Shipping from France to the US in 2026: Options, Customs and Duties

La Poste. After suspending most parcels to the United States in August 2025, La Poste resumed its Colissimo service for small items to the US in February 2026. It is the cheapest option for a light parcel with no deadline, with a customs declaration filled in at the counter or online.

Express carriers. FedEx, DHL Express, UPS and Chronopost ship from France to the US in one to three business days, with tracking, customs clearance handled by the carrier and the option of paying duties at departure so the recipient has nothing to pay.

Freight. For furniture, artworks, stock or anything that does not fit in a parcel, air freight or a shared container is the right route. See our guide to shipping a container from France to the US.

A person in Paris. When the item is in Paris and you are in the US (a purchase, something left at a hotel, a suitcase, a piece bought from a boutique that does not ship abroad), someone has to collect it, pack it and take it to the carrier. That is the part we do.

Until August 2025, goods worth up to $800 entered the United States without duties. That duty free treatment, known as de minimis, has been suspended for every country since August 29, 2025, and US Customs and Border Protection made the suspension indefinite in its regulations on June 24, 2026. A commercial shipment from France now pays US duties whatever its value.

One exemption remains: a bona fide gift worth $100 or less, sent by a person in France to a person in the US, still enters without duties. Alcohol and tobacco are excluded from it, and a purchase shipped to the buyer is not a gift.

Duty rates depend on the product and change with US trade policy. The express carrier calculates them at shipping and tells you who pays. With duties paid at departure (DDP), the recipient receives the parcel with nothing to pay. Without it, the carrier collects the duties and its handling fee from the recipient before delivery.

Every parcel containing goods needs a customs declaration: the CN23 form with La Poste, or a commercial invoice with an express carrier. It lists each item, its value, its country of origin and, for a commercial shipment, its tariff code.

Declare the real value and describe each item precisely. A vague description ("clothes", "gift") or a value that does not match the receipt is the most common reason for a parcel held at US customs. Keep the purchase receipt: it is the proof of value if customs asks.

Perfumes and other flammable liquids are dangerous goods for air transport: they can only travel with a carrier and a service that accept them, packed to their rules. Lithium batteries, in a phone, a watch or a laptop, follow specific rules too.

Food sent to the US must be declared to the FDA before it arrives, and alcohol shipped to a private person is restricted by US federal and state rules. Cash, weapons and some plant and animal products cannot be shipped. Check with the carrier before you pack.

This is the situation we handle: a bag bought in Paris that the boutique will not ship, purchases from several shops, an item forgotten at a hotel, a suitcase that has to go home. A person from our team collects it or buys it in Paris, photographs it, packs it, prepares the commercial invoice and drops it at FedEx, DHL or UPS. You receive the tracking number and the receipts.

A luxury suitcase left in Paris, for example, can be collected, prepared and dropped at FedEx to be shipped abroad. Several purchases can be collected and sent as one shipment, and luxury pieces are packed and insured as described in our guide to luxury shipping from Paris.

When it cannot wait two or three business days, the item can leave on the next flight out or travel with an on board courier who hands it over in person in the US.

Express carriers: one to three business days from Paris to most US cities, sometimes longer if the parcel is held for customs inspection. La Poste Colissimo: longer and less predictable, without a guaranteed delivery date. Next flight out or on board courier: the same day or the next morning for the main US cities, depending on the flights.

Paris is six hours ahead of New York and nine hours ahead of Los Angeles for most of the year. A request sent in the US evening is handled the next morning in Paris, and a parcel dropped at the carrier before its cut off leaves the same day.