15/30.5), registering certifies that the company will comply with the export filing rules, usernames and passwords must stay inside the company, and when an employee with a login leaves, the company "shall immediately deactivate that username."

## Part 2: What you need before you start

Gather this before you click Create Export Filing. AESDirect will not let you skip required fields, and a half-finished draft the morning the truck arrives is how filings go in late.

| Data | AESDirect section | Where it comes from | Read more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Email address(es) for the response | Step 1 | You. Separate several with commas | |
| Shipment Reference Number (SRN) | Step 1 | **You invent it.** 1 to 17 letters and digits, no spaces, never reused | [Export numbers](/blog/export-declaration-numbers) |
| Mode of transport | Step 1 | Your booking: vessel, air, truck, rail, mail, or other | |
| Port of export (and port of unlading for vessel) | Step 1 | The carrier's booking | |
| Departure date | Step 1 | The carrier's schedule | |
| Origin state | Step 1 | Where the goods begin the journey to the port, not where you are incorporated | [Fatal errors](/blog/aes-fatal-errors-response-codes) |
| Country of destination | Step 1 | Where the goods will be consumed or further processed | |
| USPPI ID (your EIN) and contact | Step 2 | The IRS. Address must be where the goods ship from, never a PO Box | [Export numbers](/blog/export-declaration-numbers) |
| Ultimate consignee name, address, type | Step 2 | Your buyer or the actual receiver. Type is direct consumer, government entity, reseller, or other/unknown | |
| Export information code | Step 3 | `OS` for an ordinary sale | [Export numbers](/blog/export-declaration-numbers) |
| Schedule B or HTS number per line | Step 3 | Census Schedule B search. 10 digits, no periods | [Schedule B vs HS code](/blog/schedule-b-number-vs-hs-code) |
| Description, quantity, unit of measure | Step 3 | Your invoice. The unit fills in from the Schedule B number | |
| Value per line, in whole US dollars | Step 3 | Your invoice, adjusted to the port of export (see below) | |
| Shipping weight in kilograms | Step 3 | Your packing list, including normal packaging | [Packing list](/blog/export-packing-list) |
| ECCN or EAR99, and license code | Step 3 | Your classification. Most small exporters report `C33` (no license required) | [Export license](/blog/do-i-need-an-export-license), [License exceptions](/blog/ear-license-exception-aes-filing) |
| Carrier SCAC (or IATA code for air) and carrier or vessel name | Step 4 | Ask the carrier | |
| Transportation reference number | Step 4 | The ocean booking number. Required for vessel, optional for air, truck, and rail | |

Two of these trip first-time filers. The **value** is not always the invoice total. Under [15 CFR 30.6(a)(17)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/15/30.6), it is "the selling price (or the cost, if the goods are not sold), plus inland or domestic freight, insurance, and other charges to the U.S. seaport, airport, or land border port of export," rounded to the nearest dollar. If you sold ex works at your dock, the freight and insurance to the port get added. And the **origin state** and the USPPI address state must describe the same place, or AES returns compliance alert 26C.

## Part 3: The filing deadline for your mode

[15 CFR 30.4(b)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/15/30.4) sets when you must have filed and have the ITN in hand. The deadline is about the carrier, not the calendar: it is measured to loading, departure, or the border.

| Mode | Deadline | Who you give the ITN to |
|---|---|---|
| **Vessel** | 24 hours before the cargo is loaded at the US port | The exporting carrier |
| **Air**, including air express couriers | 2 hours before the aircraft's scheduled departure | The exporting carrier |
| **Truck**, including express consignment couriers | 1 hour before the truck arrives at the US border to go foreign | The exporting carrier |
| **Rail** | 2 hours before the train arrives at the US border to go foreign | The exporting carrier |
| **Mail** | 2 hours before exportation | The US Postal Service |
| **All other modes** | 2 hours before exportation | Not specified in 30.4(b) |
| **Used self-propelled vehicles** | At least 72 hours before export | CBP, plus the carrier |

Items on the US Munitions List follow the ITAR timelines instead, and shipments between the US and Puerto Rico follow their own rule. Those are the minimums in the regulation. Your carrier's documentation cutoff can be earlier, so ask when you book.

The other end of the window: AES rejects an estimated export date more than 120 days in the future (fatal error 103), so you cannot file months ahead.

