Published:

12 Sep 2010

Edited:

11 Feb 2013

Completing the US Post Office Customs Form

by Skip

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.

  Lisa’s Tips for the Online Form

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
• 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.

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.