Cainiao tracking status

Cainiao “Import customs clearance delay”: what it means

The short answer

Keep an eye on it

Import customs has not cleared your package yet, and the ending of the line may say why. Cainiao does not define this line, but says the recipient should work with customs on a hold, so check for a request.

When to act: If it still shows this delay after 7 days with no request for you to act on, file a complaint and we send it to Cainiao.

Also shown as: “Import customs clearance delay.We're inspecting your order” · “Import customs clearance delay.Package is held temporarily.” · “Import customs clearance delay. Recipient's information is incorrect/incomplete” · “Customs clearance unsuccessful” · “Import clearance start” · “Import customs clearance started” · “We're inspecting your order” · “Held by customs” · “Held by destination”

What to do now

Read the whole line. An ending such as 'We're inspecting your order' or 'Recipient's information is incorrect/incomplete' tells you what the hold is about.
Look through your email, text messages and spam folder for a request from a customs agent or the local carrier. Before you pay anything, check that it names your tracking number.
If the ending says your details are incorrect or incomplete, check the name, address and telephone number on your order.
Have your order confirmation and the item's price ready, in case customs asks what is inside.
Note the delivery window on your order page, because AliExpress's Buyer Protection is tied to it, and keep screenshots of the tracking history with the dates.
Still not sorted? File your complaint here. We write it with you and send it to Cainiao, so you do not have to chase it yourself.

Start my complaint

Running late with another courier

What does “Import customs clearance delay” mean?

Cainiao's help pages do not define this exact line. They say only that a package can be held during customs clearance, and that the recipient should work with customs on it. AliExpress says the same from its side: the buyer has to do the clearance, and it lists two reasons for a hold, a tax or document that is required, or a document missing from the seller. In tracking histories customers share, the line has an ending such as 'We're inspecting your order', 'Package is held temporarily' or 'Recipient's information is incorrect/incomplete'. AliExpress's own tracking can show the same hold as 'Customs clearance unsuccessful', and Cainiao's page can put 'Abnormal status' above it.

This line does not prove the package has reached your country, because in shared histories import lines sometimes come before the arrival scan. Neither does it mean the package was refused. Cainiao gives no figure for how long this takes. In one history clearance took 2 days and in another the line passed the same day, while customers also report 15 days, three weeks and five weeks on it, some with no later update.

Why does Cainiao show it?

An inspection by customs
Import tax or duty to pay
A document customs needs from you or the seller
Wrong or incomplete recipient details, which one ending of this line names

How long does it last?

The next line should be 'Import customs clearance complete', then 'Received by local delivery company' as a local carrier takes over. 'Complete' does not always mean quick: customers report almost a month with nothing new after it, and one UK reviewer over two months. If customs stops the package, customers report lines such as 'Import clearance failure'.

Other Cainiao statuses

Out for deliveryKeep an eye on it
Delivery failedTake action
Waiting for Pick UpTake action
Delivered but not receivedTake action
ReturnTake action
Tracking not updatingKeep an eye on it

All Cainiao statuses →

Who is responsible for a late or missing package from Cainiao?

If you bought online from a business, the seller or marketplace is usually the one to sort it out. The seller chose Cainiao and is its customer, so a late or missing order is in most cases for the seller to put right, with a replacement or a refund. Cainiao's own FAQ also points to the seller when no tracking has appeared 12 days after shipment. On AliExpress, the platform's own rules decide refunds: its Buyer Protection covers an item that did not arrive or was lost in transit, within the guaranteed delivery window on your order page. For a UK order, the Consumer Rights Act, section 29, keeps goods from a business at the seller's risk until you have them, unless you hired a carrier the seller did not offer.

If you sent it yourself, Cainiao is unlikely to be your direct carrier, as it describes its cross-border services as primarily for merchants, brands and e-commerce platforms. If you booked through a shipping platform, your contract is likely to be with that platform, under the terms you accepted. We found no public Cainiao terms for private senders, and no standard cover amount.

Questions about “Import customs clearance delay”

What does import customs clearance delay mean on Cainiao?

Customs has not cleared the package yet, and the ending of the line may say why: an inspection, a temporary hold, or incomplete recipient details. Cainiao does not define the line, but says the recipient should work with customs on a hold.

How long can a Cainiao package stay in customs?

Cainiao gives no figure. In histories and posts customers share it runs from the same day or 2 days to 15 days, three weeks and five weeks. After 7 days with nothing asked of you, file a complaint and we send it to Cainiao.

Does customs clearance unsuccessful mean my package was refused?

Not by itself, as far as we can see. Customers report AliExpress showing it while Cainiao's page shows 'Import customs clearance delay' for the same package. Neither company explains the difference. Read the line for an ending that gives the reason.

Do I have to pay customs on a Cainiao package?

It depends on your country and the order. AliExpress says the buyer has to do the clearance, including any tax or document that is required. Read any request you get and check that it names your tracking number.

Is import clearance start a problem?

Not by itself. It is the start of import clearance, and the line to look for next is 'Import customs clearance complete'. Customers do report weeks on it, and then the 7 days above apply.

Based on

Cainiao Help Center: FAQ (no tracking 12 days after shipment, returns, wordings for waiting for pickup)
Cainiao Help Center: Logistics Status Explanation
AliExpress Help Center: What if the package is held by customs?
AliExpress: Buyer Protection (item that did not arrive within the guaranteed delivery window)
Mikrocontroller.net forum: a Cainiao tracking history a customer shared
Trustpilot: customer reviews of Cainiao (customers' own accounts)
Reddit r/Aliexpress: a Cainiao history with 'Import customs clearance delay.We're inspecting your order'
Reddit r/Aliexpress: 'Import customs clearance delay.Package is held temporarily.' and 'Customs clearance unsuccessful'
Reddit r/Aliexpress: 'Recipient's information is incorrect/incomplete'
Reddit r/Aliexpress: 15 days on 'Abnormal status: Import customs clearance delay'
Reddit r/Aliexpress: three weeks on this line, a package to the US
Reddit r/Aliexpress: five weeks on this line in the UK
Reddit r/Aliexpress: 'Import customs clearance delay' on Cainiao, 'Customs clearance unsuccessful' on AliExpress
Reddit r/Aliexpress: 'Import customs clearance complete', then 'Received by local delivery company'
Reddit r/Aliexpress: almost a month after 'Import customs clearance complete'
Reddit r/Aliexpress: 'Import clearance failure'
Reddit r/Aliexpress: a Cainiao history with the order of the customs lines
Cainiao: Cross-border Express Delivery (service times, written for merchants)
legislation.gov.uk: Consumer Rights Act, section 29 (goods stay at the seller's risk until they reach you)