The Automated Commercial Environment, better known as ACE, is the single window every US importer, broker, and freight forwarder uses to talk to US Customs and Border Protection. It is where entry summaries are filed, where ocean and air manifests are transmitted, where ISF data goes, and where CBP sends back release and exam messages. In 2026, CBP rolled out the largest update to the portal in nearly a decade. The interface looks different, the APIs are broader, and the workflow inside the portal has been rebuilt around faster manifest processing and modern reporting.
This guide is written for freight forwarders, customs brokers, and trade compliance teams who have to keep US import filings moving through the new portal without breaking their day to day operations. It covers what changed, what stayed the same, who is most affected across ocean and air import, and what to test before the next entry is submitted.
The Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Portal is the US government's single window system for trade. CBP and partner government agencies use it to collect cargo, entry, manifest, and admissibility data on every shipment entering or leaving the United States. Importers, brokers, carriers, and software vendors connect through the web portal or through certified EDI and API channels.
ACE replaced the older Automated Commercial System (ACS) across the 2010s and has been mandatory for all electronic filings since 2018. It handles entry summary (CBP Form 7501), Importer Security Filing (ISF 10+2), Automated Export System (AES) submissions, ocean and air manifests, truck and rail e-Manifests, and the workflow with more than forty Partner Government Agencies such as the FDA, USDA, and EPA.
CBP has been describing ACE as a single window since the program's earliest days, but the underlying system was built in pieces across two decades. Different filing types shipped on different schedules, the reporting interface lagged the data model, and software vendors had to maintain a mix of EDI message sets to connect every filing channel. The 2026 modernization is a unification pass on top of that long backlog.
Three pressures drove the update:
| Driver | What CBP Wanted to Solve |
|---|---|
| Cargo volume growth | Manifest throughput at peak seasons was bottlenecked by legacy batch processing and intermittent portal slowdowns. |
| Software vendor friction | Brokers and TMS providers were stitching together EDI message sets from different ACE eras. A modern REST surface lets vendors integrate without reverse engineering decade old schemas. |
| Reporting and audit demand | Compliance teams could pull data out of ACE but the reporting UI was slow and inconsistent across filing types. The new dashboards consolidate operational and audit views into one place. |
The modernization is explicitly a non breaking release for filers in production. Existing accounts, EDI connections, and recurring filings keep working on day one. The changes show up as new options layered on top, not a forced migration.
Four areas of the portal got the most visible work.
Keeping the modernization non breaking was the explicit design goal. The portions of ACE that remained stable are as important as what got rebuilt.
Because ACE handles both ocean and air import filings but through different message paths, the 2026 changes land differently on each side of the house. Forwarders running both directions should walk through the mode specific impact separately rather than assuming a single readiness check covers everything.
| Import mode | Key ACE filings touched | Where the 2026 update lands hardest |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean import | ISF 10+2, Ocean AMS manifest, entry summary (CBP Form 7501), PGA messages | Faster ISF acknowledgements, quicker manifest release messages at peak, new REST endpoints for ISF and entry status pulls. Operations see the biggest gains on high volume routing days. |
| Air import | Air AMS manifest, entry summary, PGA messages, e-AWB workflow at CBP touchpoints | Faster air manifest processing, shorter turnaround on release messages against tight recovery windows, new REST status endpoints that pair well with e-AWB milestones. |
For forwarders running on GoFreight, the ocean side of this workflow is orchestrated inside Ocean Import Freight Management Software, so ISF filing, ocean AMS, and entry summary sit against the same shipment record. The air side is handled through Air Import Freight Management Software, where Air AMS and entry summary tie back to the same master air waybill and house waybill structure. The 2026 ACE changes flow into both product lines through the same CBP connection layer, so operators do not have to think about the underlying message set on a filing by filing basis.
The 2026 update touches every party that talks to ACE, but the operational impact is not even across roles.
| Role | What They Notice First | Required Action |
|---|---|---|
| Customs broker | New portal UI, faster entry status responses, rebuilt reports module | Confirm broker software is on the latest ACE schema; retrain staff on the new portal layout |
| Ocean import forwarder (entry filer) | CBP Form 7501 entry summary and ISF workflow inside the new UI, faster ocean AMS status pulls | Validate TMS or broker integration handles new REST status pulls without breaking the existing EDI feed for ISF and ocean AMS |
| Air import forwarder (entry filer) | Air AMS manifest and entry summary running through the refreshed UI, faster release messages against recovery windows | Validate air AMS integration and confirm entry status pulls work against the new REST endpoints alongside the legacy channel |
| ISF 10+2 filer | Faster ISF acknowledgement turnarounds, new error message format | Confirm filing software parses the new acknowledgement format correctly |
| AES filer (exports) | Refreshed AES UI panes inside ACE, faster response messages | Test AESDirect submissions and any vendor AES integrations in the CBP sandbox |
| e-Manifest filer (truck, rail) | Improved throughput, faster release messages at peak | Monitor CSMS messages for any schema or timing changes during the first peak cycle on the new pipeline |
| Trade compliance and audit | Rebuilt reports module with faster queries and new dashboard layout | Recreate or re save existing report definitions; validate scheduled exports still route to the right inboxes |
Most forwarders should treat the modernized ACE portal as a routine vendor update rather than a project. The work falls into four checkpoints.
