Numbered against your SCAC
The shipment control number is your SCAC plus the load's probill, filled in on the booking sheet rather than typed per load.
Start and up
PAPS — Pre-Arrival Processing System
PAPS — the Pre-Arrival Processing System — is how US Customs and Border Protection processes a truck shipment's entry before it arrives: the carrier assigns a PAPS number, the customs broker files the entry against it, and CBP matches the two when the truck reaches the border.
Also called: PAPS number, PAPS label, PAPS barcode
- Who deals with it
- The carrier assigns the number under its SCAC and reports it on the ACE eManifest. The US customs broker files the entry. The driver carries the barcoded paperwork.
- When it shows up
- Before departure, with enough time for the broker to file and CBP to process the entry ahead of the truck's arrival.
- What usually goes wrong
- A missing or wrong SCAC, a number reused from an earlier load, or an entry filed against paperwork that no longer matches the freight on the trailer.
PAPS, explained
A PAPS number is the carrier's SCAC followed by a unique shipment reference — on the northern border, commonly the probill number. It is the same shipment control number the carrier reports on its ACE eManifest, which is how CBP matches the broker's entry to the truck carrying the goods.
The carrier puts the number on the paperwork as a barcoded label and sends the documents to the broker, who files the entry before the truck arrives. PAPS goes into the United States; PARS, its counterpart, goes into Canada. Mixing them up sends the paperwork to the wrong authority, and the truck arrives with nothing on file.
How Lanexa handles it
This lives mainly in eManifest, where 273 catalogued capabilities are live. Each item says which plan it is on.
Barcoded paper for the driver
The lead sheet carries the ACE trip number as a scannable barcode, and PAPS label sheets carry each shipment's number.
Fleet and up
No broker, no entry
Border Desk counts active cross-border loads with no customs broker attached — the shipments nobody will file the entry for — and flags any shipment still missing one.
Fleet and up
Questions about PAPS — Pre-Arrival Processing System
What is PAPS?
PAPS — the Pre-Arrival Processing System — is how US Customs and Border Protection processes a truck shipment's entry before it arrives: the carrier assigns a PAPS number, the customs broker files the entry against it, and CBP matches the two when the truck reaches the border.
What does a PAPS number look like?
The carrier's SCAC followed by a unique shipment reference, often the probill number.
It must be unique to the shipment and match the shipment control number on the carrier's ACE eManifest.
Who files the PAPS entry?
The US customs broker files the entry against the PAPS number.
The carrier assigns the number and reports the same shipment on its ACE eManifest.
What is the difference between PAPS and PARS?
PAPS is the US Customs and Border Protection process for goods entering the United States.
PARS is the Canada Border Services Agency equivalent for goods entering Canada. The carrier assigns both numbers; the customs broker files against them.