This section explains the basic information you need to know to start entering Prior Notice information for submission to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Topics:
Prior Notice Submission Process
The Web Entry information is the basic data that relates to a shipment of food articles requiring Prior Notice. Creating the Web entry is the first step in the Prior Notice submission process. The Web Entry can relate to one or more food articles, each of which must have a separate confirmed Prior Notice.
Information required varies by Entry Type. The following United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Entry Types are subject to the Prior Notice Rule:
Baggage
Consumption [Note: The Prior Notice System Interface also has Consumption, Express Courier which is a subset of the Consumption Entry Type.]
Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) Admission
Immediate Transportation (IT)
Informal
Mail (Commercial) [Note: The Prior Notice System Interface also has Mail (Non-Commercial Sender) which is a subset of the Mail Entry Type.]
Temporary Importation under Bond (TIB)
Transportation for Exportation (T&E) [Note: The Prior Notice System Interface also has Transportation for Exportation (T&E), Express Courier which is a subset of the Transportation for Exportation Entry Type.]
Warehouse
The system displays an asterisk (*) to the left side of the label to indicate that the data is required for the Web Entry.
The information within a Web Entry includes an Entry Identifier (e.g., CBP Entry Number, In-bond or FTZ Number, or a system-generated number) and information about the anticipated arrival, the Submitter, Importer, and Carrier.
The Carrier should present a copy of the Web Entry Summary Confirmation to United States Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Port of Arrival.
A Prior Notice provides notification to the FDA about an import shipment of an article of food prior to its arrival in the United States.
A Prior Notice includes information about the product identity and facilities in its chain of custody. Examples of facilities include Manufacturer, Producer, Shipper, Owner, Ultimate Consignee, and Holding Facility. Information required in a Prior Notice varies by Entry Type. The system displays an asterisk (*) to the left side of the label to indicate that the data is required for the Prior Notice.
Anyone with knowledge of the required information may submit a Prior Notice through the FDA Prior Notice System Interface.
Filers who currently submit Entries for admissibility processing through the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) to the CBP Automated Commercial System (ACS) can continue to submit Prior Notices through that system.
An article is any food product, including animal feed, subject to Prior Notice.
Collect Prior Notice Information. Accumulate all the information required for your Prior Notice Submission.
Create the Web Entry. The Web Entry contains information about the collective shipment. You must create a Web Entry before creating the Prior Notices associated with the Web Entry. For more information, see the Web Entries topic.
Create a Prior Notice. The Prior Notice contains information directly related to the food products imported in the shipment. A Web Entry may contain one or more Prior Notices. As you create your Prior Notice, you may set facilities that apply to other articles in the shipment as default, to avoid duplicate data entry. For example, if all food products in this shipment have the same manufacturer, you should set the manufacturer as default. You may save the Prior Notices in "Draft" status and update them later. For more information, see the Prior Notices topic.
Review and Edit the Web Entry and the First Prior Notice. Review your information and make all necessary changes. After you submit Prior Notice information to the FDA, you cannot make changes to the Prior Notice or to the Web Entry. For more information, see the Reviewing and Editing a Prior Notice topic.
Submit the Prior Notice to FDA. After the FDA receives the Prior Notice, the system displays a Confirmation Page including a Confirmation Number. For more information, see the Submitting a Prior Notice topic.
Print Prior Notice Confirmation. The Confirmation Page is your proof that you have filed a Prior Notice with the FDA. The Prior Notice Confirmation Number must accompany food carried by or otherwise accompanying an individual (1.279(f)). You may wish to print and keep a copy of each Prior Notice for your files, but presenting a copy of the Prior Notice Confirmation is not required.
Create an Additional Prior Notice. Continue to create additional Prior Notices until you have completed one for each food article in the shipment. If individual Prior Notices within the Web Entry contain similar information, select the Prior Notice that is most similar to the one you need to create, use the copy function, and then make changes as required. For more information, see the Prior Notices topic.
Review and Edit the Additional Prior Notice. After you have submitted your first Prior Notice, you may only edit information in Prior Notices you have not submitted. Make any necessary corrections and return to step E. For more information, see the Reviewing and Editing a Prior Notice topic.
Complete the Web Entry
and Print the Summary Confirmation. When
you have submitted all Prior Notices you intend to submit for your Web
Entry, complete the Web Entry. Completing the Web Entry indicates to FDA
that you are done adding Prior Notices to the Web Entry and cancels all
Prior Notices in Draft status. (See the Completing a Web Entry
topic.) FDA recommends printing the Web Entry Summary Confirmation for
your records and to facilitate presentation of the confirmation number(s)
to CBP or FDA upon arrival at the port. Note that a copy of the confirmation
(with the PN Confirmation Number) must accompany any article of food carried
or otherwise accompanying an individual (unless excluded under IFR ยง 1.277(b)(1)),
and be provided to CBP or FDA upon arrival. (See
the Accessing
the Web Entry Summary Confirmation topic.)
If you do not Complete your Web Entry before the end of the timely
submission period, based upon the mode of transportation (2 hours before
arrival for Land, 4
hours before arrival for Air or Rail, or 8 hours before arrival for Water)
the system will complete it automatically. If
the system automatically completes your Web Entry and you need to submit
additional Prior Notices for it, copy the Web Entry and continue creating
and submitting Prior Notices. When
you have finished all Prior Notices, make sure that you Complete the Web
Entry.
Present the Summary Confirmation Information at the Port of Arrival. To facilitate presentation of the confirmation number(s) to CBP and FDA upon arrival and the passing through the Port of Arrival, the FDA and CBP suggest the Carrier provide a Copy of the Web Entry Summary Confirmation to United States Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). If you are sending your Web Entry via International Mail, you must note the Shipment Confirmation Number on your Customs Declaration Form affixed to the package.
For more information, see the Web Entries and Prior Notices topics.
If you need to find more information about the Prior Notice Rule, FDA Product Codes, or if you need to contact FDA for Help, click on the Contact Us hyperlink in the upper right-hand corner of any page in the Prior Notice System Interface, to get information from the FDA Help Desk.