## Part 4: The filing, step by step

From Shipment Manager, click **Create Export Filing**. The form has four sections. A red asterisk marks a required field, a blue diamond a conditional one, and the help icon beside most fields explains when it applies.

1. **Step 1: Shipment.** Enter the response email, the SRN, mode of transport, ports, departure date, origin state, and country of destination. Leave **Filing Option** on the default, 2 (predeparture). Postdeparture filing is only for approved USPPIs, and [15 CFR 30.5(c)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/15/30.5) lets Census deny it to a company with no filing history. Answer three yes/no questions: is this a routed transaction (no, if you control the export), are the USPPI and ultimate consignee related (yes only at 10 percent or more ownership either way), and does the shipment contain hazardous material. The in-bond code applies to goods moving under a CBP bond, which most domestic sales are not.
2. **Step 2: Parties.** You need at least one USPPI and one ultimate consignee. For the USPPI, select EIN as the ID type, then enter the company, a contact name (letters only, no accents or punctuation), phone, and the physical address the goods leave from. For the consignee, enter the company name, address, country, and consignee type. Leave the **Authorized Agent** section empty when you file for your own company. The sample shipment Census publishes says it plainly: "If the USPPI is filing, there is not an Authorized Agent; there is only a carrier."
3. **Step 3: Commodities.** Click **Add Line** for each line. Lines split by Schedule B number, by domestic versus foreign origin, and by license. For each, enter the export information code, the Schedule B number, an English description, quantity, value, shipping weight, the ECCN or EAR99 where the license code calls for it, and the license code. When the unit of measure fills in as "X," no quantity is required. Two more yes/no questions close the line: used vehicles, and partner government agency data.
4. **Step 4: Transportation.** Required for vessel, rail, truck, and air. Enter the carrier SCAC (or the IATA code for air), the vessel name or carrier name ("You may not report UNKNOWN for the Conveyance Name"), and, for ocean, the booking number as the transportation reference number. On air, leave that field empty unless you have a master air waybill in the `NNN-NNNNNNNN` format, or AES rejects it with error 170. For mail, choose Mail as the mode and there is no carrier to report.
5. **Print View.** Read the whole filing against your commercial invoice and packing list before you send it. This is the cheapest place to catch a transposed digit.
6. **Submit Filing.** AESDirect sends the filing and waits for the AES response.

## Part 5: Read the response

An accepted filing returns the ITN in three places, [per Census](https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/global-reach/2019/05/filing_in_aesdirect.html): on screen behind the **View** button, in the response email to every address you entered in Step 1, and in the ITN column of Shipment Manager. It is 15 characters, the letter X, the acceptance date, and six digits, as in `X20261001123456`.

A rejected filing returns no ITN, and in Census's words "You cannot move your export until you obtain an ITN." The response lists error codes, and the first one is often 970, which only says a rejection happened. The real problem is the next code. Every code a self-filer is likely to hit, with the fix, is in [AES fatal errors: what each response code means](/blog/aes-fatal-errors-response-codes). Correct the filing under the same SRN and resubmit. Do not cancel a rejected filing.

Warnings and verify messages mean the filing was accepted with an ITN. A warning needs the missing data within four calendar days. A verify message needs a correction only if the data is actually wrong.

## Part 6: Put the ITN on the documents

[15 CFR 30.7](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/15/30.7) requires the citation on the first page of the bill of lading, air waybill, export shipping instructions, or other commercial loading documents, clearly visible, in the form:

```
AES X20261001123456
```

In practice that means the bill of lading or air waybill and the EEI block of your [shipper's letter of instruction](/blog/shippers-letter-of-instruction). For mail, the ITN goes to the Postal Service on the customs declaration. The Census FAQ also suggests annotating the invoice and packing list, which is good practice but not a placement 30.7 names. The full placement table is in [what is an ITN number](/blog/what-is-an-itn-number).

## Part 7: When something changes after acceptance

[15 CFR 30.9](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/15/30.9) requires corrections, cancellations, and amendments to be transmitted "as soon as possible," and failing to correct is itself a violation. In Shipment Manager:

- **Amend** retrieves an accepted filing so you can change it and resubmit. The SRN stays the same.
- **Cancel EEI** withdraws an accepted filing for a shipment that will not move.
- **Delete** removes a draft you never submitted.

Shipment Manager shows 90 days at a time. For an accepted filing older than that, use **Amend Accepted Filing** with the ITN, SRN, and filer ID. If the action links are hidden, click the green plus sign at the left of the row.

