Get your AESDirect filings and ITNs through an API

What you can build on AESDirect

• Get shipments from the Shipment Manager

  Build this

  Reads the Shipment Manager list, narrowed with Show Filters by USPPI, consignee, country of destination, port of export or Filings Updated in.

  Takes

  Optional: USPPI name or ID, consignee, country of destination, port of export, updated within

  Returns

  Filer ID, shipment reference number, count, state, last action, ITN, last updated, last updated by, export date, USPPI, consignee, destination

• Get a shipment's ITN and AES responses

  Build this

  Finds one filing by its Shipment Reference Number in the Shipment Manager and reads its Count (History view): every action on it, its state and its ITN.

  Takes

  Shipment reference number

  Returns

  Shipment reference number, ITN, current state, each action in its history

• File an EEI from a saved template

  Build this

  Selects Create from Template in the Shipment Manager, loads the named template, fills in the fields a template does not keep and selects Submit Filing.

  Takes

  Template name, SRN, TRN, departure date, origin state, first and second quantity, value, gross weight

  Returns

  Shipment reference number, state, ITN or rejection response

• Cancel an EEI filing

  Build this

  Finds a filing in the Shipment Manager by its Shipment Reference Number and selects Cancel EEI in its Shipment Actions.

  Takes

  Shipment reference number

  Returns

  Shipment reference number, ITN, state, last action

Automate AESDirect with a workflow

A workflow runs your methods as one process, with nobody at the screen. A schedule or a call from your own system starts it, the steps run in order, and the result arrives in your inbox or in the systems you already use.

• Rejected EEI filings, every morning

  Build this

  Starts

  Every weekday at 8:00

  Step 1

  Get shipments from the Shipment Manager updated in the last 3 days.

  Step 2

  Keep the filings whose state is rejected and that were not on the last run.

  Step 3

  Email you each one with its shipment reference number, USPPI, consignee, destination and last action.

• New ITNs, posted to your shipping system

  Build this

  Starts

  Every hour

  Step 1

  Get shipments from the Shipment Manager updated in the last day.

  Step 2

  Keep the shipments with an ITN that was not there on the last run.

  Step 3

  Post shipment reference number, ITN, export date, USPPI, consignee and destination to your webhook.

• Weekly EEI summary by USPPI

  Build this

  Starts

  Every Monday at 7:00

  Step 1

  Get shipments from the Shipment Manager updated in the last 7 days.

  Step 2

  Group them by USPPI and count the filings in each state with an AI step.

  Step 3

  Email you the summary with the open rejections listed by shipment reference number.

You can run a workflow by hand on every plan, Free included. Schedules and webhook triggers come with the paid plans, from $29 a month.

Once built, one call from your code

Once you have built a method, it is one POST to /v1/runs from your backend, or a tool an AI agent calls over MCP. This is what “Get shipments from the Shipment Manager” would look like.

curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "method": "ace.cbp.gov/get_shipments",
    "input": {
      "consignee": "Northwind",
      "updated_within_days": 7
    }
  }'

{
  "status": "completed",
  "data": {
    "shipments": [
      {
        "filer_id": "123456789",
        "shipment_reference_number": "ACME-26-1108",
        "count": 2,
        "state": "Accepted",
        "last_action": "Add",
        "itn": "X20261110482913",
        "last_updated": "2026-11-10 14:22",
        "last_updated_by": "Acme export desk",
        "export_date": "2026-11-12",
        "usppi": "Acme Tooling Inc",
        "consignee": "Northwind Industrial GmbH",
        "destination": "DE"
      }
    ]
  }
}

An example with invented data, not a ready-made endpoint. The method exists in your organization once you build it, and its name, inputs and fields follow your request.

AESDirect’s own options

AESDirect is the filing screen inside the ACE Portal, and it has no web API that returns your filings. Systems file EEI to AES through EDI or sFTP, from your own or a certified vendor's software after a Letter of Intent and certification testing, and AESWebLink passes shipment data from another application into AESDirect.

Read on November 12, 2026: ACE AESDirect resources (Census Bureau), ACE AESDirect frequently asked questions, AESDirect WebLink submission API (CBP).

Signing in to AESDirect

AESDirect opens from your ACE Portal account. You select Trade/PGA User Login at ace.cbp.gov, enter your email and password, then on the Two Factor Authentication page the six-digit Security Token emailed to your login address. With Fous you sign in once through ACE's own sign-in with your own account: the login is sealed with AES-256, the emailed code is handled, and an expired session is signed back in.

Worth knowing

Three months in the Shipment Manager

The Shipment Manager shows three months of filings at a time. Show Filters searches back up to 5 years, 90 days per search, and older accepted filings open through Amend Accepted Filings with ITN, SRN and Filer ID.

Only AESDirect filings appear

The Shipment Manager lists only shipments filed through the AESDirect portal. EEI that your forwarder or your EDI software filed does not show there.

Shipment reference numbers are used once

Each EEI needs a Shipment Reference Number of 1 to 17 characters that may never be reused. A template keeps everything except the SRN, departure date, origin state, quantities, value, gross weight and TRN.

Templates belong to the EIN

Only users who file under your company's EIN see its templates and party profiles. AESDirect keeps up to 1000 templates per Filer ID.

More in Logistics: forwarders, air cargo and customs

• Extensiv 3PL Warehouse Manager
• Air France KLM Martinair Cargo myCargo
• e-SkyCargo
• Lufthansa Cargo eServices
• ACE Secure Data Portal
• CARM Client Portal
• Dubai Trade
• Customs Declaration Service
• douane.gouv.fr
• myDHLi
• myDSV
• myKN
• IPAFFS
• DGFT portal

Other industries: Empower Plan Service Center, myMSC, Kroger One Network portal, GM SupplyPower, Collins Aerospace Customer Portal, Rightmove Plus.