Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

As a Verified Account, you have access to:

• Orders and label creation
• Shipments (your shipments appear here as soon as they're created)
• Manifests (consolidation groups)
• Bulk CSV order upload
• Item Quoter
• Invoices
• Settings (business information, billing, Later Pay Number, fulfillment centers, team members)

No. Your Zonos Verified Account is free to use. You're billed only for duties and the postal clearance fee on each U.S.-bound shipment.

The postal clearance fee is listed in your Zonos Dashboard under Settings → Billing, in the Plan section.

Open an order from Dashboard → Orders and click Create label. To label multiple orders at once, check them on the list and click Create labels in the page header.

See Creating shipping labels for the full flow.

Insurance is available on the service levels that support it, and you set it in the Create label dialog:

• EMS – Includes free indemnity up to ¥20,000. To insure beyond that, enter the full contents value, up to ¥2,000,000 (or the shipment's item total, whichever is lower).
• Parcel – Turn on Insure this shipment and enter an insured value, up to ¥688,363 (or the shipment's item total, whichever is lower).
• Other service levels (letters, printed matter, small packet, ePacket) don't offer insurance.

When creating labels in bulk, insurance is all-or-nothing — check Insure each shipment for its full item value to insure the whole batch, or create a label from the individual order to set a custom amount.

On the fulfilled shipment row, open the three-dot menu and click Void label. Voiding removes the shipment from its consolidation group automatically.

Void before handing the parcel to Japan Post. Once the manifest is closed, the label is final.

A manifest is the Japan Post Code 61 dispatch slip you hand over with your parcels. You add shipments to a consolidation group when creating labels, then close the group to produce the manifest.

See Closing and printing manifests for details.

Enter the prefecture in Romaji using the standard English form: Tokyo, Osaka, Kumamoto, Hokkaido, and so on. A blank or invalid prefecture will block label creation.

Every fulfillment center used on a Japan Post label needs a complete address: line 1, city, prefecture, postal code, and phone number. Open the fulfillment center from Settings → Shipping → Locations, fill in any missing fields, and save.

The prefecture on the fulfillment center is either blank or not a valid Japanese prefecture name. Open the fulfillment center from Settings → Shipping → Locations and enter the prefecture in Romaji (e.g. Tokyo).

Orders you create in the Dashboard appear on the Orders page immediately. Orders imported from Japan Post (for example, processed outside of Zonos) appear once Japan Post sends order data to Zonos — this can take a few days.

Labels you create in the Dashboard (single or bulk) appear on the Shipments page as soon as they're created. Labels created through the Zonos API appear on the Shipments page once Japan Post's dispatch (PREDES) data reaches Zonos, rather than at label creation.

As of July 24, 2026, the duty prepayment threshold has risen from $800 to $2,500 USD. Your Verified Account should be used for postal shipments under $2,500 USD. Shipments at or above $2,500 USD follow standard customs entry procedures.

Duties are calculated per item based on country of origin and aggregated for the shipment total. The total appears on your Zonos invoice once postal shipment data is received.

Gifts valued over 100 USD are dutiable. Zonos calculates duties on the total gift value and bills your Verified Account accordingly.

Yes. Letters and documents of no commercial value are not impacted by the requirement.

CBP defines a bona fide gift as an item previously owned by a donor and given outright without compensation. Items acquired by purchase, barter, or as bonus items are not considered bona fide gifts.

• Individual to individual: The parcel should be clearly marked as a gift. CBP generally recognizes gifts not exceeding USD$100 in value.
• Business to individual: CBP generally does not recognize these as bona fide gifts. However, if it is a true gift, the parcel should be marked as such and include a statement.

To send a bona fide gift, select the Gift category on the customs declaration.

Postal operators like Japan Post must work with an approved third-party to comply with U.S. CBP requirements. Zonos is one of the first qualified third parties approved by U.S. authorities. Japan Post partnered with Zonos to enable continued service to the U.S. for parcels requiring prepaid duties.

There are no additional Japan Post fees from Zonos.

Business customers with a Zonos Verified Account are invoiced directly by Zonos for:

• Duties (based on country of origin)
• Postal clearance fee (varies by post and can be viewed in Dashboard under Settings → Billing, under Plan)

You're charged after your parcels are inducted into the postal stream, not when labels are created. There are no subscription or hidden charges.

No. The postal clearance fee is applied per parcel, not per individual item.

Contact the Zonos support team for assistance: support@zonos.com

According to CBP, U.S. returns are not duty-free and require duties to be paid.

Exceptions where returns are exempt from duty:

• Undeliverable items with the original U.S. S-10 barcode and the package intact
• Refused items with the original U.S. S-10 barcode and the package intact

• If your 3PL allows you to bring your own Japan Post account (BYOA), you should set up a Verified Account with Zonos for your Japan Post Later Pay Number.
• If your 3PL allows you to use their Japan Post account, the 3PL needs to add your Later Pay Number to their Zonos Verified Account.

3PLs should not ask merchants to create a Verified Account with the 3PL's Later Pay Number.

In your Zonos Dashboard, go to Settings → General. Scroll to the Danger Zone section. Choose Archive organization to make your dashboard read-only, or Deactivate organization to remove access for all users. Follow the on-screen prompts to confirm.

If your product description doesn't align with the HS code, customs authorities may reclassify your shipment based on what they think it is. This can cause duty and tax adjustments, clearance delays, or even returns to sender.

Use a straightforward, accurate description (for example, "leather men's wallet" instead of "premium accessory") to ensure your HS code stays correct.

See this guide for more details.