For Pirate Ship and USPS international labels
Harmonization number Pirate Ship lookup, the USPS HS tariff number for every item you ship abroad
Pirate Ship will not sell you an international label until every line on the customs form has a harmonization number. Describe the item on the right and get the 6-digit code with the reasoning, or classify your whole product list at once.
No card required · 6-digit HS and 10-digit US codes · Bulk CSV for product lists
Customs declaration · AI classifier
FORM TW-01
The short answer
The harmonization number Pirate Ship asks for is the Harmonized System code of each item, at least six digits, the same number USPS calls the HS tariff number. A cotton T-shirt is 610910, a scented candle is 340600, a silver ring is 711311. You need one per line item, Pirate Ship does not import it from your store, and USPS makes you responsible for getting it right.
One parcel a month is easy to do by hand. A shop with 80 products shipping to Canada, the UK and the EU every week needs a code sheet it can trust, which is the job the paid plans do: upload the product list, get a code and a reason for every row, and fill the form from the sheet.
What the Pirate Ship customs form wants for each line
Every different item in the parcel is its own line, up to 15 lines per form. Quantity, value and weight are totals for the line. This is a correctly filled line for a small candle shop.
Customs form · line item 1 of 3
DDUDescription
Soy wax scented candle, glass jar
Quantity
4
Total value (USD)
72.00
Harmonization #
340600
Country of origin
United States
One code per line
A parcel with a candle, a wax melt and a wick trimmer has three lines and three harmonization numbers. Pirate Ship takes only one code per line item.
Describe, do not label
Pirate Ship and USPS both reject descriptions like "gift" or "clothes". Say what the item is, what it is made of and whether it is new or used, in about 30 characters.
Origin is where it was made
Country of origin means the country of manufacture, not the address you ship from. A mug you import from China and resell ships with China as its origin.
Why sellers get stuck
Pirate Ship makes the label cheap, the harmonization number is still yours to find
Not imported from your store
Pirate Ship pulls item values and other customs details from Shopify, Etsy, eBay and other integrations, but its help center says harmonization codes are not brought over. Every international order needs the code typed in.
Required before you pay
If any line item is missing a harmonization number, Pirate Ship will not let you buy the international label. That applies to USPS, UPS and its Simple Export Rate service, and to APO, FPO and DPO addresses.
Batches lock the form
When you buy several international labels at once, the customs form box is greyed out. Sellers who ship in batches need the right code saved on a package or order before they start.
The lookup is one item at a time
The Search #'s link opens the Census Schedule B search, where you type one word and pick a line. It does not keep your answers, and two people on your team can pick two different codes for the same product.
Harmonization numbers for the products small shops ship most
Six-digit starting points, checked against the US Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The exact item still decides, so run anything unusual through the classifier at the top of the page.
610910
Cotton T-shirts
Knitted T-shirts and tank tops of cotton. A woven cotton shirt with buttons is Chapter 62 instead, and a polyester tee moves to 610990.
340600
Candles
Candles, tapers and the like, whatever the wax. A candle holder or wick trimmer in the same parcel is a different product and needs its own line.
340111
Handmade bar soap
Soap in bars or molded pieces for toilet use. Liquid soap and body wash fall under 340130 instead.
691200
Ceramic mugs and dishes (not porcelain)
Stoneware and earthenware tableware. Porcelain and china move to heading 6911, so the clay body matters.
711311
Sterling silver jewelry
Jewelry of silver, plated or not. Fashion jewelry of base metal is 711719, which is why the metal belongs in the description.
491191
Art prints and posters
Printed pictures, designs and photographs. An original painting done by hand is Chapter 97, not a print.
611710
Knitted scarves
Knitted shawls, scarves and mufflers. Woven scarves are 6214, and the fiber decides the US line after the sixth digit.
330499
Skincare balms and creams
Beauty and skincare preparations. Lip products are 330410 and eye makeup 330420, so a mixed gift set needs care.
950300
Toys and plush
Most toys, dolls and stuffed animals share this heading. Board games and card games move to heading 9504.
Why the USPS HS tariff number started mattering
Since September 1, 2025, USPS has required at least the 6-digit HS code for each commercial item on an international customs declaration, following Universal Postal Union rules. Its International Mail Manual is blunt about who carries the risk: the mailer is solely responsible for the accuracy of the customs information, and USPS is not liable for an incorrect classification. When you buy through USPS's own tools it will assign a code from a detailed description. When you buy through Pirate Ship, you type the code yourself.
The EU then turned the code into a price tag. From July 1, 2026, under Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382, parcels worth up to 150 euros pay a flat 3 euro customs duty for each different tariff classification in the consignment, until July 1, 2028. Five T-shirts cost 3 euros. A T-shirt and a watch cost 6. Every Pirate Ship label is Delivery Duty Unpaid, so that charge lands on your buyer, and a buyer surprised by duty at the door is the one who refuses the parcel.
