General Aviation Processing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

You should contact CBP at the airport of arrival or departure to get your questions answered. If you still have questions you can send an email message to GAsupport@cbp.dhs.gov.

Yes, there is no regulatory basis requiring pilots and travelers to remain onboard an arriving aircraft awaiting formal or direct permission to deplane. Such practices can be detrimental to personal, aircraft, and aviation safety – especially in cases of inclement weather and extreme temperatures. Any traveler movement outside the immediate aircraft area or interactions with other individuals, though, is not permitted without specific and direct CBP authorization. In all cases, especially where health and safety concerns present or exist, please exercise reasonable and responsible judgement.

For GA aircraft with an APU exhaust configured less than 8 feet off the ground, the APU must be powered down during CBP inspection and processing.

For GA aircraft equipped with an APU exhaust located on the fuselage 8 feet or higher from the ground, the APU may

• at the discretion of the operator – remain powered and any electrical systems served by the APU (navigational, comfort, safety, etc.) may remain powered.

Any crew supervision of the aircraft while the APU is running that is required for aviation safety and security will be accommodated by CBP. In cases involving CBP enforcement actions, however, CBP officers will require an APU shutdown, as necessary.

The utilization of a Ground Power Unit (GPU):

• at the discretion of the operator
• is acceptable for all GA aircraft regardless of APU configuration.

While private aircraft operators generally do not require a CBP bond, in some cases (generally ad-hoc cargo-processing operations), CBP Bond requirements and conditions set forth in 19 CFR Parts 113 and 122 may apply. For commercial GA operations, however, CBP bond requirements routinely apply to the transportation of commercial passengers and/or cargo.

An oral declaration may be permitted by the CBP Officer processing the flight. At the discretion of the CBP Officer, a written declaration on CBP Form 6059B for passengers or CBP Form 5129 for crewmembers may be required. Please refer to 19 CFR 148 Subpart B and Subpart G.

Private Aircraft departures from the United States can originate from virtually anywhere – even if departing from a non-CBP Airport.

CBP’s online web portal, eAPIS, makes this type of transmission easy:

• If the last U.S. departure point is from a port or place that does not have an airport code listed in the table provided in eAPIS, use the airport code of the nearest CBP airport to the departure site.
• In the “Actual Departure Location Description” field, describe the actual place from which the aircraft will depart. This is an optional field which should be used only when the location of actual departure differs from the airport listed in the “CBP Airport” field. The “City” field should be the actual city from which the aircraft is departing.

Airport fact sheets are published on the CBP General Aviation Airport Fact Sheet page. If an airport fact sheet is not found on this site then please contact CBP at the airport you intend to arrive at or depart from.

There are 383 airports where CBP services are normally provided. There are currently 344 fact sheets in publication.

Under 19 CFR 122.23, operators of certain GA aircraft (generally private and unscheduled charter aircraft) arriving from some areas south of the United States are required to provide an advance notice of arrival and land at certain designated airports listed in § 122.24(b) for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) processing unless exempted from this requirement through an Overflight Exemption provided for in § 122.25.

For the latest application instructions, please contact GAsupport@cbp.dhs.gov.

Overflight Exemption Application Processing (new applications – including expired Exemptions, renewal requests, operator name changes) will take no more than thirty (30) days and there is no charge or fee associated with the process. Apply timely within 30-45 days of expiration for renewals and 30 days prior to the first anticipated flights for new applications.

There is no charge or fee associated with the BOE process.

Private aircraft arriving in the United States may require a Permit to Proceed (PTP) if arriving with residue foreign cargo.  Private aircraft never require an International Traffic Permit (ITP).  Please refer to our Onward Domestic Movements Guidance Document.

Certain, but not all General Aviation Aircraft arriving in the United States require a permit for onward domestic movements. There are two categories of permits applicable to the onward domestic movement of certain General Aviation Aircraft; International Traffic Permits (ITP), 19 CFR Subpart F and Permits to Proceed (PTP), 19 CFR Subpart I.  Please refer to our Onward Domestic Movements Guidance Document.