## Part 8: Keep the record for five years

[15 CFR 30.10](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/15/30.10) requires every party to keep the documents for an export "for five years from the date of export," and to produce the EEI, shipping documents, invoices, orders, packing lists, and correspondence on request from Census, CBP, and the other agencies. Print the filing from Shipment Manager and file it with the shipment. Show Filters can search five years back, 90 days at a time, but only for filings made through the portal, so do not treat it as your archive.

## Your second filing is faster

AESDirect has two tools that make repeat filings mostly a matter of filling in the shipment-specific fields. **Party Profile Manager** saves a USPPI, consignee, or agent you use often, loaded from Step 2. **Template Manager** saves a whole filing, except the SRN, transportation reference number, origin state, departure date, quantities, value, and weight, which are the fields that change every time. Each EIN can hold 1,000 templates, and anyone filing under your EIN can see them.

## File it yourself, or let the forwarder file?

Both are legitimate. A forwarder can file as your authorized agent, and under [15 CFR 30.3(f)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/15/30.3) the agent needs a power of attorney or written authorization from you. For most small exporters that is the authorization block on the [SLI](/blog/shippers-letter-of-instruction). The forwarder route makes sense when you ship rarely and do not want to keep an account alive with a login every 30 days. Filing yourself makes sense when you ship regularly, because the filing tool costs nothing and you control every field.

Either way, the responsibility for accurate data stays with you as the USPPI. When the forwarder files, the SLI is the only thing between your invoice and their keyboard.

## Where filings actually go wrong

Look back at the checklist. Almost nothing on it is a hard question. The failures are the value typed from a stale quote, the weight in pounds, the consignee name spelled differently on the invoice, the PO Box from the letterhead. The same shipment lives in the invoice, the packing list, the SLI, and the AES screen, and every copy is a chance to disagree.

[ExportDocsHub](/) keeps one record per shipment: consignee, Schedule B numbers, values, weights, and Incoterm. The [commercial invoice](/blog/commercial-invoice-vs-proforma-invoice), packing list, certificate of origin, and SLI all read from it, so the numbers you type into AESDirect match the numbers on the paper, and the ITN or NOEEI legend sits in one field that cannot be left blank. If you would rather type a shipment once, [start a free trial](https://exportdocshub.com/sign-up). No credit card required.

---

**Further reading**

- Census: [ACE AESDirect User Guide](https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/aesdirect/ACE_AESDirect_User_Guide.pdf) (PDF, updated April 8, 2026)
- Census: [How to receive an ITN through ACE AESDirect](https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/aesdirect/register_access_aesdirect.pdf) (registration guide, PDF)
- Census: [ACE AESDirect FAQ](https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/aesdirect/ACE-AESDirect-FAQ.pdf) and [sample shipment](https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/aesdirect/ACE-AESDirect-Sample-Shipment.pdf)
- CBP: [ACE Exporter Account application](https://ace.cbp.dhs.gov/acexpub/acexpub_Apps/ExporterAccountApplication/expForm.php)
- Cornell LII: [15 CFR 30.4, filing deadlines](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/15/30.4), [30.9, corrections](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/15/30.9), and [30.10, record retention](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/15/30.10)

**Related on this site**

- [Do I need to file EEI in AES? A decision guide for small US exporters](/blog/do-i-need-to-file-eei-in-aes)
- [AES fatal errors: what each response code means and how to fix it](/blog/aes-fatal-errors-response-codes)
- [What is an ITN number? The 15 characters that prove your export was declared](/blog/what-is-an-itn-number)
- [Every number on a US export declaration, decoded](/blog/export-declaration-numbers)
- [NOEEI exemption codes: the complete list for small US exporters](/blog/noeei-exemption-codes)
- [Schedule B number vs HS code: which one you need](/blog/schedule-b-number-vs-hs-code)
- [Do I need an export license? The question that cancels every AES exemption](/blog/do-i-need-an-export-license)
- [Does a license exception mean you skip AES? Usually not](/blog/ear-license-exception-aes-filing)
- [How to fill out a shipper's letter of instruction (SLI), step by step](/blog/shippers-letter-of-instruction)

*Written by [Anas Marwan](/authors/anas-n), Co-founder of Darza Technologies. Last reviewed 2026-10-01.*

---

Source: https://exportdocshub.com/blog/how-to-file-eei-in-aesdirect (https://exportdocshub.com)