The stock you import into the US needs the full 10-digit code
Plenty of Pirate Ship sellers also buy inventory abroad: blank apparel, candle jars, jewelry findings, packaging. The six digits on an outbound label are not enough for that. A US entry needs the 10-digit HTSUS code, and in 2026 the duty on it can stack a general rate, Section 301 layers and more. TariffWise returns the 10-digit code and the import duty for the lane, so you know the landed cost of a restock before you order it.
Pirate Ship's free lookup versus a classifier you pay for
The Census Schedule B search behind Pirate Ship's Search #'s link and the USPS HS code lookup cost nothing, and for a shop that ships abroad once a month they are enough. They get slow and inconsistent with a real catalog. You still choose between near-identical lines yourself, nothing records why, and neither tells you US import duty. A paid classifier earns its keep when you have dozens of products, several people packing orders, or stock you import. The honest test: if you spend more than an hour a month on customs forms, one month of Starter pays for itself.
How to get a harmonization number for every product at once
Step 1
Export your product list
Download products from Shopify, Etsy or WooCommerce as a CSV. Titles that name the material and use classify best.
Step 2
Upload it to TariffWise
Each row comes back with a 6-digit HS code, the 10-digit US code, a confidence level and the reasoning. Low-confidence rows come first.
Step 3
Fix the flagged rows
Most corrections are one fact: porcelain or stoneware, knitted or woven, silver or plated. The runner-up code shows what changes.
Step 4
Pre-fill Pirate Ship
Save the codes on your Saved Packages and keep the sheet next to the batch, so international orders go out without a lookup.
What a harmonization number sheet costs for your shop
A product is classified once and the code is reused on every parcel, so most shops need one month of a plan and then only new products. Broker figures are the usual $50 to $200 band for a documented review of one product.
| Shop | Pirate Ship lookup by hand | Broker review per product | TariffWise |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 products, ships abroad weekly | A day of searching, no record of why | $3,000 to $12,000 | $59, one month of Starter (100 classifications) |
| 700 products across several stores | Weeks, and codes drift between packers | Not realistic per product | $199, one month of Growth with bulk CSV |
| A fulfillment service shipping for many brands | Not realistic | Priced per client | $499 a month on Business, 10,000 classifications, 20 seats |
Full plan details are on the HS code classification pricing page. Sellers who also list on eBay can reuse the same sheet with the HS tariff code eBay lookup, Shopify stores should read the best HS code classification tool for Shopify, and for category-by-category starting codes there is HS code lookup by product.
Pirate Ship harmonization number questions
What is a harmonization number on Pirate Ship?
It is the Harmonized System code for each item in an international parcel, the number customs in the destination country uses to decide duty. Pirate Ship labels the field "Harmonization #" and accepts HS, HTS or Schedule B numbers of at least six digits. You enter one per line item, and the label cannot be bought until every line has one.
Where do I find the harmonization number for Pirate Ship?
Pirate Ship's Search #'s link opens the Census Schedule B search, and its help page suggests searching a one-word description such as "shirt". That works for a single item. For a store with dozens of products, classify the whole product list once, keep the codes in a sheet, and pre-fill them on your Saved Packages.
Does Pirate Ship import HS codes from Shopify or Etsy?
No. Pirate Ship's help center says harmonization codes are not brought over from your ecommerce platform, even when it imports item values and other customs details. It also greys out the customs form when you buy several international labels at once, so sellers keep a code per product ready before they start a batch.
How many digits does a Pirate Ship harmonization number need?
At least six. The first six digits are the international HS code that every country recognizes, and Pirate Ship also accepts longer HTS, Schedule B and country-specific numbers. Do not pad a shorter code with zeros to reach six digits, because trailing zeros can point to a different product.
Is the USPS HS tariff number the same as the Pirate Ship harmonization number?
Yes. The USPS customs declaration calls it the HS tariff number and Pirate Ship calls it the harmonization number, but both mean the Harmonized System code for the item. Since September 1, 2025, USPS requires at least a 6-digit HS code for each commercial item on international mail.
What happens if the harmonization number is wrong?
On Pirate Ship a missing number stops the label purchase. A wrong one gets through and becomes the buyer's problem: customs in their country may charge the wrong duty, hold the parcel or return it, and USPS makes the sender solely responsible for the accuracy of the classification. Every Pirate Ship international label is Delivery Duty Unpaid, so the buyer pays.
Have a harmonization number ready for every product before the next international batch.
Related: Harmonized System code lookup, Schedule B number vs HS code, import compliance software for ecommerce.