What Do I Have to Declare at US Customs?
Tick what you are bringing → the answer to give to each question on CBP’s customs declaration (Form 6059B), and what happens to each item.
Answer Yes to 11 (a) and 11 (b)Declare both: leave behind fresh fruit or vegetables; cheese is allowed.
Your answers on Form 6059B
- 11 (a)I am (We are) bringing fruits, vegetables, plants, seeds, food, insectsbecause: fresh fruit or vegetables and cheeseYes
- 11 (b)I am (We are) bringing meats, animals, animal/wildlife productsbecause: cheeseYes
- 11 (c)I am (We are) bringing disease agents, cell cultures, snailsNo
- 11 (d)I am (We are) bringing soil or have been on a farm/ranch/pastureNo
- 12I have (We have) been in close proximity of livestock (such as touching or handling)No
- 13I am (We are) carrying currency or monetary instruments over $10,000 U.S. or foreign equivalentNo
- 14I have (We have) commercial merchandiseNo
- 15The total value of the goods you are bringing (residents: everything bought or acquired abroad; visitors: what will stay in the US)$0
Questions from CBP Form 6059B (7/24); each rule in CBP's or USDA's own words, read on 10 October 2026. Declared, a food that is not allowed is simply taken — no penalty (USDA). Inspectors decide at the airport.
Fresh fruit or vegetablesLeave it behind
Almost all fresh (and frozen) fruit and vegetables are not allowed — even the ones handed out on your plane or ship. Leave them behind, or declare them and the inspector takes them.
USDA’s rule ↗CheeseAllowed — declare it
Solid cheese, hard or soft, from any country — unless it contains meat or pours like a liquid (ricotta, cottage cheese).
USDA’s rule ↗You declare everything you bought or were given abroad, every food, plant and animal product, soil or a farm visit, more than $10,000 in cash, and goods for sale — CBP’s Form 6059B asks about each one. Food is the trap: declared, a food that is not allowed is simply taken, with no penalty; not declared, it can cost a fine. Tick what you are bringing to see each answer.
How to use it
Say whether you live in the US or are visiting, where your food comes from (Canada and Mexico have their own rules for fresh produce), and tick everything in your bags. Add the value of what you bought abroad (visitors: what you will leave in the US) and any cash you carry. The tool fills in Form 6059B’s questions 11 to 15 for you — Yes where an item, your cash or your goods make it Yes — and shows, item by item, whether it is allowed, depends on the inspector, or should be left behind, with CBP’s or USDA’s own rule. The link under the answer keeps your list.
The questions on the form
Form 6059B (7/24) asks, with a Yes or No each: are you bringing (a) “fruits, vegetables, plants, seeds, food, insects”, (b) “meats, animals, animal/wildlife products”, (c) “disease agents, cell cultures, snails”, (d) “soil or have been on a farm/ranch/pasture”; (12) have you “been in close proximity of livestock”; (13) are you carrying currency “over $10,000 U.S. or foreign equivalent”; (14) do you have “commercial merchandise”; and (15) the total value of your goods. One form covers a family living in the same household. US residents get a duty-free exemption of $800 on what they bring back, visitors $100; above it, CBP officers work out the duty, at the current rate on the first $1,000.
What happens to each item
From CBP’s and USDA’s own pages, read on 10 October 2026. “Depends” means the country, how it was made or a permit decides — declare it and the inspector looks.
