We have received several inquiries from the trade community regarding the requirements for retaining export information. Every party involved in an export transaction (owners and operators of the export carriers, USPPIs, FPPIs and /or authorized agents) should retain all export documents for five years from the date of export to comply with the Foreign Trade Regulations.

The record retention policies for the Census Bureau (15 CFR 30.10), Bureau of Industry and Security (15 CFR 762.6(a)), and the State Department (22 CFR 122.5) require keeping documentation for five years. The Census Bureau’s record retention requirements do not relieve filers from adhering to other government agency’s record retention policies.

All documents, correspondences and other relevant information to the export transactions should be maintained. These should include but are not limited to items, such as:

1. Electronic Export Information (EEI)
2. Shipping documents
3. Invoices
4. Orders
5. Packing list
6. Other documents relevant to the specific transaction

For more information regarding retention of export information, go to the Foreign Trade Regulations Section 30.10, or call the Foreign Trade Division at 1-800-549-0595, option 3.