CBP airport customs security area bonds.
Quote on review.
An international airport employer must back each worker’s CBP access seal for unescorted access to the Customs security area with a bond. If it holds no CBP importer, custodian or carrier bond, that is the Airport Customs Security Area Bond, sized to how many people need access. A specialist quotes it, usually within one business day.
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Built around your employees’ access seals.
Your people cannot work airside in the Customs security area until the bond is on file and their seals are issued. Here is the whole process:
Send us the file
Apply online with your company details, the airport, your CBP account information, and how many employees will need unescorted access to the Customs security area.
A surety specialist underwrites it
A specialist confirms the amount tier CBP will expect for your headcount, reviews your company’s credit and finances, and returns a quote along with any collateral requirement.
Transmit to CBP & apply for seals
Once you bind, the bond is transmitted to CBP’s Revenue Division for acceptance. Your employees then file CBP Form 3078 with the port director, backed by your written request, justification, and background-check attestation.
What it is and who needs it.
What the airport customs security area bond actually covers
Under 19 CFR 122.182(a), everyone located at, operating out of, or employed by an international airport or its tenants or contractors — including air carriers — who has unescorted access to the Customs security area must openly display or produce on demand an approved access seal issued by CBP. The Customs security area is the Federal inspection services area where arriving and departing international passengers, crew, and baggage are processed, plus the aircraft deplaning and ramp area and any other restricted area the port director designates (19 CFR 122.181). Federal and uniformed State and local law enforcement, passengers, and crew are exempt.
Each seal application is filed by the employee with the port director on CBP Form 3078 and must be supported by the employer’s written request and justification — and by a bond. If the employer is already the principal on a CBP bond for importation (§ 113.62), custody of bonded merchandise (§ 113.63), or international carriage (§ 113.64), that bond does the job. If not, 19 CFR 122.182(c)(1) requires the Airport Customs Security Area Bond in Appendix A to Part 113. The employer must also attest that it ran a background check on each applicant (122.182(d)).
The bond runs to the United States of America, and the principal — expressly including its employees, agents, and contractors — agrees to comply with CBP’s rules for airport security areas. Each default carries liquidated damages of $1,000 per default, or another amount authorized by law. Under 19 CFR 122.189, any failure by the principal or employer to meet the subpart’s requirements is a breach of the bond. The bond is continuous: it runs a year at a time and renews each annual period until terminated, while each access seal itself is valid for 2 years.
Because the surety answers for every employee badge on the bond, it is underwritten on the company’s credit, finances, and headcount. Under 19 CFR 113.40 CBP can accept cash or U.S. obligations in lieu of a surety, and a surety can ask for collateral on a larger workforce. We tell you what your file needs before you commit.
You need this bond if you’re
One application, one underwriting review.
These are the actual underwriting fields — your company, the airport, your CBP account details, how many employees need access, and your finances. Submit once and a surety specialist reviews everything together and returns a quote, typically within one business day. Free until your bond is issued.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Federal bonds.
Get your airside crew badged.
Tell us your airport and how many employees need access, and a surety specialist sizes, underwrites, and quotes the bond — typically within one business day. Free until issued.