One of the more strategic decisions in 2026 is whether to move integrations onto the new REST endpoints or stay on the legacy EDI message sets. For most forwarders running on a TMS, the vendor decides this, not the operations team. For self filers and in house integrations, the trade off looks like this.
| Dimension | Legacy ACE / AMS EDI | Modernized ACE REST APIs |
|---|---|---|
| Connection model | Batch EDI message sets over certified channels | Authenticated REST endpoints over HTTPS |
| Latency | Acceptable but variable, particularly at peak | Lower and more consistent for status pulls |
| Schema | Mix of message sets accumulated over a decade | Unified JSON contracts under one documentation portal |
| Coexistence | Continues to be accepted in production | Runs alongside legacy. No forced cut over date announced |
| Best fit | Existing stable integrations with no business reason to change | New integrations, status dashboards, real time exception monitoring |
For forwarders running on GoFreight, the customs filing flow, status pulls, and PGA messaging connect through the platform's Freight Integrations Software for Forwarders, which handles both the legacy ACE EDI channel and the new REST endpoints without asking operations to choose. Recurring ISF, AMS, and entry filing tasks and exception handling on top of those connections are orchestrated by Workflow Automation Software for Forwarders, so the team works the same Action Center queue whether the underlying call is on the new REST endpoint or the legacy EDI message set.
CBP has positioned the 2026 release as the foundation for a continuous improvement cadence rather than a one off project. The expectation across the trade community is that REST endpoint coverage will keep expanding, reporting will continue to gain dashboards, and PGA integrations will move onto the unified message contracts over time. None of that requires forwarders to act today. It does mean the cost of building a long lived integration on top of the new REST surface is now lower than building one more wrapper around the legacy EDI message sets.
For forwarders modernizing their own stack at the same time, the practical path is to keep production filings on the certified connections that already work, and pilot the new REST endpoints in parallel for the use cases where modern integration pays off fastest: ocean import status dashboards, air import release monitoring, and customer portal visibility across both modes.
Keep ACE filings, PGA messages, and status pulls running on one cloud platform. See how GoFreight unifies customs connectivity, workflow automation, and customer visibility across ocean and air import for US freight forwarders.
Request a GoFreight Demo →The ACE portal is the Automated Commercial Environment Secure Data Portal, US Customs and Border Protection's single window for trade. Importers, customs brokers, freight forwarders, carriers, and software vendors use it to file entry summaries, ISF, AES export filings, and ocean and air e-Manifests, and to exchange data with more than forty Partner Government Agencies.
CBP rolled out a refreshed user interface, faster manifest processing on a re architected pipeline, expanded REST API endpoints that sit alongside the legacy EDI message sets, and rebuilt reporting dashboards. The data elements CBP requires on each filing did not change, and existing accounts and certified EDI connections continue to work.
No. Existing ACE Secure Data Portal accounts, broker IDs, importer of record records, and account hierarchies were carried forward. Certified EDI connections continue to be accepted. The modernization is non breaking for filers in production.
Not yet. The new REST endpoints run alongside the legacy AMS and ACE EDI message sets. CBP has not announced a forced cut over date. Vendors and self filers can adopt the REST endpoints on their own timeline while keeping production filings on the existing certified channels.
Ocean import filers see faster ISF acknowledgements, quicker ocean AMS manifest release messages at peak, and new REST endpoints for ISF and entry status pulls. The data elements on ISF 10+2 and CBP Form 7501 did not change. Operations feel the biggest gain on high volume routing days when the old batch pipeline used to slow down.
Air import filers see faster Air AMS manifest processing, shorter turnaround on release messages against tight recovery windows, and new REST status endpoints that pair with e-AWB milestones. The Air AMS data contract itself is unchanged, so vendor confirmation on schema version is usually enough to be ready.
Four checkpoints: confirm the broker software, TMS, or in house filing system is on the latest ACE schema; run test calls against the CBP CERT sandbox for any in house integration across ocean and air import; monitor CBP Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS) notices daily for the first month after release; and run a 30 minute walkthrough of the new portal layout for entry coordinators and the compliance team.
AES runs inside ACE, so the UI and API improvements apply to export filings as well. The data elements required on an AES submission did not change. Export filers should test AESDirect submissions and any vendor AES integrations in the CBP sandbox to confirm the new acknowledgement and response formats are parsed correctly.
Brokers see a new portal UI, faster entry status responses, and a rebuilt reports module. The operational action is to confirm their broker software is on the latest ACE schema, retrain staff on the new navigation, and validate that scheduled exports out of the reports module still route to the right inboxes.
CBP publishes operational changes through the Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS). Schema updates, endpoint changes, downtime, and known issues are previewed there first. Every forwarder should subscribe the operations and compliance team to CSMS and review the inbox daily during the first month after every release.