How to find the right HTS code for your product, step by step

Every product that enters the United States needs a 10-digit HTS number on the entry. The number sets the duty rate, decides whether Section 301 or Section 232 tariffs apply, and controls which trade agreement you can claim. Since the $800 de minimis exemption was suspended in August 2025, that now includes the small parcels most online sellers ship. A wrong code is not a paperwork error. It is underpaid or overpaid duty, and the importer of record carries the risk.

How an HTS code is built

The Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) is published by the U.S. International Trade Commission. It is built on the international Harmonized System, so the first six digits mean the same thing in about 200 countries. The last four are American.

Legally, the HTSUS is the headings and subheadings down to 8 digits, the section and chapter notes, the GRIs and the General Notes. The 10-digit suffixes, the index and footnotes are not law. When you argue a classification, cite headings and notes.

Step 1: Write down the facts that matter

Classification follows the physical product, not the marketing name. Before you open the schedule, write down:

• Material, by weight or surface area if there is more than one. "Vegan leather" is usually polyurethane-coated textile, which is plastic or textile for tariff purposes, not leather.
• Function. What does it do, and what is its principal use in the U.S.?
• Construction. Knitted or woven, molded or stitched, assembled or not.
• Who uses it. Men, women, children or babies matters for apparel and footwear.
• Value per unit, because some lines split by price, such as footwear valued over $12 a pair.
• What ships together. A set in one retail box is classified differently from loose items.

Step 2: Find candidate headings

Search the schedule with two or three plain words that describe what the product is, not what it is called on Amazon. "Backpack polyester" works. "Ergonomic commuter daypack" does not. Look at the section and chapter titles to see where you are, but remember they are only a guide. They have no legal force.

Most products have two or three plausible headings. A stainless steel insulated bottle could be a vacuum flask (heading 9617) or a steel household article (heading 7323). Write all of them down. The rules below pick one.

Step 3: Apply the General Rules of Interpretation

The six General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) are part of the law. You apply them in order and stop at the first one that settles the question. In practice, GRI 1 settles most cases.

GRI 1: Headings and notes come first

Classification is decided by the wording of the headings and the section and chapter notes. Read the notes before anything else. Chapter notes often exclude products outright. Note 1 to chapter 64, for example, sends footwear without an applied outer sole and skates with blades attached out of the footwear chapter entirely.

GRI 2: Unfinished, unassembled and mixed goods

GRI 2(a) says a heading covers an article that is incomplete or unassembled, as long as it already has the essential character of the finished article. A flat-pack bookcase is classified as a bookcase. GRI 2(b) says a heading for a material also covers mixtures of it, and sends goods made of several materials to GRI 3.

GRI 3: When two headings fit

• 3(a) Most specific wins. A heading that names the product beats one that describes a category. That is why a ceramic mug goes to the line for mugs instead of the general line for other ceramic kitchenware.
• 3(b) Essential character. Mixtures, composite goods and retail sets follow the component that gives them their essential character. Think of bulk, value, and the role each part plays in use.
• 3(c) Last in numerical order. If nothing else decides it, take the heading that comes last.

GRI 4: Most akin

Goods that fit no heading go to the heading for the goods they are most similar to. This is rare.

GRI 5: Cases and packing

A fitted camera case, instrument case or jewelry box sold with the article is classified with the article. Normal packing goes with the goods too. The exception is packing clearly meant for repeated use, such as a heavy reusable steel drum.

GRI 6: The same logic at the subheading level

Once you have the heading, choose the 6-digit subheading, then the 8 and 10-digit lines, using the same rules. You only compare subheadings at the same indent level. Do not compare a 6-digit subheading in one branch with an 8-digit line in another.

The schedule also has Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation. The one sellers meet most often is the rule on "principal use": a line described by use, such as "household", is decided by how that class of goods is mainly used in the U.S., not how your customer uses it.

Step 4: Read down the tree to 10 digits

Under each heading the lines indent. Each indent narrows the one above it. Read every line at the same level before you choose, and pay attention to "Other" lines. "Other" means everything at that level not already named above it. Here is a polyester backpack:

If the same backpack had an outer surface of leather, it would leave this branch at the 6-digit level. The material of the outer surface, not the lining, decides it. That is a note-level detail you only catch by reading the whole branch.

Step 5: Check rulings and the Explanatory Notes

CBP publishes its rulings in the Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) at rulings.cbp.gov. Search for your product and read rulings on goods close to yours. They show how CBP applies the GRIs in practice. A ruling only binds CBP for the exact goods and facts it describes, but it is the best evidence you have.

The World Customs Organization's Explanatory Notes explain the scope of each heading at the 4 and 6-digit level. They are not binding in the U.S., but CBP treats them as persuasive and cites them in most rulings.

Step 6: Get a binding ruling for high-risk products

Anyone with a direct interest in a transaction can ask CBP for a binding ruling under 19 CFR Part 177. You can file online through eRulings. It is free. The National Commodity Specialist Division aims to answer within 30 calendar days, and longer if a lab test or another agency is involved.

A request needs a full description, the material breakdown, the principal use, photos or a sample, and a statement that the question is not already before CBP or a court. You can include up to five items of the same kind in one request. Ask for a ruling when the duty difference between two candidate codes is large or when you will import the product for years.

What a wrong code costs

The importer of record must use "reasonable care" when declaring classification and value under 19 U.S.C. 1484. Penalties under 19 U.S.C. 1592 scale with culpability:

A worked example: you import $40,000 of cotton T-shirts under a code with a 5% rate when the correct rate is 16.5%. Lost duty is $4,600. A negligence penalty could reach $9,200 on top of the $4,600 you still owe. If you find the error first, a prior disclosure under 19 CFR 162.74 cuts a negligence penalty to interest on the unpaid duty.

A five-minute checklist

1. Write down material percentages, function, construction, user and unit value.
2. List every heading that could fit, and read the section and chapter notes for each.
3. Apply GRI 1, then GRI 2 and 3 only if needed. Write one sentence on why you chose the heading.
4. Read down the branch to the 10-digit line, comparing lines at the same indent only.
5. Search CROSS for rulings on similar goods. Save the ruling numbers with your product file.
6. Check stacked duties for the country of origin: Section 301, Section 232 and any trade agreement.
7. Request a binding ruling for anything high-volume or borderline.

You can run steps 1 to 4 in seconds with HTSBase's classifier. It reads the schedule and its notes, applies the GRIs, shows its reasoning and the alternatives it rejected, and asks for missing facts instead of guessing. Use it to get to a short list fast, then keep the reasoning on file as your reasonable care record.