Submit US-bound manifests to CBP in under 60 seconds — with preflight validation that catches errors before they cost you time at the border.
ACE — the Automated Commercial Environment — is the US Customs and Border Protection system that handles electronic advance notification for commercial trucks entering the United States. Highway carriers crossing from Canada or Mexico are required to file an ACE eManifest at least one hour before arrival at the land border. The manifest tells CBP who the carrier is, what cargo is on the truck, where it came from, and where it's going — so that customs officers can pre-screen shipments before the truck ever reaches the booth.
Carriers can file ACE manifests directly through CBP's free ACE Truck Manifest Trade Portal, or through a certified third-party filer like BorderPro. The free portal works for one-off shipments, but most multi-truck carriers move to software once filing volume grows — because the portal doesn't support saved profiles, preflight validation, batch filing, or automated PAPS lead-sheet generation for drivers. BorderPro is built for highway carriers: every workflow assumes a truck crossing a land border, not ocean or air freight.
If you also run northbound lanes into Canada, the equivalent Canadian filing is called ACI eManifest — BorderPro handles both from the same dashboard. For deeper background on the documents that move alongside ACE see our guides on PARS barcode specs and CBSA CARM.
From trip details to submitted manifest in under a minute. Saved templates and profiles make repeat trips even faster.
Every manifest is checked against CBP rules before transmission. Catch errors instantly — not at the booth.
Live updates from CBP at every stage — submitted, accepted, on hold, or released. No manual lookups required.
Automatically generate and print driver lead sheets as soon as the manifest is accepted. Email directly to the driver.
Four simple steps from start to cleared border.
Add your carrier SCAC, conveyance, port of entry, and estimated arrival time. Pull from saved profiles in one click.
Enter shipment details manually, import from CSV, or duplicate a previous manifest. Preflight validation runs in real time.
One-click transmission sends your manifest directly to CBP. Confirmation and trip number are returned within seconds.
Monitor status in real time. Get notified the moment CBP responds so drivers know exactly when to proceed.
Features designed around real carrier workflows.
System-generated trip numbers follow CBP format rules automatically — no manual tracking needed.
Flags duplicate shipment references before submission to prevent CBP rejections and delays.
File multiple manifests in sequence using templates and saved routes. Built for high-volume operations.
Submit amendments or cancellations to CBP with a single click. Full history of every change is retained.
Dispatcher, driver, and admin roles with granular permissions. Everyone sees what they need to see.
Visual countdown to border arrival reminds dispatchers to file on time — CBP requires 1 hour advance notice.
"ACE manifest" is an umbrella term — the rules differ by mode of transport.
CBP's ACE platform accepts advance cargo data for trucks, rail, ocean, and air. Each mode has its own filing format, timing rules, and responsible party — so a "ACE manifest" for a container ship is a different document from an ACE truck eManifest filed by a highway carrier. BorderPro is built specifically for the truck (highway) flow.
BorderPro handles the truck flow end-to-end and is the right tool for highway carriers, owner-operators, and dispatch teams. For ocean or air filings, you'll typically work with a freight forwarder or specialist filing agent.
CBP and CBSA both penalize late, missing, or inaccurate eManifests. Software pays for itself by avoiding a single one.
On the Canadian side, AMPS (the Administrative Monetary Penalty System) lets CBSA issue per-incident fines for late or incorrect ACI eManifests. CBP runs a similar penalty framework for ACE on the US side. The exact penalty amount depends on the violation type and the carrier's history — repeat offenders escalate quickly.
Common triggers carriers should design around:
BorderPro's preflight validation, ETA countdown, and amend workflow are designed to eliminate the operational gaps that cause these penalties. See our AMPS penalties guide and AMPS estimator for working examples.
Lane-specific guidance for the highest-volume Canada-to-US corridors.
ACE (Automated Commercial Environment) eManifest is the electronic advance notification required by US Customs and Border Protection for all commercial trucks entering the United States from Canada or Mexico. Carriers must submit manifest data at least 1 hour before arrival at the border.
You can file ACE eManifests through CBP's free ACE Truck Manifest Trade Portal or through certified third-party software like BorderPro. Software speeds up filing with saved profiles, preflight validation that catches errors before submission, and automated lead-sheet generation for drivers. The portal is one-manifest-at-a-time; software supports batch filing and templates for repeat lanes.
ACE is the US Customs and Border Protection system for shipments entering the United States. ACI (Advance Commercial Information) is the Canada Border Services Agency equivalent for shipments entering Canada. Truck carriers running cross-border lanes typically file both — ACE for southbound trips and ACI for northbound trips.
Yes. CBP requires a valid Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC) issued by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) to file ACE eManifests. If you don't have one, you can apply at nmfta.org. Once you have it, add it to your carrier profile and it will be included on every manifest automatically.
CBP requires ACE eManifests to be submitted at least 1 hour before a truck arrives at the US land border. BorderPro's ETA countdown feature helps dispatchers stay ahead of the deadline and sends reminders when a manifest hasn't been filed with time running short.
If CBP rejects a manifest, BorderPro displays the rejection reason and highlights the specific fields that need correction. You can fix and resubmit in seconds. Our preflight validation catches the most common rejection causes before you ever transmit to CBP, significantly reducing rejection rates.
Yes. CBP's ACE Truck Manifest Trade Portal is free and accepts manual filings one at a time. Most multi-truck carriers move to software once volume grows because the portal does not support saved profiles, batch filing, preflight validation, or PAPS lead-sheet automation. The portal also requires re-entering carrier and equipment information on every trip.
Pricing depends on the provider and filing volume. BorderPro offers transparent per-manifest pricing with no setup fee — see the pricing page for current rates, or the deeper breakdown at ACE eManifest cost. CBP itself does not charge a filing fee; software costs are entirely for the time-saving features layered on top.
ACE Truck eManifest is the highway-carrier flavour of CBP's ACE program. It applies to commercial trucks crossing into the US from Canada or Mexico, and is filed by the highway carrier at least one hour before arrival at the land border. It is a separate filing from ACE Ocean Manifest (24-hour rule, filed by vessel operators) and ACE Air Manifest (filed by air carriers).
All three flow into CBP's ACE platform but cover different transport modes and have different filers and lead times. See the comparison table above. BorderPro is built specifically for the highway-carrier flow — for ocean or air filings, work with a freight forwarder or specialist filing agent.
The ACE Secure Data Portal is CBP's free web interface where carriers can manually file ACE Truck eManifests one at a time. Most multi-truck carriers move to certified software like BorderPro once volume grows because the portal doesn't support saved profiles, batch filing, preflight validation, or PAPS lead-sheet automation.
AMPS (Administrative Monetary Penalty System) is the Canadian penalty framework, applied by CBSA for ACI violations. CBP runs a parallel framework for ACE on the US side. Per-incident amounts depend on the violation type and the carrier's history — repeat offenders escalate. BorderPro's preflight validation, ETA countdown, and amend workflows are designed to eliminate the operational gaps that trigger these penalties. See our AMPS guide and AMPS estimator.
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