Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) Audit
The Merchandise Processing Fee is a federal charge on most formal imports. This guide explains what it is, how it's calculated, and how to verify the amount on your invoice.
The Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) is a fee collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on most formal entries. It passes through your customs broker, which means it appears on your invoice as a charge your broker paid on your behalf. Because it's a government fee with defined rules, it's one of the most verifiable lines on an invoice — if you know how to check it.
What the Merchandise Processing Fee is
A short primer on the MPF before we get to verifying it.
- A CBP fee, not a broker fee
- The MPF is charged by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Your broker collects and remits it on your behalf — it should appear as a pass-through, not as the broker's own service fee.
- Applies to most formal entries
- It generally applies to formal commercial imports. The specific applicability depends on the entry type and CBP's current rules.
- Set by published CBP rules
- The fee follows a published structure with defined minimum and maximum bounds set by CBP, which are adjusted over time.
How the MPF is calculated
For formal entries, the MPF is generally assessed as a percentage of the declared value of the merchandise, subject to a minimum and a maximum amount per entry set by CBP. In practical terms, that means very small shipments tend toward the minimum, very large ones are capped at the maximum, and most fall in between as a value-based percentage. The exact rate and the minimum and maximum bounds are published by CBP and updated periodically — so verifying the MPF means checking the billed amount against the schedule in effect for your entry rather than against a fixed dollar figure.
How to verify the MPF on your invoice
- 1
Confirm it's billed as pass-through
Make sure the MPF is listed as a government charge your broker paid, not folded into a broker service fee.
- 2
Check the declared value it's based on
The fee follows from the declared value of the merchandise. Confirm that value matches the rest of the entry.
- 3
Check it against the CBP schedule
Compare the billed amount against the rate and the minimum and maximum bounds CBP has in effect for your entry — not against a number you remember.
- 4
Watch for a markup
The amount billed should match what was actually remitted to CBP. A higher figure is worth questioning.
Broker Inspector reads your invoice with AI and checks federal fees, including the Merchandise Processing Fee, against published CBP fee schedules. It compares the billed amount to the expected amount it calculates from the declared value and the applicable schedule, and flags a discrepancy if the two don't match. The result is part of the verdict you can export as a PDF or CSV.
Verify the MPF on your invoice
Upload an invoice and check the Merchandise Processing Fee against CBP schedules.