A tracking status that stops moving with a customs message is alarming and usually undramatic. Most holds resolve without you doing anything. Knowing which category yours falls into tells you whether to wait or to act.
Routine examination
A percentage of shipments are selected for X-ray or physical inspection, largely at random with some risk-based targeting. This adds two to five business days and produces no correspondence. There is nothing to do and nothing to pay. Tracking simply resumes. Exams are also more common on first shipments to a new address and on shipments from origins associated with a particular commodity risk.
Documentation requests
Where the declaration is unclear, the value seems inconsistent, or an agency such as the FDA needs more information, a request goes to the importer of record, which for a service shipment is usually the carrier or broker who then contacts you. Responses are typically due within a set period, and missing the deadline escalates the matter unnecessarily. Providing a clear invoice showing what was paid, rather than a vague description, resolves most documentation requests within a day or two.
Formal entry triggers
Shipments above the informal entry value threshold require formal entry with a broker, additional documentation and fees. This is not a problem, just a process, and it adds several days plus a brokerage charge commonly in the range of $50-150 depending on complexity. The threshold has changed in recent years, so checking the current figure before a large order is more reliable than working from remembered numbers.
Seizure and detention notices
A written notice means the goods are being held for a substantive reason: a prohibited item, a suspected counterfeit, or a restricted product without required approval. The notice states the reason and your options, which usually include abandonment or a petition. Counterfeit and prohibited goods are not returned. Petitioning is worthwhile for a lawful item wrongly detained and pointless for a genuinely prohibited one, and the notice usually makes clear which you have.
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How long can customs hold a shipment?
Routine exams take days. Detentions can run several weeks while an agency reviews, and a formal notice starts a defined response period.
Can I contact customs directly about my package?
You can inquire, but the importer of record handles correspondence. Going through the carrier or broker is faster.
Will I be told why it was held?
For a routine exam, no. For a detention or seizure, yes, in writing with a stated reason.