| Item | What happens | Form question |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh fruit or vegetables | Leave it behind | 11 (a) |
| Canned fruit or vegetables | Allowed — declare it | 11 (a) |
| Dried fruit, beans or peas | Declare it — it depends | 11 (a) |
| Nuts | Allowed — declare it | 11 (a) |
| Bread, cakes, cookies (bakery items) | Allowed — declare it | 11 (a) |
| Moon cakes | Declare it — it depends | 11 (a) |
| Coffee | Allowed — declare it | 11 (a) |
| Tea | Allowed — declare it | 11 (a) |
| Honey | Allowed — declare it | 11 (a) |
| Spices, condiments, oils, vinegar | Allowed — declare it | 11 (a) |
| Rice | Declare it — it depends | 11 (a) |
| Soup mixes, bouillon, instant noodles with meat | Leave it behind | 11 (a), 11 (b) |
| Meat, ham, salami, sausage, jerky | Declare it — it depends | 11 (a), 11 (b) |
| Cheese | Allowed — declare it | 11 (a), 11 (b) |
| Butter | Allowed — declare it | 11 (a), 11 (b) |
| Milk, yogurt and other dairy | Declare it — it depends | 11 (a), 11 (b) |
| Eggs | Declare it — it depends | 11 (a), 11 (b) |
| Plants, bulbs or seeds for planting | Declare it — it depends | 11 (a) |
| Cut flowers | Allowed — declare it | 11 (a) |
| Rocks, beach sand, seashells, driftwood | Declare it — it depends | None — tell the officer |
| Soil or earth | Leave it behind | 11 (d) |
| I was on a farm, ranch or pasture | Tell the officer | 11 (d) |
| I touched or handled livestock | Tell the officer | 12 |
| A pet | Declare it — it depends | 11 (b) |
| Feathers, skins, shells, ivory, coral (wildlife products) | Declare it — it depends | 11 (b) |
| Biological samples, cell cultures, snails | Declare it — it depends | 11 (c) |
| Goods to sell, or samples for orders | Tell the officer | 14 |
| Medicine | Declare it — it depends | None — tell the officer |
| Alcohol | Declare it — it depends | None — tell the officer |
| Goods from Cuba or Iran | Leave it behind | None — tell the officer |
| Gold coins or bullion | Allowed — declare it | None — tell the officer |
Worked examples
Home from Italy with Parmigiano, salami and coffee, $600 of shopping. Answer Yes to 11 (a) and 11 (b): Declare all 3: the inspector decides on meat; cheese and coffee are allowed. $600 is within your $800 duty-free exemption. Salami from Italy is one of the cured meats USDA keeps out of travellers’ bags.
Mangoes and limes from a market in Mexico. Answer Yes to 11 (a): many fruits grown in Mexico are allowed, but mangoes, oranges and sweet limes need a permit — declare them and the inspector decides.
A visitor with cookies and $250 of gifts to leave in the US. Answer Yes to 11 (a): Declare it: bakery items are allowed. $250 is $150 over your $100 exemption: the officer works out the duty.
Nothing to eat, $1,200 of shopping and $11,000 in cash. Answer Yes to 13: Over $10,000 in cash: file FinCEN 105 too. $1,200 is $400 over your $800 exemption: the officer works out the duty.
Common mistakes
- Not declaring the snack from the plane. USDA counts fresh fruit handed out on your plane or cruise ship as fresh fruit: declare it or leave it behind.
- Answering No to stay out of the line. Declared, a food that is not allowed is just taken — USDA says you will not face any penalties. Undeclared, CBP’s pages give $300 for a first-time offender (up to $500 the second time) and “up to $1,000 per first-time offense”.
- Thinking cash over $10,000 is illegal. Any amount is legal to carry; over $10,000 you answer Yes to 13 and file FinCEN 105.
- Leaving out gifts. A US resident declares everything acquired abroad, gifts included, at its retail value.
Before you go
The Cash and Duty-Free Allowance calculator works out the duty-free total, the Mobile Passport Control or Global Entry checker says which line you can use, and How Long Is the Customs Line? how long it takes. Read our international travel tips for first-timers, first-time cruise tips and the Mexico City travel guide.
FAQ
What do you have to declare at customs?
Everything you bought or were given abroad (residents) or will leave in the US (visitors); every food, plant, seed and animal product; soil, or a visit to a farm or contact with livestock; cash or monetary instruments over $10,000; and goods for sale. Form 6059B asks about each.
What is CBP Form 6059B?
The customs declaration every traveller arriving in the US fills in (one per family living together): who you are, your trip, and Yes or No to what you are bringing — food and plants, meat and animal products, cell cultures and snails, soil or farms, livestock, cash over $10,000, commercial goods — plus the value of your goods.
Do I need to declare food at customs?
Yes, all of it: CBP asks every traveller to declare meats, fruits, vegetables, plants, seeds, soil, animals and plant and animal products, in checked and carry-on bags. Allowed food passes after inspection; food that is not allowed is taken, with no penalty if you declared it.
Can you bring cheese into the US?
Yes: solid cheese, hard or soft, from any country, as long as it does not contain meat or pour like a liquid (ricotta, cottage cheese). Declare it under 11 (a) and (b).
What happens if you don’t declare food at customs?
The food is taken and you can be fined. CBP’s pages give $300 for a first-time offender and up to $500 the second time on one page, and “up to $1,000 per first-time offense” for non-commercial quantities on another; commercial amounts cost more.
How much cash can you bring into the US?
Any amount is legal. Over $10,000 (US or foreign, or both together) you answer Yes to question 13 and file FinCEN 105 with CBP; not reporting it can mean the money is seized.
Can I bring meat into the US?
It depends on the country: most beef, pork, lamb and goat from countries with foot-and-mouth disease, BSE or swine fevers is not allowed, and cured ham and salami from France, Germany, Italy and Spain never are. Sealed, shelf-stable, store-cooked meat is allowed, up to 50 pounds of an item.