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About ACE AESDirect

The Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) AESDirect is the primary filing tool for submitting your Electronic Export Information (EEI) to the Automated Export System (AES). When a filer submits their EEI, AES will process the information and, if accepted, respond with an Internal Transaction Number (ITN). Whether you are new to filing in the AES or simply looking for additional training, this page contains the resources to help you accurately report your EEI.

The AESDirect application is hosted in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) and is available at https://ace.cbp.dhs.gov/.

New to export filing and AES? Refer to the Guide to Register and Access AESDirect (also available in Spanish).



ACE AESDirect - Resources


Walkthrough Videos:

  • How to register in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) for an Exporter Account. [View Transcript].
  • AESDirect Walkthrough Series: A series of nine short videos explaining how to use ACE AESDirect and how to file your Electronic Export Information (EEI) from start to finish. (Available in English and Spanish).
  • View our Outreach Tab to access informative webinars.

ACE AESDirect User Guide:

  • The ACE AESDirect User Guide (also available in Spanish) provides a broad spectrum of information from getting started with ACE AESDirect to submitting your shipment.
  • Additional User Guides on ACE account management and functionality are available here.

Sample Shipment Documents:

One Pager Documents:

Broadcast Archive:

  • Subscribe to receive our broadcast messages to be notified of any news or updates in the system.
  • Visit our Broadcast Archive for a full list of previous broadcast messages.

Don’t see what you’re looking for? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions document to see if your question has been answered!



AESDirect Transition in 2016


As a direct result of the President’s Executive Order to streamline the Import and Export process for America’s businesses issued on February 19, 2014, the Census Bureau and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have migrated the AESDirect system into the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) single window platform. One of the first steps was to move the Automated Export System (AES) onto the ACE platform, which occurred in March 2014 as a part of the AES Rehost Project.


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Source: U.S. Census Bureau | Source:International Trade Management Division | ftdwebmaster@census.gov |  Last Revised: February 08, 2024