Completing the US Post Office Customs Form
NOTICE: For security purposes, Do Not include addresses in the comments below. If you have questions specific to an address you have been given, please contact your local Post Office.
We receive a lot of questions about sending care packages to the troops. Some of the most popular questions are about those darn customs forms (PS Form 2976–A) that you have to fill out before you can send a care package.
Today, I will walk you through the process of filling out a Customs Form, AKA Customs Sheet, in simple to follow, step by step instructions that should set you up for success the next time you want to send a military care package overseas.
NOTE: You may also hear the Customs Form referred to as a Customs Sheet, Custom Form or Custom Sheet, or the plural of those references Customs Forms (correct), Customs Sheets, Custom Forms or Custom Sheets. Regardless of what you hear it being called, when shipping a package to an APO, DPO or FPO address you will need a PS Form 2976-A and you will need a separate form for each package you send. Hopefully this information helps.
The Basics
- How To Send the Care Package:
Priority Mail – flat rate boxes usually save you money - Form You Need:
PS Form 2976–A - Where You Get the Form:
Either at your US Post Office or you can fill it out online at https://www.usps.com/customsforms. If using the online form, the USPS website will automatically print the correct number of copies you’ll need. Thanks Vee for sharing that with us.- If you are using a flat rate box – even if it is larger than 12″. Do not check the box in the bottom of the first page screen.
- When completing on-line you have to provide a weight. Then you will need to make sure you provide accurate weight for the items in the package so the two weights match.
- Also, when completing the # of items you may just want to put 1, even if there are more. The weight calculates per item. For example, if you are sending 6 boxes of candy and each weighs 10 oz or so the weight will calculate at 60 oz. which will not equal the weight you put in at the beginning.
Lisa’s Tips for the Online Form
- Package Weight:
If you know for certain that the scale you use to weigh the package (in pounds and ounces) is calibrated exactly the same as the one at the US Post Office, the online form might be an option for you; otherwise you will need to use the paper form. Using the paper Form, the Post Office will enter the weight of the package for you. - Information the Form Requests:
recipient’s address (for your purposes this will be the APO, DPO or FPO address), sender’s address, package contents, package weight, package value in U.S. dollars, and a few miscellaneous things. - Estimated Time To Complete:
3–5 minutes
Instructions for completing the Customs Form (PS Form 2976–A)
NOTE: These instructions are only for APO, FPO, and DPO addresses. If you are mailing a package to an address that’s not an APO, FPO or DPO address, do not follow these instructions. Instead, contact your Post Office and ask for help.
The US Post Office Customs Form
Directions for completing the Customs Form are on the first page of the Form. You’re encouraged to read those instructions, as the contents of your package might require additional fields completed than what is described below. I am only covering the basic Custom Form fields for a care package going overseas in these instructions.
From
From section of a US Customs Form
This section of the Customs Form is where you enter your name and mailing address. If you are sending the care package from a business address or on behalf of a business you may also include the name of the business here. Be sure to put the correct information in the correct space provided.
To
To section of a US Customs Form
The “To” section of the US Customs Form is where you will include the military member’s name and mailing address. Use the examples above and below as a guide for how this section should look. And please, do not include the country they are deployed to. You can leave “Country” blank on the paper form. If using the online form, enter United States as the country.
- Business (optional): write the unit number or company information
you may also leave this blank - Address: write the unit number or other address identifier (FOB, COP, etc)
- City: write theAPO/DPO/FPO designation
- State/Province: write theAE/AP/AA designation
- Post Code: write the 5 or 9 digit zip code
Examples are below.
| The address you have | Customs Form fields | Doe, John unit #xxxxx X Company, X Battalion FOB something APO AE xxxxx–xxxx |
Last Name: Doe First Name: John Business: unit #xxxxx X Co, X Btn Address: FOB something City: APO State/Province: AE Post Code: xxxxx–xxxx |
|---|---|
| Doe, John B Co. 3/47 FA FOB something APO AE xxxxx–xxxx |
Last Name: Doe First Name: John Business: B Co. 3/47 FA Address: FOB something City: APO State/Province: AE Post Code: xxxxx–xxxx |
Detailed Description
Contents section of a US Customs Form
In this section you will want to list the items that are in the care package you plan to send. The US Postal Service no longer allows generalized content descriptions, so list each item separately as best you can (i.e. books, shampoo, soap, candy, toothbrush).
Description Tips:
- Don’t worry about the one-letter per block here, use abbreviations as much as possible and place commas between items to fit more than one per line. This way, one Customs Form may be enough per package.
- If you run out of room and still have items to list, you will need to include a second Customs Form with the package, so write small.
- There doesn’t need to be weight or value for each item as long as the weight and value are given for the entire package. The quantity field may also be left empty if the quantity of each item is given in the item description field.
For example, if you had a care package that contained 1 bottle of shampoo, 2 bars of soap, 1 toothbrush, 1 tube of toothpaste, and 3 bags of candy, you could list them all like this: shmpo – 1, soap – 2, tthbrsh – 1, tthpst – 1, candy – 3
Check with your local Post Office if you have additional questions on what to place in this section.
Check One
Check One section of a US Customs Form
Generally speaking care packages are gifts and are Airmail. However, if you need to select different options you may do so.
The Total Gross Weight must be exact. It’s best to let the Post Office fill that in for you.
