ACE Portal Setup Guide for IEEPA Refund
On this page
- Do You Need an ACE Account?
- Step 1 – Check Form 5106 Box 2E First
- Step 2 – Create Your ACE Importer Account
- Step 3 – Add an Importer Sub-Account
- Step 4 – Enroll in ACH Refunds
- Common Issues
- Error Code 42
- Verification Code Not Arriving
- Account Keeps Getting Locked
- Session Expires Mid-Report
- Frequently Asked Questions
On this page
- Do You Need an ACE Account?
- Step 1 – Check Form 5106 Box 2E First
- Step 2 – Create Your ACE Importer Account
- Step 3 – Add an Importer Sub-Account
- Step 4 – Enroll in ACH Refunds
- Common Issues
- Error Code 42
- Verification Code Not Arriving
- Account Keeps Getting Locked
- Session Expires Mid-Report
- Frequently Asked Questions
TL;DR – To file CAPE yourself, you need an ACE Portal importer account with an Importer sub-account and ACH enrollment active. Before you register, check that Form 5106 Box 2E has your email – not your broker's. Sub-account approval takes approximately two weeks. Without ACH enrollment, your refund will be rejected on delivery.
Do You Need an ACE Account?
Not everyone does. If your customs broker is filing the CAPE Declaration on your behalf and has a CBP Form 4811 on file designating themselves as the refund recipient, they can handle the entire process without you needing ACE access.
If you want to file CAPE yourself, monitor your own refund status, or receive the payment directly into your bank account – you need an ACE Portal importer account with an Importer sub-account and ACH enrollment.
Step 1 – Check Form 5106 Box 2E First
This is the step most guides skip, and it's the reason many importers get stuck silently during registration.
Form 5106 is your CBP importer identity record. Box 2E contains the email address that ACE Portal uses to send your one-time password (OTP) during account creation. If that field contains your broker's email address instead of yours, the verification code goes to your broker – and you never receive it. The registration appears to succeed but the OTP never arrives.
CBP explicitly warns against this: the email in Box 2E should be yours, not your broker's.
How to fix it: ask your broker to update Box 2E using the TF transaction in ACE (the Importer Create/Update transaction). Alternatively, CBP can update it directly. Once Box 2E has your email, you're ready to register.
Step 2 – Create Your ACE Importer Account
CBP now offers an automated ACE Portal Account Application – registration is no longer a fully manual process requiring days of waiting.
Go to CBP's ACE Portal registration page and submit the automated application. The system verifies your Form 5106 record and sends an OTP to the email in Box 2E.
Important caveat: the automated flow only works if your Form 5106 record is not already linked to an existing ACE account. Two situations require a different path:
If your EIN is already associated with an ACE account that belongs to your broker or a previous contact, you can't use the automated flow. Email ace.applications@cbp.dhs.gov with your EIN and request a new Importer sub-account be added to your record.
If you already have an ACE account but it was set up as an Exporter account, not an Importer account, you'll see a Duplicate EIN error when trying to add an Importer sub-account. This is a known issue during the CAPE surge period. The fix is the same – contact ace.applications@cbp.dhs.gov.
Step 3 – Add an Importer Sub-Account
The CAPE tab and ACH enrollment are only accessible from an Importer sub-account view inside ACE Portal. Your top-level account alone isn't enough – you need the sub-account specifically linked to your EIN as an importer.
Timeline: adding an Importer sub-account currently takes approximately two weeks under normal processing. During the CAPE surge period following the April 2026 launch, times may be longer.
To speed things up: call CBP's ACE account support line at (317) 614-4880. This number is specifically useful for escalating sub-account approvals. Have your EIN and the name on your Form 5106 ready.
Once the sub-account is approved, log in to ACE Portal and switch to the Importer sub-account view. You should now see the CAPE tab and the ACH Refund Authorization tab.
Step 4 – Enroll in ACH Refunds
ACH enrollment is how CBP deposits your refund electronically into your bank account. Without it, your payment will be rejected when CBP attempts to issue it.
As of March 2026, only 8.1% of importers had completed ACH enrollment – despite holding roughly 78% of the entry volume. If you haven't done this, do it before your CAPE Declaration is accepted.
Where to find it: inside ACE Portal, navigate to your Importer sub-account view → ACH Refund Authorization tab → add your bank routing and account numbers.
If your ACH payment gets rejected after submission – because you enrolled late or entered incorrect bank details – CBP will flag it in the REV-613 report. You'll need to correct your enrollment and follow CBP's Replacement Refund Instructions. Contact frn-achrefundsupport@cbp.dhs.gov if your payment was rejected.
Common Issues
Error Code 42
Error Code 42 means your account has been locked by the ACE system. Since CAPE Phase 1 launched on April 20, 2026, ACE has been deactivating accounts that haven't logged in recently – the inactivity timer shortened significantly due to increased system load.
Fix: call ACE Support. Hold times are currently 2+ hours. To prevent recurrence, log in to ACE Portal at least once every few days and clear your browser cache before each session.
Verification Code Not Arriving
If you're not receiving the OTP during registration, the most likely cause is Box 2E on your Form 5106 containing the wrong email address. Go back to Step 1 and confirm the email before trying again.
If Box 2E is correct and you're still not receiving the code, check your spam folder. CBP sends from a .dhs.gov address which some email providers flag.
Account Keeps Getting Locked
ACE Portal has been logging users out faster than usual – sometimes within days instead of the normal 30-day cycle. Clear your browser cache completely before each login session. Stale cookies cause ACE to reject sessions even with correct credentials. Using a private/incognito window can also help.
Session Expires Mid-Report
If ACE logs you out while you're in the middle of running an ES-003 report, your report progress is lost. The fix is the same – clear cache, log in fresh. Try to run larger reports in shorter sessions by narrowing the date range, rather than pulling the full 12-month IEEPA window in one go.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an ACE account if my broker is filing CAPE for me? Not necessarily. If your broker has CBP Form 4811 on file as the designated refund recipient, they can file CAPE on your behalf and receive the payment without you having ACE access. However, if you want to receive the refund directly into your own bank account, you'll need an ACE account with ACH enrollment.
How long does ACE account setup take? The initial account registration is now automated and can complete quickly. The bottleneck is the Importer sub-account approval, which takes approximately two weeks. You can try to accelerate by calling (317) 614-4880.
What is Form 5106 and why does it matter? Form 5106 is CBP's Importer Identity Form – it's the record that ties your EIN to your business identity in ACE Portal. Box 2E specifically controls where your account verification email goes. If it has the wrong email, you cannot complete account registration without fixing it first.
My ACE account exists but I don't see the CAPE tab. The CAPE tab only appears when you're logged in under your Importer sub-account view, not from a top-level or broker account view. Switch to the Importer sub-account inside ACE and the tab should appear. If you don't have an Importer sub-account at all, follow Step 3 above. If the tab still doesn't appear after switching accounts, contact IEEPARefunds@cbp.dhs.gov.