The Total Value US $ can be an approximation and you need to have that filled in before giving the package to the Postal worker.
Nondelivery Instructions
Nondelivery Instructions of a US Customs Form
Because the Department of Defense no longer allows care packages to be addressed to “Any Service Member” or the like, all care packages sent to deployed troops are required to contain a full name and address for a specific person. This sometimes leads to returned care packages due to incorrect zip codes, unit numbers, spellings of names, and especially when the service member returns home. For most people it would be best to select the “Return to Sender” option unless you have another address for the intended recipient where the mail may be redirected to.
Date and Signature
Signature section of a US Customs Form
The final portion of filling out the US Customs Form is to date and sign the form. The date you sign the form must be the same date you send the package.
NOTICE: For security purposes, Do Not include addresses in the comments below. If you have questions specific to an address you have been given, please contact your local Post Office.
Thank you for the information because I didn’t have a clue of the forms or how to fill them.Very grateful for this site.
I just want to thank you for this!!! This is my first deployment and when i got all the packaging done i was like wow that was easy then i got handed these forms and was like WOAH what do i do..so i googled the form, and yours was the first to pop up and i swear if it wasn’t for how EASY you set the instructions up and even showed an example of the form I would be totally lost and distraught but now i am surely confident that my hubby would be receiving his things. THANK YOU!!!
Thank you so much for this information. I do not know military jargon so sometimes when I get addresses to send things to I don’t know what means what. Your instructions make it so clear and now I feel confident that when I go to the Post Office I won’t have to rewrite all these forms.
This might be posted already but the post office now has flat rate APO Care Package boxes that are a bit cheaper than regular flat rate box. The box is about the size of a large flat rate box.
I have been sending care packages for years. Just recently I had the opportunity to expand and have created a website. I love the way this info is presented, and as of my research this is the most self explanatory I’ve seen the info. Can you send me via email the information so I can load it to my website. When I tried copying it the format was off…
Thanks for serving our troops.. Look forward to hearing from you.
Hi Lori,
Thanks for the compliment about the presentation of this article. Unfortunately though, while we encourage you to print and share as much content from the SKIP website as you want, you really shouldn’t copy content from one website and put it on your website verbatim.
What I might recommend instead is that you use this article as one of a few resources for writing your own. The original article that I had written included instructions for the old Customs Form. Later, I also added instructions for the new Customs Form. When we completely redesigned the website and started allowing comments (2010) I revamped the article, entirely removing the instructions for the old Customs Form (it was outdated information) and updating some of the instructions for the new Customs Form. Since then I’ve edited this article several more times just to keep it as accurate as possible.
The point is, an article like this has to be maintained – it’s not the type of article you can write and call finished. And if you’re going to have this information on your website, then you need to present the information in your way, not mine.
Sorry if you didn’t find that helpful, but it is honestly the best help I can offer.
went to send my first care package today, the lady said that i couldnt put more then one thing on a line and i had to fill out the letter boxes on each line and put the quantity for each. but the value didn’t really matter much. and that if i needed more then like the 4 lines for things that i needed to fill out more forms for each. that i didn’t need to fill in anything else but the item area on each of the additional forms then sign and date it… just what i experienced.
Sorry to hear you had trouble using the recommendations provided here, Jess. Since we first started accepting comments on this article (September 2010) I can’t think of another person that had experienced such a difficult time. But, each Post Office has the right to be as tough as they want… and it sounds like yours is about as tough as they get. Maybe times are changing and all Post Offices will start enforcing the instructions a little more.
Thanks for describing your experience to everyone – just wish it would have been nicer for you.
yeah, i really appreciate your site though! it was a huge help!! and true that every post office can be different and every person working the desk can be different. oh well. better luck next time i hope. thanks for the reply i hope everyone else keeps having and easy time with the post office!! and thanks again!
But what do you do with the carbon copies?
If you are referring to the carbon copies that are given back to you by the Post Office when you send the package, you can do whatever you want with them. Charities have to hold onto them as proof of program expenses, but individuals do not.
If, on the other hand, you are talking about the carbon copies before the Post Office gives you them back, you have to leave them attached to the original. The Post Office will take care of them, to include giving you your copies.
Those carbon copies are used throughout the package’s journey by the USPS. Some are torn out, some are left in. When the package arrives to the recipient, they may find a copy or two that haven’t been removed. Those can be thrown away if they wish.
Does that answer your question?
Thank you so much for putting up this website! These customs forms are very hard to understand! It is my first time sending packages overseas so this website was a huge help!
Thank you!
How about were it says “Qty.” I don’t know what to do there. And I also have a new custom form of 2012 and it says “HS Tariff” I don’t know what to put underneath it. But i’M MOSTLY WORRIED about the one that says “Qty.)
I am very grateful for your Website! I am so angry that the same country that our beloved troops are defending makes it so difficult to send things to the ones defending us!
And, whomever it was that designed those online forms at USPS should be fired. There is NO EXCUSE for the fact that you have to jump through hoops if you want to send more than 3 items and need to fill out multiple forms! I should NOT have to clear my cache between the printing of each form! I saved 4 forms to my desktop before I realized that the same form was being generated over and over again, even after I’d cleared the form and entered new information!
Again, thank you for your informative information. It is greatly appreciated!